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NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital has more than 125 nurses with advanced degrees, evidence of a growing trend in which nurses pursue continuing education to improve the quality of healthcare for their patients.

Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital were recognized for these accomplishments on March 19, which is celebrated as Nurse Certification Day in honor of the birthday of Greta Styles. Styles, who died in 2005, is recognized as a trailblazer in nursing for her advocacy of worldwide nursing standards and certification. As a result of her work, more nurses are seeking advanced degrees and statistics show that patients are benefitting.

"Here at NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital we are indeed fortunate to have so many dedicated nurses who voluntarily chose to pursue professional certification," said NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital President John Federspiel. "These nurses have met rigorous requirements in specialized areas of practice as they progress along the continuum of lifelong learning. Most importantly, certification contributes to higher standards of patient care."

Kathy Asadorian, assistant Clinical Nurse Manager in the Operating Room at HVHC, said that earning an advanced degree had improved her skills and allowed her to give better care to her patients. She said that continuing education was a lifelong pursuit for nurses.

Kathy Webster, Vice President of Patient Services at NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital, said that 34 percent of nurses at HVHC have achieved certification. She said that studies showed that patient mortality rates and length of hospital stays dropped in direct correlation to the number of nurses with advanced degrees.

"These nurses have made continuing professional development a priority and they assure our hospital and our patients that they have the knowledge and skills to deliver the highest level of care," she said. "When we compare ourselves by specialty in the NDNQI national database, we have outperformed the benchmark for every specialty."

NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital is dedicated to serving the health care needs of the community and to providing quality, comprehensive medical care in a compassionate, professional, respectful manner, without regard to race, religion, national origin or disease category. Offering state-of-the-art diagnostic treatment, education and preventive services, the Hospital is committed to improving the quality of life in the community. In fulfilling this mission, the Hospital will strive to continuously improve the care provided and develop and offer programs, facilities, systems and alliances that most effectively respond to community health care needs. NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital is located on Route 202 (1980 Crompond Road) in Cortlandt Manor, New York. Call 914-737-9000 or visit hvhc.npgdev.com.