By Denise Williams, News & Views staff

You worked so hard and now it’s time to celebrate your success!

First and foremost in this edition of AACVPR Affirmations, let’s give a great big shout-out to the cardiac rehabilitation professionals in our community who recently added the letters CCRP behind their names! Dozens of AACVPR members, hailing from 25 U.S. states and three international cities, are now certified cardiac rehabilitation professionals.

Adam deJong, MA, MAACVPR, FACSM, chair of the Professional Certification Commission,
extended his personal congratulations to the group in the following salutation:

“The Professional Certification Commission is pleased to announce the newest Certified Cardiac Rehab Professionals (CCRPs) from the May CCRP Exam Window. Each new CCRP listed in the sidebar has demonstrated their proficiency in 10 different subject matter domains critical to the practice of Cardiac Rehabilitation. Congratulations to all 44 new CCRPs for their dedication to furthering their professional development in the field of Cardiac Rehabilitation!”

For more information about upcoming exam windows and to review the list of domains covered on the CCRP exam, please visit the AACVPR website here: https://www.aacvpr.org/Certified-Cardiac-Rehabilitation-Professional

IN OTHER NEWS:

A big hurrah goes out to Stacey Blank, MS, RRT, who is the coordinator of pulmonary rehabilitation at UPMC Western Maryland. On May 25, Blank earned a Master of Science degree in population health from Thomas Jefferson University College of Population Health. Way to go, graduate!

Kudos also are in order for Molly Wainstock, MS, MPH, CCRP, FCSCR, who is celebrating her five-year work anniversary this month at Glendale Memorial Hospital’s Cardiac Fitness Center in Glendale, CA. The exercise physiologist says she is “loving every moment of” her time there, which makes us sure that her colleagues and patients feel the same about her!

If you happen to run into Susan Boyle, BSN, RN, over at Veterans Affairs in St. Louis, give her a high five (elbow-bump, air hug, whatever works for you)! She deserves it for her work on “Outcomes Measures in Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation: How One Program Measures Up.” The poster, presented in April at the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association 25^th Annual Symposium, demonstrates the significant health benefits that patients—even those who are severely debilitated—receive from cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. The entry from Boyle and her co-authors claimed first place for a moderated poster session in the Innovative Program Category at the event, and the abstract also has been published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.

DRUMROLL, PLEASE!

Last, but certainly not least, please raise a virtual toast in honor of John P. Porcari, PhD, RCEP, MAACVPR, FACSM and Carl Foster, PhD, FACSM, FAACVPR, both of whom are retiring from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L) after illustrious teaching careers.

Porcari earned his Master’s degree in Adult Fitness/Cardiac Rehabilitation from UW-L, where he leads the Clinical Exercise Physiology graduate program. Both a professor and an accomplished researcher, he also has dedicated years of service to AACVPR. Porcari held a seat on the organization’s board of directors for nearly a decade, sat on numerous committees and held the title of association president during 2002-2003. He has earned numerous accolades over the years, including AACVPR’s Distinguished Service Award and the Award of Excellence in both 2004 and 2011.

Foster, who came to UW-L with more than 20 years of clinical experience as an exercise physiologist, currently is a professor of exercise and sport science there. He, too, is a prolific writer, having published 400 scientific articles and chapters as well as 20 longer projects—including books, monographs and position stands. Foster is a past president at ACSM, where contributed heavily to the organization’s work on Health and Fitness Facilities. He also chaired the research committee at AACVPR, which presented him with the Michael L. Pollock Established Investigator Award in 2006.

Colleague Kimberley Radtke, PhD, CCRP, RCEP, an associate lecturer in the Exercise & Sport Science program where both Foster and Porcari teach, describes the pair as “legends” in the field. “We would like to thank them for all of their hard work, dedication, sense of humor, mentorship, expertise, encouragement and wisdom,” she writes on behalf of the department. “Words cannot express our gratitude for all you have done to help all of us grow professionally. You will be truly missed!”

That's all for now...but we can't wait to see what you do next! We'll talk about it in the next AACVPR Affirmations column, coming in September. Continue sending your success stories to the Google form in the meantime.