AANP Fellows Announce Ford and Legacy Awards for 2022

The Executive Committee of the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) has announced the recipients of this year’s Loretta C. Ford Award and Legacy Awards. The FAANP program was established in 2000 to recognize nurse practitioner (NP) leaders who exemplify the values of their profession through research, practice and advocacy.

“The recipients of the 2022 FAANP Awards,” said April N. Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN, president of AANP, “are trailblazers and innovators who truly exemplify the excellence for which NPs are known. Each awardee has made admirable contributions to health care — and to the NP role — inspiring NPs of the future.”

2022 Loretta C. Ford Award for Advancement of the Nurse Practitioner Role in Health Care

Named for co-founder of the NP role, Loretta C. Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, NP-C, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, this award is presented annually to an NP who demonstrates participation in health care policy development at an international, national or local level; sustained and specific contribution to clarification of the role and scope of practice of NPs; or creative and effective action that turns a challenge to the NP role into an effective opportunity to advance practice and improve patient outcomes.

The recipient of the 2022 Loretta C. Ford Award is

William E. Rosa, PhD, MBE, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN.

Rosa, an NP, is an assistant attending behavior scientist in the department of psychiatry and behavior sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Rosa’s work focuses on cancer pain disparities, global palliative care inequities, LGBTQ+ inclusive palliative care communication and psychedelic-assisted therapy in the context of cancer-related distress. He is the editor of four books and has contributed more than 150 academic publications in journals and texts. He was the lead researcher for the 2021 Nurses for Health Equity: Guidelines for Tackling the Social Determinants of Health policy report endorsed by the World Health Organization.

2022 FAANP Legacy Award

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Established in 2020, the FAANP Legacy Award honors, recognizes and memorializes a member of FAANP whose lifelong career has had a profound and enduring impact on the profession and the NP role, articulating a dream that others share and follow. The vision, innovation, courage, persistence and inspiration of the honoree are essential components of the legacy.

Recipients of the 2022 FAANP Legacy Awards are as follows:

Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAANP, FCCM, is well known for her research related to outcomes after critical illness, patient- and family-centered care, the role of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and APRN outcomes. Most recently, she served as the co-principal investigator on a national survey of more than 7,000 APRNs assessing barriers to practice and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on APRN practice.

Lori Martin-Plank, PhD, FNP-C, GNP-BC, PMHNP, FNAP, FAANP, began teaching NPs in 1995 and has continued to balance practice with teaching, often serving as a preceptor for her students. Martin-Plank has a passion for advocacy and health policy and has been active in her home state of Pennsylvania, as well as in New Jersey. She is a strong believer in networking, mentoring and sharing knowledge among practitioners, students and educators for the benefit of the profession.

Henry Silver, MD, FAANP(H), was co-founder of the NP role at the University of Colorado. FAANP honors his pioneer spirit, courage and dedication. Thanks to his collaboration with Ford, a new health care role was created with the goal of improving access to care for underserved pediatric populations. Despite many barriers and fierce opposition to the implementation of the NP role, Silver and Ford remained a tenacious and unstoppable team who put patients’ needs first and forever changed health care in a profoundly positive way. Today, patients make more than 1 billion visits to NPs annually.

Forty new AANP Fellows will be inducted at the 2022 AANP National Conference in Orlando, Florida, on June 23. Learn more about the FAANP program and the invaluable contributions these NP leaders have made to patient health.