Hutti is among 195 nurses worldwide selected for the 2018 class of the  fellows, which recognizes distinguished nurse leaders who work in education, management, practice, policy and research. Hutti and the other inductees will be honored at a ceremony during the academy’s annual policy conference Nov. 1-3 in Washington, D.C.

“Being a fellow will give me an opportunity to be a significant voice for women and their families at the national level,” said Hutti, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP. “I am excited to be able to advocate for my patients in such an important forum.”

Hutti, who maintains an independent practice in women’s health, is internationally known for her research on perinatal loss and has received national awards as a nursing educator and researcher. She created the Perinatal Grief Intensity Scale, developed for clinical use to predict intense grief and identify need for professional follow-up after perinatal loss, which includes miscarriage, stillbirth and death of an infant within 28 days after birth.

Her most recent study included development of a free app of the Perinatal Grief Intensity Scale, available to health care providers at Ěý˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚý.

In 1993, Hutti started the women’s health nurse practitioner program at UofL, the first of its kind in Kentucky, and helped develop the women’s health nurse practitioner scope and standards of practice.

Lisa Carter-Harris, an alumna of the UofL School of Nursing’s Ph.D. and master’s degree programs, also was chosen for the 2018 class of academy fellows. Carter-Harris is a faculty member at Indiana University School of Nursing where she researches improving patient-provider communication and the shared decision making process in cancer screening decisions.

Marianne Hutti, PhD, APRN, UofL School of Nursing professor, led research and development of the app, which makes scoring of the Perinatal Grief Intensity Scale (PGIS) easier, predicting patients at greatest risk for intense grief after perinatal loss, which includes miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of an infant within 28 days after birth.

The project was funded by a $10,000 grant through the Kimberly-Clark Nursing Research Award from the .

Health care providers use the app to ask a short series of questions related to how a woman perceives her perinatal loss. Based on responses, the app calculates a patient’s score on the PGIS and gives providers theoretically based suggestions for care.

The app predicts patients most likely to have clinical-level anxiety, depression and continuing intense grief three to five months after a perinatal loss. Providers are encouraged to use the PGIS as a post-hospitalization screening tool to identify women who should be referred for additional mental health evaluation.

Knowing how patients perceived their pregnancy and a subsequent loss is crucial. Responses to perinatal loss vary among women and the point during pregnancy when a loss occurs does not determine a patient’s grief response, Hutti said.

“Women with early losses can have very intense grief, just like women with later losses,” Hutti said. “The app ensures that health care providers are creating treatment plans that are congruent with how a woman is seeing her loss because some women grieve and other women don’t grieve, or will have a significantly less intense grief response than others.”

Patients can choose to have their results anonymously submitted to a database, allowing for further research.

The app is available to clinicians free at and .

The annual award is given to a nurse practitioner in each state who demonstrates excellence in his or her area of practice. Hutti, a UofL School of Nursing professor, will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception during the AANP 2016 National Conference June 21-26 in San Antonio.

In 1993, Hutti founded the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program at UofL, the first of its kind in Kentucky. It has transformed into the Women’s Health-Family Nurse Practitioner Dual Major, and graduates have maintained a 100-percent pass rate on their first attempt of the NCC certification exam since the program’s inception. Hutti helped develop the women’s health nurse practitioner scope and standards of practice, which included requiring a master’s of science in nursing as the entry into practice for women’s health nurse practitioners, said Whitney Nash, PhD, MSN, ANP-BC, UofL School of Nursing associate dean of practice and service.

“Dr. Hutti has an extensive record of research that includes more than 30 publications and more presentations than I can count,” said Nash, the Kentucky representative for AANP. “Her most recent and perhaps most significant contribution to women’s health is her development of the Perinatal Grief Intensity Scale. This instrument aids in predicting those parents at greatest risk for intense grief after perinatal loss.”

Hutti has received national and international recognition for her research on perinatal loss, the death of a fetus or infant soon after birth. But for Hutti, the vivid memories of helping struggling students excel in nursing school and go on to achieve professional success stand out.

“There was a group of students I had who just didn’t know how to study, and I remember having study sessions over my dining room table with them,” Hutti said. “Every one of them ended up passing my course and all their subsequent courses. When I look back over my career, those are the things that really make me feel good.”