It is with both honor and concern that I accept the position of AORN Chapter 3001 President this year. AORN membership has always instilled a sense of pride for me since I first began my career at DHMC back in 1990. It was a time when organizational membership was seen as a step in demonstrating professionalism within the body of nursing as well as within the Operating Room environment. Certification was a goal that OR nurses craved as a measurement of their dedication to high quality patient care. Although I think we all still share that sense of professionalism and determination for high quality care, there has been a change in how nurses view their professional organization, and their support of the local chapter has changed course.

As we begin this new season of AORN’s calendar year, the sense of concern that I have is that we came very close to having to close our chapter. We have a membership of about 100 people, but the active members are fewer than 10%. With begging and pleading we were able to fill our ballot at the last second thereby preventing the closure of our chapter. Maybe in the long run folding the chapter will be the best decision, but it concerns me that our chapter should go down without a fight. The leadership of AORN Chapter 3001 would welcome any feedback from both members and non-members regarding what you feel the right decision is for the future of this chapter. We all live busy lives. We all work long hours. We all have many responsibilities. These things we share in common. Do we share a sense of pride in our organization of AORN? Do we think our patient’s are better served having a professional organization that stands behind our quest for safe, quality patient care? Do we want our family and friends cared for by nurses who embody and support the mission of AORN? I think the answer is “yes”, we all do. The challenge is how to share a bit of our busy lives with an organization that has been the foundation and backbone of creating Standards that are respected and used as a benchmark of what OR nursing should be.

Each of us who serve in this chapter leadership are here not because those we serve placed us in office but rather out of a sense of pride and loyalty to an organization and chapter that we feel is worthy of our support. We ask that you rally with us to defend our chapter status by your attendance at the few presentations that we offer.

While attending the March 2009 AORN Congress in Chicago, I was honored that our new AORN National President Elect, Charlotte Guglielmi, was interested in coming to one of our chapter presentations. Charlotte is the Perioperative Nurse Specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston , Ma.

Charlotte joined us a few years back for one of our chapter presentations that former AORN President, Bill Duffy, provided for us at Concord Hospital . She is a pleasure to know and I look forward to securing a date this fall that will work into her busy schedule as AORN President-elect.

Our Chapter Board of Directors have agreed to have two educational offerings this coming year and offer more contact hours with break-out sessions. We will let you know when, where, and all the details as they emerge.

In closing, I’m confident that the members will pull together and re-develop this chapter into an organization that supports your needs while supporting the chapter’s existence. Please lend your support by attending the educational sessions and by letting us know how we can serve your needs.

Linda

Linda Thompson RN BSN CNOR
President, AORN Chapter 3001

Results of Chapter 3001 Election of Officers
Willingness-to-serve forms were emailed to Chapter 3001 members in April. Unfortunately there was a miserable return of just 2 forms. Phone solicitation was unsuccessful. The Board decided to have an uncontested ballot. As finding members to actively participate is so difficult, the Board decided to make the Presidency a 2-year commitment. A change to our bylaws to reflect this action was approved at the June 16 2009 meeting. The leadership for Chapter 3001 for the following year was announced at the June 2009 meeting.

· President: Linda Thompson (2009-2011)

· Secretary : Lisa Ryder (2009-2011)

· Treasurer: Lorraine Heslop (2008-2010)

· Board of Directors: the above officers and: Pauline Smith (2008-2010) and Kim Cotter (2008-2010)

· Nominating Committee: Donna Barber (2009-2011) and Diane Kelly (2009-2011)

The office of president elect was not utilized.

MEETINGS AND EVENTS:

October 7, 2009: The 19^th Annual DHMC Conference on Trauma. DHMC, Lebanon NH .
November 7, 2009: 8:30-4pm. Kick-off Perioperative Nurse Week, DHMC Lebanon NH.
November 8-14, 2009: Perioperative Nurse Week

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHAPTER BUSINESS MEETING 6/16/09

· There was no educational meeting; today’s format was a picnic at the North Hartland Lake , Hartland VT

· There were 8 Chapter member participants along with several family members.

· Sweet Feet are being sold by Pauline Smith at the front OR desk at DHMC. She is doing a brisk business and will continue to sell them until they are all sold out.

· The ballot was discussed.

· A Leadership Conference is being held in July at AORN in Denver ; Donna Barber expressed an interest in attending, after Linda Thompson declined as she has previously attended this conference.

· Lorraine Heslop presented the Financial Report; our CDs are not paying well due to the economic climate, thus they were renewed for just 3 months in the hopes the market will improve. We will invest in another CD.

· Discussion of educational activities for the fall and spring

Perioperative Nurse Week 2009: November 8 - 14

Reaching the Peak of Perioperative Practice : Safety, Quality, Collaboration

Save the Date!!

President-Elect Charlotte Guglielmi RN BSN MA CNOR

Will be the keynote speaker of our fall conference

Saturday November 7 2009 8:30-4pm at DHMC

A Conference Brochure will be available soon!

Specialty Assemblies

What do you know about the 23 Specialty Assemblies? As you know, AORN offers one complimentary inclusion in a specialty assembly with AORN membership; however members may belong to more than one assembly for only $15 each. You can change your Specialty Assembly by calling AORN Customer Service. We have been highlighting a specialty assembly with each newsletter. We have already looked at the Federal Nurses Specialty Assembly, the Orthopedic Specialty Assembly, Ophthalmology Specialty Assembly, Trauma Specialty Assembly and the Pediatric Specialty Assembly. (See previous newsletters). This information is from the AORN website:

Cardiothoracic Specialty Assembly

Overview
Perioperative nurses who specialize in, or want to learn more about, open heart surgery teams, thoracic procedures, or cardiothoracic emergency procedures.

Purpose Statements

Enhance communication among cardiothoracic nurses;
Provide specialty education;
Serve as a resource for other cardiothoracic nurses;
Facilitate application of cardiothoracic research in the cardiothoracic OR setting; and
Promote safe patient care through the application of AORN Standards & Recommended Practices in the cardiothoracic OR setting.

Chapter 3001 Membership for September 2009

Standard 95

Associate 5

Retired 4

Student 1

3-year 1

Total 106