Nurse scientist Tom Ahrens, founder of Viven Health, to receive AACN Pioneering Spirit Award
Newswise — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses () will present Thomas Ahrens, PhD, RN, FAAN, with its .
One of AACN’s Visionary Leadership awards, the , recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing and relate to the association’s mission, vision and values. The presentation will occur during the 2025 , in New Orleans, May 19-21.
Ahrens is a national expert in the identification and management of sepsis, a leading cause of death among critically ill patients. His most recent work addresses the need to educate the public on infection prevention (e.g., cold, flu, pneumonia) in order to reduce the incidence of sepsis.
He is the co-founder, chief scientist and learning officer of Viven Health, which offers an interactive web-based learning management system designed to help the public develop safe health practices. Ahrens is actively involved in technology application, particularly in terms of sepsis, hemodynamic monitoring and capnography.
Ahrens was previously an advanced practice nurse and then a research scientist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for 34 years.
Viven Health won the 2020 St. Louis Business Journal Start Up Exit award. Its initial programs are designed to prevent infections, e.g., coronavirus, cold and flu, which can lead to sepsis. Mass vaccination programs for pneumococcal pneumonia, flu, RSV and COVID-19 have been developed. Additional programs aimed at chronic disease management, such as diabetes, are also available.
A member of AACN since 1979, Ahrens served as the association’s representative to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, AACN recognized his contributions with its Flame of Excellence award for sustained and influential work in critical care. Since 2009, he has been AACN’s representative for the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, with the goal to establish a research agenda for critical care in the United States. He has also served on the editorial boards of AACN journals American Journal of Critical Care and Critical Care Nurse.
The Society of Critical Care Medicine awarded him a Presidential Citation and the American Academy of Nursing named him an Edge Runner, an award designated “for those people who are developing innovative solutions that eventually become mainstream solutions.”
Ahrens has published extensively, including five books and over 100 papers. He has lectured both nationally and internationally on critical care topics. His book “Hemodynamic Waveform Analysis” is considered by many to be the finest clinical guide on the topic. His book “Essentials of Oxygenation” was an American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year.
He has degrees from St. Louis University, University of Colorado and Indiana University, Indianapolis.
About the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award: The annual AACN Pioneering Spirit Award recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing regionally and nationally, and relate to AACN’s mission, vision and values. Recipients of this Visionary Leadership Award come from business, academia and healthcare. Other Visionary Leadership awards, AACN’s highest honor, include the Lifetime Membership Award and the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career.
About the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition: Established in 1974, AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI) represents the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Bedside nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners attend NTI.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world's largest specialty nursing organization, with about 130,000 members and nearly 200 chapters in the United States.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; x.com/aacnme
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