(Chicago) – The American Heart Association (AHA) has chosen Lynne T. Braun, PhD, CNP, FAHA, FAAN, to receive its Healthcare Volunteer of the Year Award. Braun is a nurse practitioner in the Preventive Cardiology Center and the Heart Center for Women at Rush University Medical Center. She is also a professor in the Department of Adult Health and Gerontological Nursing in the Rush University College of Nursing.
Braun received the award on Wed., June 22, during the AHA Awards Luncheon in Irving, Texas. The award recognizes a healthcare volunteer who has made outstanding contributions to the care of cardiovascular disease and stroke patients or to improvements in healthcare delivery.
“For the past 25 years, Dr. Braun has been front and center in the planning and execution of practically every professional and public education activity developed by the American Heart Association in Chicago,” observes Kevin Harker, executive vice president of the AHA’s Midwest affiliate.
“I congratulate Lynne on this honor. She is incredibly dedicated to increasing heart health, particularly in women at risk, and I’m thrilled for her that she’s receiving well-deserved national recognition for her tireless efforts,” says Annabelle Volgman, MD, medical director of the Rush Heart Center for Women. The center is the first heart program in Chicago devoted exclusively to women.
“We are very proud of Lynne and everything she has done in the fight against heart disease, both as a clinician and an educator preparing our students to become nursing leaders themselves,” says Melanie Dreher, PhD, RN, dean of the Rush University College of Nursing.
Braun began volunteering with the AHA in the early 1980s as a CPR instructor, has served on multiple committees, including serving as vice chair of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing, and is a member of the AHA’s metro Chicago board of directors. She also is an advocate for the association to federal legislators.
“Her experience in and understanding of our work has made her an invaluable leader and a role model and mentor to other high-level volunteers interested in advocacy,” Harker says.
In addition, Braun regularly makes presentations about heart disease to a variety of groups, particularly African American groups of women in churches and sororities, as part of Go Red for Women, the AHA’s educational initiative to raise women’s awareness and understanding of heart disease. Braun also is a member of the Go Red medical executive committee.
Braun’s work with Go Red parallels her clinical practice, which focuses on the prevention of cardiovascular disease through lifestyle counseling and risk factor management. As a professor, she advises and teaches master’s degree and doctoral level nursing students and precepts nurse practitioner students in their clinical rotations.
“Dr. Braun's clinical practice, academic educational activities, and community education all relate to cardiovascular disease prevention and the attainment of optimal cardiovascular health,” Harker observes. “Despite a growing trajectory of national AHA involvement, she has maintained very active local involvement as well, allowing her to impact cardiovascular disease prevention through AHA initiatives in her workplace and throughout the community at large.”
“I’m honored and humbled to be chosen for this award,” Braun says. “My volunteer work has been driven by my passion for improving cardiovascular health. Consistent with the Rush mission, I have always felt that my work doesn’t end when I walk through these doors. It’s important for me to make a difference in the community.
Braun received her bachelor’s of science in nursing degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a master’s of science from the Rush University College of Nursing, and her PhD from UIC. She and her family are residents of LaGrange.
