Patricia Kunz Howard Is the New Leader of the Emergency Nurses Association

Patricia Kunz Howard, the University of Kentucky HealthCare enterprise director for emergency services, has been named president of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) for the second time in her career.

Since 1990, Dr. Howard has been an active member of the ENA, the premier emergency nursing organization with over 43,000 members worldwide. She served as the organization’s president in 2005 as part of a six-year stretch on the association’s board of directors from 2000 to 2006. She is the first person in ENA’s history to be elected president twice.

“It is truly an honor to represent ENA as president in 2019. I am grateful for the trust members have placed in me,” Dr. Howard said. “I promise to work diligently with the board, state and chapter leaders, ENA staff and our members to continue ENA’s future growth and momentum as the leading voice for emergency nurses.”

Dr. Howard has held several positions over her 18 year career at the University of Kentucky, including operations manager and staff development specialist. She has received the ENA’s Judith C. Kelleher Award in 2011 and the University of Kentucky College of Nursing named her as one of its 50 most distinguished alumni in 2010. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Emergency Nursing in 2008.

Dr. Howard holds a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in nursing all from the University of Kentucky.