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FALL 2013
Feature >>
W
hen the AAHFN Board
of Directors met for
its strategic planning
session, the association
was in the middle of a growth spurt.
Just eight years old at the time, the
association had grown immensely since
its inception—from 110 members to
more than 1,600.
In addition, the healthcare landscape
was changing, putting an emphasis on
nurses. Heart failure patients’ hospital
readmissions were strongly scrutinized.
The AAHFN Board recognized it was
at a central point in the association’s
maturation, and it decided to revaluate
its mission statement at a meeting.
The mission statement at the time of
the meeting certainly described the
association’s programs and members,
and it described the way AAHFN
united members for a common goal:
To unite professionals in the
support and advancement of
heart failure practice, education
and research to promote optimal
patient outcomes.
The Board agreed the mission statement
described the association well, but
the group felt something was missing.
There was open dialogue about the
direction the association was taking,
and an important question was asked—
why does AAHFN exist?
For an organization with only eight years
under its belt, AAHFN was responsible
for building programs, uniting members
and reacting to the environment.
However, the Board agreed its role,
and that of the association as a whole,
needed to shift from a reactive mentality
to a proactive one. The one recurring
From Uniting to Leading:
A Case Study on the American Association
of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN)
