Can-do nurse brings passion to stroke prevention

Marta Heffner likes nothing better

than a new challenge. So when Washoe

Medical Center in Reno needed a nurse

practitioner to coordinate research and

help develop programs for Nevada's first

institute for neurologic brain disorders,

she jumped at the opportunity.

Now having been on the job for 18

months, Heffner wears so many hats, it's

hard to count them. As part of coordinating

research and developing new programs,

she accompanies doctors on

patient rounds, educates medical staff,

acts as a resource contact for nurses,

organizes new services, educates the public

and is a liaison between the institute

and private-practice doctors.

Overwhelming?

Nah.

A born multi-tasker, Heffner thrives

on having her hand in several different

projects at once.

"Nurses are good at that," she says.

She is the poster woman for can-do attitude.

Tell her to start something from

scratch, and she wastes no time fretting

about how to begin. She enjoys the

process of breaking big tasks down into

steps and figuring out to tackle each one.

But it's more than organizational

skills that she brings to the institute.

"It's a high degree of passion," says

Mike Klepin, service line administrator for

neurosciences. "There's an intensity about

Marta that she carries through to each task."

Washoe Medical Center last year opened

the Washoe Institute for Neurosciences, the

only one of its kind in Nevada and the only

nationally recognized neurosciences institute

that is community rather than university

based.

The institute offers the latest technology

and research for diagnosing and treating

strokes, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. Its

Washoe Comprehensive Stroke Center was

recognized by the National Institute of

Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Symposium as a model for rural stroke programs.

Heffner is working with the center's

medical director, Dr. Paul Katz, to educate the

community and health-care providers about

stroke symptoms, treatment and prevention.

They travel to rural hospitals to evaluate their

capabilities and set up protocols for treating

strokes, and are spreading the word to the

public about how to recognize warning signs

and the importance of getting medical attention

quickly.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death

and the No. 1 cause of adult disability in the

United States, yet most people don't know the

warning signs.

Heffner says the Reno job attracted her

because it was a chance to help start something

from scratch. "This is full of new

things."

Before coming to Reno, Heffner was an

advanced registered nurse practitioner in the

neurology department at the University of

Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She has worked

in a variety of positions in her 24-year career,

broadening her expertise whenever curiosity

led her in a new direction. She has master's

degrees in nursing and education, and a postmaster's

family nurse practitioner certification.

She has worked as a hospital staff nurse, a

clinical instructor and at one time started and

ran a home-health agency. As a research coordinator,

she coordinated a host of studies on

treatment for strokes and neurological diseases.

Much has been written

about the problem of burnout

in nursing. But Heffner is too

busy learning to get burned

out. "I love nursing," she says.

It was practicality rather

than passion, though, that led

her to the field. She figured as

a nurse she'd always be able to

find a job and support herself.

She was right, of course,

but she has stayed in nursing

for deeper reasons.

"You're at the most meaningful

moments of life and

death. That's a special gift."

Heffner doesn't see nursing

as a second choice in medical

careers something to do if

someone can't become a doctor.

Nursing is special in its

own right, she says. "I don't

have a desire to be a minidoctor."

She was president of her

class at nursing school

at the University of

Oregon in Portland,

and she credits her professors

for encouraging

and empowering students

to go out into the

world and make a difference.

"None of us

has stopped," she says.

Heffner speaks

directly, and she's quick

to laugh. She describes

herself as outspoken

and a straight shooter.

"If you know me, you

know where I stand."

She attributes her

can-do attitude and

quest to learn and grow

to her supportive parents,

especially her

father, now 84, who is

always figuring out new

things to do and learning

how to use new

technology.

The secret to success?

"It'll happen if you

want it to happen if you

make it happen," she says.

"Life has thrown me all kinds

of curves, and every time one

that came long, I took it. I

just have a great time. I love

life."