March 2009 Newsletter

Hello fellow Ohio ENA members! The first quarter of ’09 is behind us and so is the first quarter of my term as your Ohio ENA President! This correspondence is to update you on key work of Ohio ENA members that has been accomplished or is in the process of being accomplished to date in 2009.

In February, the Ohio State ENA Council (OSCENA) met and passed a budget for 2009. The OSCENA also engaged in discussions to establish written policies and procedures to support our chapters and advance the transparency and accountability of the OSCENA to Ohio ENA members. The 2009 Budget is posted on the Ohio ENA website at www.ohioena.org; the meeting minutes are pending and will be posted soon. I would like to thank our webmaster, Liz Bemis, for her assistance in making some needed upgrades to the Ohio ENA website! The website will continue to evolve with new headings and current information throughout the year so that Ohio ENA members can have easier access to documents they may need.

In March, several Ohio ENA members attended the national ENA Leadership Symposium held in Reno, Nevada. It was wonderful to connect with Ohio ENA members that I had never met before! Five Ohio ENA members— Dina Dornack (Akron), Nicole Johnson (Strongsville), Shawn Kelly (Columbus), Marilyn Singleton (Clarksville), and Paula Cubbage (Blanchester)—served as presenters at the Leadership conference, either via lecture or poster presentation. They all did an excellent job in sharing their expertise and in representing the high caliber of Ohio ENA members!

At the April OSCENA meeting, fourteen policies and procedures were approved. A brief descriptor of each is as follows.

• Committee, Chairperson and Liaison Appointments Policies & Procedures: This document describes how OSCENA’s committees, chairpersons and liaisons are chosen and what their roles and responsibilities are. This policy includes a “live” appendix that lists who the current committee chairperson and liaison appointments are for Ohio ENA.
• Delegate Application for the National ENA Annual Meeting: This policy and procedures describes the application and selection process for Ohio ENA nurses who may want to serve as delegates to the annual national ENA General Assembly meeting.
• Disbursement Procedures: These procedures describe how funds are disbursed by the Ohio ENA Treasurer and other Officers. We have had trustworthy members volunteered to serve as Treasurer to date in that we have had no issues with embezzlement or fraud; however this new policy adds a degree of safety to our fiscal oversight.
• Emergency Nursing Certification Remuneration Policy: This policy describes a process in which Ohio ENA members can be reimbursed once every four years for achieving or maintaining certification supported by the Board of Emergency Nursing.
• Injury Prevention Liaison Role & Responsibilities: This policy describes the activities of the OSCENA Injury Prevention Liaison. The 2009 Injury Prevention Liaison is Gordon Gillespie (Fairfield).
• Government Affairs Liaison Role & Responsibilities: This policy describes the activities of the OSCENA Government Affairs Liaison. The 2009 Government Affairs Liaison is Nichole McGarrity (Columbus).
• Media Policy: This document outlines a media policy for the OSCENA and its chapters.
• Membership Liaison Role & Responsibilities: This policy describes the activities of the OSCENA Membership Liaison. The 2009 Membership Liaison is Beverly Clensey (Columbus); this role is large enough that I am looking for a co-chair, so if interested, let me know! We will mentor you in the role!
• Ohio Chapter Probation & Dissolution Policy & Procedures: This document describes the actions that the OSCENA will take when faced with an Ohio chapter who is repeatedly non-compliant with requirements mandated by national ENA.
• Policy & Procedures for Quality Assurance of TNCC & ENPC Including “DICE”: These policies and procedures describe the activities of the Trauma (TNCC) and Pediatric (ENPC) OSCENA Committee Chairs to ascertain the ongoing quality of TNCC and ENPC in Ohio, including the appointment of DICE (Designated Instructor Candidate Evaluators) to expand the TNCC/ENPC Instructor pool in Ohio.
• Records Retention & Destruction Policy: This policy is to describe those records that OSCENA must maintain for the benefit of membership.
• Selection & Seating of Chapter Delegates to the Ohio State Council of the Emergency Nurses Association (OSCENA): This policy describes how delegates from each of Ohio’s Chapters are seated at the OSCENA.
• Trauma (TNCC) & Pediatric (ENPC) Committee Co-Chairperson Roles & Responsibilities: This policy describes the activities of the OSCENA Trauma (TNCC) and Pediatric (ENPC) Committee Co-chairpersons. Debra Zang (Pickerington) and Janelle Clark (Pleasantville) respectively are serving as OSCENA’s Trauma/Pediatric Committee co-chairs.
• Travel & Expense Reimbursement Policy: This policy describes how OSCENA members are reimbursed for doing work on behalf of the OSCENA.

All of these OSCENA policies and procedures are available to members at www.ohioena.org. Additionally, some policies and procedures are still in the process of being written including a conflict of interest policy, a whistleblower policy, an investment policy, duties of OSCENA officers, and responsibilities of Ohio ENA chapters to OSCENA & national ENA. Also, an updated set of OSCENA Bylaws was drafted this year with the help of national ENA attorney, Paula Geddart. The draft was distributed via e-mail in March to OSCENA members for comment. Look for the updated Bylaws and these additional policies and procedures to be finished later in the year, hopefully after the June OSCENA meeting!

Also, look soon for information about a CEN Review Course that is being planned to help Ohio ENA members this year. Deborah Schwytzer (Cincinnati), OSCENA Immediate Past-President, is working on program details and will send information as soon as plans are finalized.

Lastly of note to date in 2009, the Ohio ENA has seen some growth in a variety of ways, which is no small feat given the challenges of the current economy. Some examples of our growth are:

• Ohio has 1,356 ENA members as of March 2009! Thank you all for your dedication to emergency nursing and your participation in ENA!
• Nurses from Findlay, Ohio have filed an application with the national ENA to form a new chapter! The Findlay Chapter intends to call itself the “Flag City Chapter”. Kris Napier (Findlay) has been elected to serve as the Flag City Chapter’s first President. Welcome to all our emergency nursing colleagues from Findlay!
• Mary Martin Bandman (Shelby) notified me that she has formed a new special interest group (“SIG”) through National ENA in Ohio for small & rural critical access hospitals. She has promised to share information on the SIG for other Ohio ENA members who are interested. I applaud Mary’s action-oriented approach toward networking and addressing issues that affect colleagues and patients.
• OSCENA attendance has been up this year for both the February and April meeting. In 2008, the average attendance at OSCENA meetings was 9 members; in 2009, the average attendance so far has been 20 members. My sights are set on attendance of 27 or more members where each Ohio chapter has at least three representatives to OSCENA meetings! We can’t be an effective Ohio ENA State Council without the participation of members! Again, thank you to all who have participated in OSCENA meetings and volunteered your time and talents!

I want to remind Ohio ENA members that this year’s national ENA General Assembly occurs in October in Baltimore, Maryland. The OSCENA is currently accepting applications from Ohio ENA members who are interested in serving as delegates. National ENA will be considering possible changes to its Bylaws, policies and procedures. The OSCENA has budgeted up to $900 apiece to support OSCENA members willing to volunteer their time as delegates. We will work with you if you are a first time delegate or want a “General Assembly buddy!” Applications are on the Ohio ENA website and are due by June 1st. We hope that you will consider joining us in Baltimore!

Nancie Bechtel, Ohio ENA President 2009-2010