Newsletter Archives

Happy Thanksgiving From President Maureen Pennington and the Board of Directors. Enjoy your newsletter.

Our December meeting will feature a potluck dinner and a "festive holiday sweater" contest. Please wear your most festive holiday sweater and you could win a prize! Our education offering is JCAHO 2009 and as always, 1.0 CE is available. Please also let us know if you would like any additional items/information posted on our website.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and we will see you Thursday, December 3.

Michelle Fennell

Our December 3rd meeting will present the latest information about the Joint Commission-Be Ready for 2010 with this information

Title: What's New in 2010: Strategies for Applying Joint Commission Standards in the Perioperative Setting

Speaker: LCDR McRae

Time: 7:00-8:00 pm

Location: AMN Health Care, 12400 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, CA 92130

CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order at 6:30 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:  Motion called and second to approve minutes of September 24, 2009 as printed.

Submitted by Candise Flippin, Treasurer

Craig Jeffries Esq., the Director of AORN Government Affairs would like to encourage members to support AORN’s legislative priorities and initiatives in both state and the federal government.  It is very easy to sign up as a grassroots member: login and become a member; contact AORN Customer Service by calling 800-755-2676, Ext.1; or by sending an email to grassroots@aorn.org. 

You can directly influence the public policy process by communicating with your legislators and other decision makers at the state and federal levels regarding the issues important to you and your practice.  Craig Jeffries Esq. the public policy consultant also is encouraging members to use their voice in the upcoming weeks and months as leaders in Washington continue grappling with health care reform.   

Legislative priorities for 2009 include RN as Circulator, Preserving and Protecting the Perioperative Registered Nurse’s Scope of Practice, Supporting Workplace Safety, patient Safety Initiatives and Healthcare Reform.  Nursing priorities also include safe patient handling, eliminating mercury in the healthcare setting, mandatory overtime, nursing education, nurse staffing plans and ratios  “nurse protection”, whistleblower protection and workplace violence.  Another one of the priorities is related to data collection. For instance the 2009 Stimulus package directs $19 billion to encourage the adoption of electronic health records.

One of the most current problems related to safety is the very large fine for a Rhode Island Hospital, $150,000 for its fifth wrong site surgery in two years.  The surgical team marked the wrist, rather than each finger the surgeon did not mark them himself, the team did not take a “timeout” before the surgery.  When the team performed the second or right surgery on the correct finger they also did not do a “timeout”.  The Rhode Island State Health Department has ordered that a clinical employee who is not part of the surgical team need to observe all surgeries for at least a year and the operating rooms need to install video cameras in the rooms.  

Submitted by Virginia L. Ogren RN, BSN, CNOR           

Take advantage of one of our Chapter Resources, our Scholarships. For more information visit our Scholarship Page.

Thanks to all Who Attended the Temecula Wine Tasting Event!
Our wine tasting workshop at Wilson Creek Winery on November 14, 2009 was a great success. There were 38 members and guests who participated, plus our speaker, Rose Cruz, and four wonderful reps who supported the event. A full report will be given at the next general meeting. Thank our reps: Tashia White, Ben Riddick, Matt Fleming, and Craig Johns for helping us make this happen. We will gladly support their businesses as well.

Report provided by Anne Hones