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October 4, 2008
Dear Mid East Region WOCN Colleagues,
I have returned home from the Mid East Regional annual educational conference and wanted to provide you with some updates.
The West Virginia WOC/ET Nurses were gracious hostesses. I appreciate all the hours they dedicated to planning a great conference for the attendees.
On Thursday afternoon, sessions on hyperbaric oxygen therapy, lymphedema management and quality indicators were provided. These sessions were attended by local nurses as well as Mid East Region Members. Thursday evening was the grand opening of exhibits. I didn’t count the number of exhibitors, but the room was jam-packed. The support of our vendors is so vital to the success of our conferences as well as vital to keeping us abreast of the “latest and greatest” innovations in wound, ostomy and continence products.
On Friday, Courtney Lyder began the day presenting a stimulating discussion of CMS indicators in acute and long-term care. If anyone has ever heard Dr. Lyder present, you know how unforgettable the session was. Suzy Scott-Williams shared information on perioperative pressure ulcers, a very timely topic with the recent onset of CMS non-payment for facility-acquired pressure ulcers. Dr. James Lohan, a local colo-rectal surgeon, provided an enlightening presentation on management of rectal cancer. Joan Junkin wrapped up the presentations with a discussion (and great photos) of incontinence-associated dermatitis.
Following the educational presentations, Barb Metzger and Dea Kent shook up our usual routine by presenting awards. Barb, our Scholarship Committee Chair, presented the advanced practice scholarship to Trish Hoge of Ohio who is pursuing her graduate degree as a nurse practitioner. Dea then called Sally Gill Thompson to the podium to share her presentation “Living with a Legend.” Sally, the daughter of Norma Gill, shared Norma’s journey founding enterostomal therapy and her own journey following in her mother’s footsteps. Following the presentation, Sally was awarded the Mid East Region Lifetime Achievement Award. Then, Dea caught me off guard by presenting me with the Mid East Region WOC/ET Nurse of the Year Award. It’s hard to render me speechless, but Dea managed.
Friday evening closed with a dinner sponsored by Hollister. We had a wonderful time being entertained by a local blues singer as well as enjoying the company of old and new colleagues and friends.
This morning, we started the day with the EHOB Waffle Breakfast. Then, Paula Erwin-Toth transported us to the world of knights and maidens as she wove the tale of ET/WOC Nursing. It was a charming presentation and, I’m hoping the ending is “happily ever after.” Paula is a part of the legacy of Norma Gill because Norma was her enterostomal therapist when Paula was only ten years old.
The Mid East Region Membership meeting followed Paula’s presentation. The annual budget was a topic of much discussion. One of the goals when I became President of the Mid East Region was to be budget neutral or better by the end of my term. Although the expenses and revenue related to conference haven’t been finalized, it appears that the Mid East Region will have a budget surplus at the end of 2008. However, our budget for 2009 has us at a deficit of more than $11,000. This is not cause for alarm, but Kelly Jaszarowski, Mid East Region Treasurer, led the discussion regarding potential revenue sources and potential expenditure cuts. Of note, the line item for the Mid Eas Dropper Newsletter was eliminated because of the utilization of email and www.mideastregion.org for communication with members. There was much discussion regarding the expense of providing food to members at the Mid East Region membership meeting during annual conference. One of the members suggested a nominal charge for the meal provided during the meeting to help defray the cost. The sentiment was that a $10 charge was worth knowing that food would be available for those who had traveled all day to get to conference and was probably cheaper than anything else they could find in the convention center or hotel. The motion passed by an overwhelming vote. Another topic of discussion was the travel expenses for the Mid East Region Board. The board made the decision to cap the potential expenditures for each member of the board but to actually allot a true dollar amount for potential cost. Although this increased the line item figure, it accurately reflects what the board members could request as reimbursement. We have been fortunate in recent years that many members of the board have found alternate sources for covering their travel to conference (e.g. employer provisions, speaking at conference, developing posters and having their travel defrayed by vendors, etc.). This year, Dea Kent, Joy Pittman, Kelly Jaszarowksi and myself didn’t request any reimbursement for our travel to national WOCN conference for these reasons.
No research awards were presented this year. Susan Maditz of West Virginia has accepted the position of Research Committee Chair, replacing Rosemary Gravelie.
Lisa Kirk, who was unable to attend, has seen her responsibilities as Membership/Sunshine Committee Chair grow over the last two years. She has been busy email blasting the membership with everything from reminders about conference to reminders about voting. I appreciate the time and effort Lisa has put into improving the communication of the Mid East Region WOCN.
With the improvements to the website and to our ability to communicate via email, the Mid Eas Dropper has ceased to exist.
Dea also led a discussion about Awards. Many of the membership awards have been awarded once or never. Although the board suggested elimination of the Professional Educator and Patient Educator awards, the members present at the meeting suggested keeping them available for at least one more year to see if interest in them didn’t increase. So, what that means is…if no one is nominated for either of these awards in 2008-2009, they will go away.
We had no applications for the UOAA Youth Rally Scholarship. Any young person in Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio or Michigan is eligible for this scholarship to defray their expenses to Youth Rally. Cathy Blackwell will be communicating with Linda Auckett at the national UOAA to be sure they know these funds are available for a deserving youngster.
Cathy Blackwell also shared information about fundraising. The silent auction fundraiser and Longaberger Breast Cancer Basket raffle during this conference raised nearly $1000 (final totals pending). Due to stricter enforcement of ANCC regulations, no money can change hands in the WOCN National Conference exhibit hall. Our plans are to have a booth, manned by members of the Mid East Region, so that we have a presence for attendees. Information about the region, perhaps some historical information, etc. will be available at the booth. But, there will be no raffles or product sales inside the exhibit hall. Our plans are to have some sort of raffle during the membership meeting at National WOCN meeting. Marcia Calhoun suggested a “split the pot ” raffle. Our plans are to set up in the common area outside the meeting rooms for all the regional meetings on Saturday night so that we might spark some interest from other regions, as well. Cathy will also be selling the Mid East Region WOCN pins during membership meeting, as well.
As mentioned, West Virginia WOCN/ETs did themselves proud and can relax…until 2013 when conference will be in West Virginia again!! Our conference next year will be in Dayton, OH October 1-3. Conference planning co-chair, Marilyn Whitehead passed out “save the date” flyers. The conference focus will be care of the bariatric patient. Conference 2009 will be here before we know it! Conference 2010 will be in Indianapolis, and the conference planning committee is already dreaming and scheming to provide a memorable event.
Kelly Jaszarowski presented the “Excellence in Writing Award” to Deanna Vargo. Deanna was awarded for her article “Make Sense of Wound Care Billing: Turn Your Cents Into Reimbursement Dollars” published in JWOCN.
Dea Kent announced there will be some proposed bylaws changes up for vote soon. However, we’re holding off on presenting these changes until the potential bylaws changes from National WOCN are voted upon. Since our bylaws need to mirror National WOCN, voting on changes to Mid East Region bylaws prior to learning the outcome of the National WOCN bylaws vote makes no sense. We anticipate that proposed Mid East Region WOCN bylaws changes will be emailed to you in January 2009. The on-line vote will occur shortly thereafter.
Deanna Boyd announced the outcome of the 2008 election of officers. 109 of our eligible 463 members voted during our first on-line election. Your Mid East Region WOCN Board for 2009 will be:
· President – Dea Kent
· President-Elect –
· Secretary – Cecilia Krusling
· Treasurer – Kelly Jaszarowski
· Trustee #1 – Sonya Perry
· Trustee #2 – Kathy Cisney
· Trustee #3 – Joy Pittman
· Trustee #4 – Mandy Cosner
Sue Kohl, Historian, had nothing to report but we kept her hopping taking pictures!!
Stepping down from the position of president, I will be updating the status of the MER Vision, Values and Goals and forwarding that to the membership in another email blast. I will also be updating the Mentoring List for posting on www.mideastregion.org and will be emailing it to the WOCNEP Program Directors, as well.
I shared the outcomes of the Membership Survey. 63 of our eligible 463 members returned a survey, a 17% response rate. Many people wrote in responses, as well as answered the “yes – no” questions. The Mid East Region Board will be using this information throughout the following year. If you answered “yes” to the question about wanting to be more involved in the Mid East Region AND you provided your name, don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from a board member. If you answered “yes” to that question and didn’t provide your name but really do want to be involved, contact Dea Kent (or any other member of the board) to identify what you want to do.
Dea “got me” again by presenting me with a lovely gift from the Mid East Region Board. I appreciate the gift, but I appreciate more their dedication to improving the Mid East Region, their collegiality and their friendship. It has been a privilege and an honor to work with them and to serve this region.
The membership meeting closed with presentation of awards of appreciation to those individuals who have provided volunteer service to the Mid East Region during my two year presidency. I couldn’t have done it without them. Finally, the President’s Award was presented to Cecilia Krusling. Cecilia is an amazing woman who serves at the local, regional and national levels of WOCN and still manages to lead a balanced life.
The gavel was passed to incoming Mid East Region President Dea Kent who adjourned the meeting.
If you were able to attend the conference in West Virginia, I hope you found it enriching and renewing. If you weren’t able to attend, plan now to join us in Dayton next October! Thank you for allowing me to serve as your president. It has been an unforgettable experience that has allowed me to grow personally and professionally.
“The future belongs to those who fuse intelligence with faith, and who with courage and determination, grope their way forward from chance to choice, from blind adaptation to creative evolution.” – Charles E. Merriam
Wishing you peace and prosperity,
Mary Arnold Long
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