Advanced Wound Care Certification Program: Train with 14 Leading Wound Care Experts

Elizabeth Faust, MSN, CRNP, CSWS, CWOCN-AP®, MAPWCA, is a wound nurse practitioner for Tower Health System in eastern PA. She served as an in-patient wound, ostomy, and continence specialist for a 700+ bed Level I Trauma Center for nine years and now focuses on delivering care across a seven-hospital health system. She focuses on care of the perioperative, post-operative, cardiac and critical care patients, with an interest in nursing and physical education, NPWT, and pressure injury prevention. She has served as the vice president of the American Professional Wound Care Association (APWCA), a board member for the American Board of Wound Healing (ABWH) and is active within her local affiliate of the Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nurses Society.

Frank Aviles, PT, CWS®, FACCWS, CLT-LANA, ALM, AWCC, MAPWCA , is the wound care service line director at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (NRMC) overseeing and assisting with wound care practices across the continuum of care. Frank’s career and passion for wound care began 30 years ago. His goal is to continue educating others and promoting wound care best practices. His love for his profession has led him to teach at the academic, national and international level. In addition to his duties, Frank is a wound care consultant for Louisiana Extended Care Hospital Natchitoches and LHC group, wound care/lymphedema instructor and advisor for the Academy of Lymphatic Studies, and an educator/lymphedema therapist/consultant for Cane River Therapy Services. Frank has been an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) member since 1990, is a board certified wound specialist, a fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists, a certified lymphedema therapist, advanced wound care certified, currently serves as the practice chair for the Special Interest Group section of the Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology and Wound Management Section of the APTA, is on the Why Wound Care Advisory Board for HMP Global, is on the editorial board for Today’s Wound Clinic, has published various articles, has published a chapter in various textbooks, writes a column for Today’s Wound Clinic – “Lets Be Frank”, poster presenter, is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC), serves on the AAWC educational steering committee, and co-chairs national wound care conferences.

M. Dolores Farrer, DPM, MBA, CWS®, is a surgically trained podiatrist involved in wound care and limb salvage for over 32 years. She has been board-certified by the American Board of Wound Management (ABWH) since 2003 and proudly serves as secretary on the board of directors for the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) for over four years. Dr. Farrer works with a comprehensive multi-specialty wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinic in Columbia, SC. She trains new wound care clinicians and uses real-world evidence with patient-centered outcomes that have resulted in above-average healing rates and decreased amputation rates. Dr. Farrer has experience in private practice, hospital inpatient, outpatient wound clinics, and nursing homes. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience as a wound care expert in national speaking engagements. Dr. Farrer graduated from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine and obtained her MBA in her hometown of New Orleans, LA.

April Lumpkins, MSN, AGACNP-BC, CWOCN-AP®, CFCN, is a Board-Certified Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with twelve years’ experience in managing complex wounds and ostomies as a Certified Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse and Certified Foot Care Nurse and two years in Hyperbaric Medicine. In addition to wound/ostomy care, her past responsibilities have included management, quality improvement, program development, health informatics, documentation improvement, research and clinical education.

Nancy Collins, PhD, RDN, LD, NWCC, FAND, is a nationally recognized wound healing and nutrition expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Collins is nationally known for her work in the wound care arena. She has extensively studied the nutritional needs of patients with wounds and the effects of malnutrition on tissue regeneration. She is passionate about educating other health care professionals and has delivered more than 500 professional lectures on these topics. Dr. Collins is also a prolific author and has numerous publications to her credit. Dr. Collins has served as an editorial advisor to the journal, Advances in Skin and Wound Care, a contributing editor for Ostomy-Wound Management (renamed Wound Management & Prevention), and an editorial advisor for Today’s Diet and Nutrition. She also has served as a member of many medical advisory boards, including the American Professional Wound Care Association.

Joan’s transition into wound specialization came in 1992 in a research analyst role for the AHCPR Pressure Ulcer Treatment Guideline panel. After becoming a clinical nurse specialist and board-certified wound, ostomy, and continence nurse (CWOCN), she spent 10 years building the skin and wound program at a 500- bed acute care facility. She has provided 8-hour wound seminars in 49 states and 4 Canadian provinces. Joan also offers wound consulting for a hospice program and long-term care facilities in Nebraska. Committed to sharing knowledge, Joan has published in Nursing Clinics of North America, Nursing, and the JWOCN. She has been invited faculty for the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and national Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse conferences. Joan participated in the second incontinence-associated dermatitis consensus conference and is co-author on two related articles. She contributed a new chapter on external wounds such as incontinence associated dermatitis and skin tears for the Wolters Kluwer 2023 Wound Care Made Incredibly Easy, currently in publication. Joan brings experience, knowledge, and perspective gained from speaking and listening as she teaches across the nation. She shares her passion for people and a healthy dose of humor to help others enjoy their experience as they learn to improve skin health and optimize wound care in this challenging healthcare environment.

Nilma Z. Elias Santiago, PT, DPT, WCC, CWCP, CLT, OMS, is a licensed physical therapist, a board-certified wound care specialist, a certified lymphedema therapist, and a certified ostomy management specialist. With over ten years of experience in wound care, she opened a private wound care practice in Florida that offers lymphedema, ostomy, and wound care services. Dr. Santiago is also an adjunct faculty of AT Still University in Mesa, Arizona, teaching physical therapists that are completing their post-professional doctorate in physical therapy. She has written articles published in healthcare magazines and presented a poster at the World Confederation of Physical Therapy in 2007, and in the 2018 Summit of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

Dianne Rudolph, APRN, GNP-BC, CWOCN®, is a nurse practitioner who is board-certified in gerontological advanced practice nursing and as a wound, ostomy and continence nurse. She has been a nurse for more than 30 years with experience in trauma care, acute care, home care, hospice, long-term care, rehabilitation, and wound care. She is very passionate about caring for adults and older adults with complex medical and wound needs.

Heidi Huddleston Cross, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, CWON®, is a board-certified Wound and Ostomy Nurse and a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She has extensive experience caring for wound and ostomy patients in acute care and long-term care. Currently, Heidi is employed by a surgical group providing consultation for nursing homes and has her own independent practice as an expert witness for plaintiff and defense attorneys. She has contributed in numerous ways to her specialty, including serving as chair of the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board examination committee, co-chair of the Wound and Ostomy Nurses Society National Conference Planning Committee ostomy track, and peer review for the Journal of Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN).

Kim Saunders, MSN/ED, RN, CWON®, CFCN, has extensive experiences as a wound, ostomy, and continence nurse across a variety of settings, including acute care, hospice, home health and skilled nursing facilities. As a respected expert in her field, Kim evolved her practice to be able to more fully share her insights as co-owner of WOC Consulting, LLC. In this role, she consults with healthcare systems on a variety of challenges that develop related to wound, ostomy, and incontinence-associated dermatitis. Some of the special projects her knowledge has been sought for include: guiding standardization of wound care formularies and pressure-relieving device selections, as well as a myriad of other processes to standardize and improve upon existing skin and wound care delivery. Her wound care experience goes beyond trouble-shooting the most challenging of patient wounds. It also includes expertise regarding the increasingly important ability to incorporate cost-effective care and reimbursement considerations at the bedside. Kim is an active member of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society™ and the Advanced Wound Care Society. She has traveled the country extensively to deliver practice-changing wound care trainings to experienced healthcare professionals. Kim is also the author of the Wound Care Pocket Guide: Clinical Reference, Second Edition (PESI, 2017)

Ann Taylor, MS, RN, CWOCN®, created Kahl WOC Consults in 2002 to provide wound care and legal consults across the care settings. With over 20 years’ experience as a specialty nurse in wound, ostomy and continence nursing, she has vast experience to reduce risk of legal exposure through incorporation of current wound management trends and protocols. Ann’s commitment to clinical excellence and patient outcomes is evident by her committee work with the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society. She has also served on the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Certification Board, most recently on the nurses certification board on the certification exam committee. As an author, Ann has over 20 clinical wound abstracts and has created numerous policies, algorithms and guidelines for use in practice. Additionally, her practice in the legal consulting arena is busy and continues to grow.

Dr. Cheryl Aaron has over 36 years of hands-on wound care experience in multiple clinical settings including private practice, acute, sub-acute, SNF, outpatient, and homecare venues. She is presently the owner of Advanced Wound Care Consultants, providing consultation, teaching, program development, survey readiness, and clinical competencies to the multidisciplinary wound care teams of Homecare agencies, hospitals, nursing and physical therapy schools and other organizations, both locally and nationally. Dr. Aaron is known for her lively, passionate delivery of her presentations with the latest evidence-based research and clinical guidelines. As a doctoral prepared Physical Therapist and nationally board Certified Wound Specialist® with the American Academy of Wound Management, she has a wealth of educational and work-related experience to draw from. Expect to take away valuable insight and information to optimize your clinical outcomes.