Sigma Theta Tau
International Honor Society of Nursing
THE DELTA REPORT
DELTA OMEGA CHAPTER
Winter 2010
Editor – Marcia Cornell
Delta Omega Officers
President – Barb Brunt
[email protected]
1st Vice President – Marlene Huff
[email protected]
2nd Vice President – Paula Thrasher
[email protected]
Immediate Past President – Dina Dornack
[email protected]
Treasurer – Peg DiMarco
[email protected]
Corresponding Secretary – Linda Shanks
[email protected]
Counselor – Michelle Perkins
[email protected]
Archivist – Carolyn Sutter
[email protected]
Research Grants & Recognition Chair – Elaine Fisher
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor – Marcia Cornell
[email protected]
Leadership Succession Committee Wanda Franklin [email protected]
The Delta Report is published three times yearly for Delta
Omega Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau, Inc. The Delta Report
welcomes information about members’ accomplishments in
research, promotion, publication, and/or presentation.
Correspondence to the Delta Report should be sent to the
editor Marcia Cornell via e-mail [email protected].
Sigma Theta Tau, International www.nursingsociety.org
Delta Omega http://www2.uakron.edu/deltaomega/
Message from the Chapter President:
Barb Brunt
Much has happened since
my first President’s column in the
fall. I hope all of you enjoyed
Thanksgiving, the holiday season,
and are ready to start a new year.
As I think about 2010, I believe we
have much to be thankful for. In
this newsletter you will find a letter and a picture
from April Wertz, one of our members who is
currently stationed in Iraq. She is serving as an
Army Nurse Corps Officer in support of Operation
Iraqi freedom. We wish her the best and look
forward to her safe return. April keeps connected to
the chapter through the newsletter and other
communications – with the age of
telecommunications and email, we live in a virtual
world as part of a global society. If you are in
another country, we would love to hear from you.
If you have not been receiving communications
from Sigma Theta Tau or our chapter, please go to
the Sigma Theta Tau website and update your
contact information. To do that, please go to their
website http://www.nursingsociety.org and click on
the membership button. Click on My Membership
and then click on the Update contact information
link.
We can also be thankful we have an
organization with many committed members. A
group of members helped sort packages and wrap
Christmas gifts at OPEN-M (Opportunity Parish
Ecumenical Neighborhood Ministry) for the two
families we sponsored. Coming up on March 29th,
our chapter will be serving a hot lunch at OPEN-M
as another community project. Individuals can
serve in a variety of ways. I challenge each of you
to identify one thing you will do to promote the
honor society of nursing in 2010. It can be as easy
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as reading the newsletter or attending a meeting. If
you want to become more involved, there are
various committees you can be a part of or you
could run for a position on the board of directors.
There is information on the offices and positions
available in this newsletter. Members of the
leadership succession committee will be contacting
members to see if they would be interested in
serving in a leadership role. If you are interested
please contact Wanda Franklin and let her know. If
you aren’t sure if you want to take that step yet,
there are opportunities for interns and externs to
work with and be mentored by another board
member to learn more about the organization. An
intern is a student who is not yet licensed to practice
nursing, and an extern is someone who is already
licensed and is either going to school or working
and wants to become more involved. Information
about this program is posted on the Delta Omega
website, which is found at
http://www2/uakron.edu/deltaomega
We had a joint meeting with multiple STTI
chapters in Northeast Ohio at Ursuline College on
January 14th – an article on that is included in this
newsletter. There also will be a Region 10
Research Conference coming up on April 16th and
17th in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you can’t attend
that, you won’t want to miss our induction and 30th
anniversary celebration on April 18th. This is when
we welcome new members into the society and give
awards to recognize various contributions of our
members. The awards information will be online
and also be included in the newsletter – please take
the time to nominate a deserving colleague now.
More information will be coming out about these
events- stay tuned.
If you have any questions about the honor
society or projects the Delta Omega chapter is
involved with, please feel free to email me at
[email protected] or at
[email protected]. I would love to hear from
you
Barb
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Report from Convention
Report to Board and Membership
STTI 40th Biennial Convention
October 31 – November 4, 2009 Indianapolis, IN
Submitted by Barbara Brunt, President and Marlene
Huff, 1st Vice President
Thanks to the support of the Delta Omega Board of
Directors, we had the privilege of serving as
delegates at the STTI convention. Barb attended
the convention last biennium, but did not serve as a
delegate. This report will highlight the activities
and programs for each of the days.
Saturday October 31st
President Carol Huston, MSN, DPA, RN, FAAN
gave the opening plenary address on “Leading
Globally: the 2007-2009 Presidential Call and State
of the Society.” She talked about the
accomplishments that the organization had made in
becoming more global.
There were a choice of concurrent sessions on a
variety of topics, including special sessions, cardiac
conditions, community education, technology,
ethics, wellness interventions, cultural sensitivity,
leadership development, and symposiums. There
were also sessions each day on Conversations with
the Candidates, where delegates had a chance to
interact and ask questions of the individuals running
for office.
The exhibit hall had its grand opening with a
reception that evening, followed by an International
Induction Ceremony.
Sunday November 1st
The poster sessions started this morning. All the
posters were kept up and available for participants
to view for several days and there were designated
times for the poster presenters to be with their
poster to answer questions. There were over 150
clinical, scientific and leadership posters on a
variety of topics from around the world, in addition
to creative arts in nursing displays and invited
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posters from the Geriatric and Maternal-Child
Health Leadership Academy. Barb had a poster on
Creating Agency/Academic Partnerships.
Childe at a Time” This was a very moving account
of the work he has done and continues to do to build
schools and promote peace throughout the world.
He talked about the need to involve the community
leaders in the planning and operation of projects.
The first session of the House of Delegates was this
morning. In this session the ballot was presented
and nominations were taken from the floor. There
was the opportunity for discussion of all the
proposed bylaws amendments, and the international
officers and standing committees presented reports.
They also acknowledged new chapters designates
and charter amendment chapters.
The plenary session this morning featured chapter
awards, pillar awards, chapter anniversaries, and
other award and research grants. It was Barb’s
privilege to accept our chapter’s 9th key award.
We had our region 10 meeting this evening. Cathie
Walker, our Region 10 Coordinator, provided a
report of the Region 10 accomplishments over the
last biennium and distributed a needs survey to all
to determine what areas we should focus on for the
next biennium. She passed out intent to serve forms
for regional committees and encouraged everyone
to indicate what they would like to be involved
with. That is a good way for anyone who would
like to become more active in the region, especially
those interested in serving as regional coordinator,
to become more involved. There was discussion
about the upcoming Region 10 conference in April
2010, and it was announced the abstract deadline
would be extended two more weeks.
Tuesday November 3rd
We are one of three chapters in the world to receive
this recognition for the 9th time. It is recognition of
the excellent work that everyone in the chapter does
to achieve our goals.
There were three concurrent sessions that afternoon
and that evening Region 10 members went out to
eat for an evening of fun and networking.
nd
Monday November 2
The plenary session this morning spotlighted the
practice/academe innovative collaboration award,
and featured Greg Mortenson talking about “Three
Cups of Tea: Promoting Peace, One School, One
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The plenary session this morning recognized the
Episteme Award recipient Mary Naylor, who shared
the work she has done with the Transitional Care
Model. There were three additional concurrent
sessions and the delegates had the opportunity to
vote for the candidates.
There was a short delegate meeting this day to test
the voting keypads and review the process for the
delegate session the next day and there was a free
evening to relax, shop, or see some of the sites in
Indianapolis.
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Wednesday November 4th
The final House of Delegates session was this
morning. The session started with the arrivals of
past presidents, the Board of Directors, the
President, and the presentation of the flags. The
Report of the tellers was given and the newly
elected officers announced. The bylaws
amendments as proposed were passed. The only
change that will affect our chapter bylaws is listed
below:
1 – We will need to add language allowing our
chapter board of directors to remove a member of
its board of directors. This is a proactive measure
that would not be instituted without due diligence
and probably would never need to be used.
All the proposed resolutions were passed. These
included:
1 - Support of the Global Standard for the Initial
Education of Professional Nurses and Midwives
Document Developed by Sigma Theta Tau
International and the World Health Organization.
2 - Support of the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals
3 - Support of Sigma Theta Tau International’s
Application for Associative Status with the United
Nations
4 - Support of the Global Regions of Sigma Theta
Tau International
5 - Support of Recognizing 2010 as the
International Year of the Nurse.
6 – Support of the Establishment of Virtual
Chapters
7 – Recognize the Historic Role of Dorothy
Charlotte Ford Buschmann
8 – Appreciation of Carol J. Huston, Board of
Directors, Chairpersons and Members of
Committees, Advisory Councils, and Task Forces,
Subsidiary Board, Regional Coordinators, Editors,
and Convention Volunteers
9 – Appreciation for Barbara Robinette
10 – Appreciation of the CEO and Staff of Sigma
Theta Tau International
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There was a departure and recognition ceremony of
the board, committee chairs, and regional
coordinators, and then there was the installation and
transition ceremony of the new officers and the new
president, Karen Morin gave her presidential call to
action, which is featured in another story.
This was a wonderful opportunity, and I would
encourage members to put the dates for the next
convention on your calendar now. It will be held in
Dallas, Texas on October 29 – November 2, 2011.
2009-2011 Presidential Call to Action
Connecting through Knowledge for
Global Health
Karen H. Morin, DSN, RN, ANEF gave her
presidential call to action at the close of the House
of Delegates. Her dream is that the organization
continues to create an environment that excites
current members, entices others to join STTI and
builds on four areas of focus, which are outlined
below.
Creating Welcoming Environments
Welcoming environments are those in which
members feel comfortable, respected, and valued.
Welcoming members to the organization means
embracing everyone and supporting their endeavors.
This can be achieved by implementing a few simple
strategies:
™ Reach outside our comfort zone by meeting
5 new people
™ Introduce students to STTI as soon as they
enter the nursing program
™ Plan chapter programs and activities that
appeal to members with diverse
backgrounds, experience and specialties
™ Extern welcome greetings to the most
common/frequent languages of meeting and
conference attendees
Enhancing Knowledge Resources and Networks
STTI will continue providing evidence-based
nursing knowledge solutions through global and
inter-professional collaboration, events, and access
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to knowledge resources. As members strive to
improve global health, there are knowledge
resources and opportunities available:
™ The Virginia Henderson International
Nursing Library – this free, electronic
knowledge repository links nurses and other
health care professionals to one another
™ Event – check with local chapter and
regional representatives to find out what is
scheduled in your area. Also consider the
annual International Research Congress, the
Biennial Convention and the new offered
Leadership Summits.
™ The International Academic Nursing
Alliance – The free online community offers
nursing school faculty access to educational
and research resources
™ Social and Professional Networking – online
communities such as Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn have created new ways to
communicate, collaborate and associate with
one another
™ Online Communities of Practice – these
communities bring like-minded members
together to interact and share knowledge
™ Scholarly publications such as the Journal of
Nursing Scholarship, Worldviews on
Evidence-Based Nursing and Reflections on
Nursing Leadership help keep nurses
connected to the latest research and
endeavors undertaken by their nursing
colleagues.
™ Visitors can find resources that help nurse
help others at Nursing Knowledge
International (NKI). For example,
outstanding continuing nursing education
courses are available, as well as books that
cover many topics, including leadership,
evidence-based health care design,
retirement and etiquette.
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Contributing to Global Health
As a leader in professional nursing, STTI plays a
significant role in addressing global health issues.
Members, who reside in 86 countries throughout the
world, individually and through their chapters may
contribute to the health of the world’s people in
numerous ways, such as:
™ Becoming involved in service activities that
address health needs of vulnerable
populations. For example:
¾ Many communities host walks and
runs that create awareness for and
raise funds to support various health
issues
¾ Explore member volunteer
opportunities with other community
and health care organizations such as
the Special Olympics, the Muscular
Dystrophy Association, FNIF Girl
Child Education Fund, and Safe
Sitter.
™ Create opportunities for continuing nursing
education about cultural practices across
countries
™ Explore ways to celebrate 2010, the
International Year of the Nurse.
www.1020YNurse.net
™ Case scenarios developed during the 20072009 biennium and available on the STTI
Web site to facilitate the discussion of being
global within either a local or international
context.
Creating a Legacy of Personal Leadership
Creating a legacy of personal leadership starts with
the individual asking a simple questions: “What
difference do I want to make, starting today?” STTI
members have unique avenues to pursue leadership
development.
™ Consider volunteer opportunities that exist
at the chapter, regional, and international
level:
¾ Become a chapter officer, a
newsletter editor or a regional or
international committee member
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¾ Organize a neighborhood team.
¾ Become a mentor in a chapter
mentoring program.
™ Make an annual and legacy donation to the
Sigma Theta Tau International Foundation
for Nursing to advance nursing scholarship
and leadership into perpetuity.
Winter Collaborative
Program
Submitted by Barb Brunt
Alpha Mu, Delta Omega, Delta Xi,
Iota Psi, Nu Delta, Pi Chi, Rho
Nu@large Chapters of Sigma Theta Tau,
International held a Collaborative Chapters Dinner
Meeting and Program on
January 14, 2010 at
Ursuline College. The
Speaker Lauren Burnett
from the Center for Inner
Quality, spoke on
“Emotional Intelligence:
Raise the Level of
Service”
After defining and sharing the benefits of emotional
intelligence, she provided various tools for nurses to
be more effective. She reviewed the 5 points of
connection, which are:
1. Accountability
2. Authenticity
3. Accessibility
4. Alertness and Assertiveness
5. Acknowledgement
For each of those areas, she provided strategies for
enhancing emotional intelligence and had
participants participate in various exercises to
reinforce the content.
Feedback from her presentation was positive and
the Delta Omega members who were able to attend
this program enjoyed it.
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Global Project Update
Children of Ubumi
- Submitted by Lori Kidd
The Ubumi Nutrition Program, supported in part by
a donation from Delta Omega, is making inroads
into hunger and health deficits in the African
country of Zambia. The Ubumi Nutrition Program
is part of a larger
grassroots
charitable
organization, the
Children of
Ubumi Project.
Although the
pictures in this
newsletter depict
the great need of
women and children, progress is being made. The
nutrition program, with goals to assist families with
undernourished infants and children with nutrition
and educational
support on
topics such as
proper hygiene,
reproductive
health, and
preparing
nutritious meals,
currently has 30
children
enrolled. In the past year, five children graduated
from the program when they reached a healthy
weight; five additional children were enrolled in
their places.
Best of all, in
the past year,
not a single
child was lost to
malnutrition or
illness! Stay
tuned for future
updates.
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Service in Haiti
Submitted by Ryan J Wells
President, Class of 2010 College of Nursing
The University of Akron
The Delta Omega
Chapter provided
$500 to support
Ryan’s trip to
Haiti - here is his
report
Ryan J Wells
Haiti: Spring 2010
Earthquake Relief
Resilience.
As the quintessential phoenix rising from the ashes,
the citizens of Haiti have emerged from the rubble
hopeful for change that was long overdue. The
streets have begun to clear and as the dust settles,
healing and restoration have descended upon the
city of Port au Prince and the surrounding
communities. It’s been over a month since that
massive earthquake shook this nation to its core,
and to summarize my experiences working
alongside the broken and the hurting within the
confines of our humble clinic is beyond possibility.
For no amount of story telling, no style of
vernacular could ever express the sheer power and
perseverance that is the Haitian people.
Upon my arrival at
Heartline Ministries just
outside the downtown
area of Port, I stumbled
upon organized chaos.
To shed light on the
history of the clinic
within Heartline would
take mere seconds, for
Heartline was previously
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an orphanage. But following the events of January
12, Heartline opened its doors as an emergency
room, operating room and admitting hospital. John
and Beth McHoul, a couple originally from the
Boston, Mass. area brought together an amazingly
talented team of doctors, nurse practitioners,
physician assistants, registered nurses and
paramedics to help in the relief efforts. Though I
was not present for the immediate relief, I was still
privy to amputations taking place on the clinic’s
kitchen table and relatively complicated procedures
being performed on what was previously a sewing
station.
It was apparent that these hands would be
used from sunup to sundown with the occasional
night shift thrown in.
The first phase of care was the triage
process. Patients were brought to us by family,
friends and via Heartline’s truck. A skilled
Heartline driver would take a team of individuals
into various neighborhoods throughout the city to
pick up victims who could not otherwise be
transported for medical care.
From femur fractures to
crushed pelvises, open skull
fractures to shearing foot
wounds, we saw a vast array
of wounds and injuries pass
through our doors. Each
patient had a different story
and each had his or her
harrowing tale of survival…
…And each patient knew tragedy better than
any would ever imagine.
Rosemon, a ten year-old
boy, lost every single member of
his family save for his
grandmother. He began
recounting the quake several
weeks after, not realizing the
severity of the situation until well
after the ground stopped shaking.
Alex was brought to us
by his father. His mother and
sister had been killed in the earthquake and Mr.
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Lendi was now faced with the task of raising his son
alone. Little Alex had an amputation of his third and
fourth digits within Heartline’s walls but emerged
smiling in his father’s arms.
We had one amazingly strong young lady
who was buried beneath the rubble for thirteen days
while over 8 months pregnant with an open-book
pelvis fracture. She delivered her baby on the USNS
Comfort and was brought to us for follow-up care.
Mom and baby have done wonderfully in the
healing process.
And that is only a few of the tales these
walls could share.
One of the greatest assets to this clinic has
been the caliber of professionals assembled. The
camaraderie and sense of familial warmth born
beneath our tarps has fostered an uplifting
atmosphere in which these patients can thrive.
Individuals from coast to coast have gathered to be
utilized as needed; non-medical personnel and
physicians alike join to transport, support, pray for
and pray with our patients. Networking between
several other resources currently in Haiti has aided
our relief as well. The USNS Comfort has delivered
supplies and patients as they have taken on some of
the more critical patients here at Heartline. Miami
University had set up a
fully functional field
hospital with an
emergency triage, which
we grew to know and
love very well. Patients
who either required
intubation or emergent
care beyond our clinic’s
capabilities would be
transported immediately
to Miami’s facility.
Double Harvest, an already existing clinic in Croix
des Bouquets, a rural community just outside of
Port, was our destination for radiology needs and
orthopedic surgeries. Merlin, a medical relief team
based out of the UK, was a phenomenal asset for
plastics and skin grafting consults. What resulted
was a well-oiled machine of give and take, patient
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reports and transports and a
network of support allowing for
full diagnostics and treatment.
While I operated well
outside of my scope of practice
as a nursing student, textbooks
still would not have prepared me
for some of the procedures, both simple and
complex, that I was able to experience. For one, I
discovered the many uses of honey, as it assists in
the revival of a patient with low blood sugar when
rubbed along the inside of a cheek as well as a
dressing for wounds. Merlin favored the honey in
many of the shear and crush wounds on our
patients. I also found out just how much Ketamine
was needed for draining a large abscess on a 7 yearolds elbow.
While I may have had limited exposure to
births during my clinical rotation at the University, I
more than made up for it during several night shifts
at Heartline. I was fortunate to assist in three
vaginal births, one at Heartline’s women’s clinic
and two on the floor of our hospital. With each
experience came new lessons on childbirth and no
two births were similar in the least. One young lady
showed up at our door at 1:54 AM and the baby was
out by 2:06 AM. The following night, our patient
pushed for over 6 hours of painful back labor. Still,
the relief and
joy of seeing
the mother
holding her
healthy baby
for the first
time warmed
the entire
clinic just the
same.
To attempt to quantify the breadth of
experiences I had here at Heartline would be a task
to no avail. I can simply endeavor to express my
gratitude to the Lord above for the
opportunity I have had to serve the
people of Haiti. There is a Haitian
proverb that reads “Lespwa fe
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viv,” which translates to “By hope we live.” I’ve
seen this hope. I’ve experienced this mantra
firsthand. And as this glorious nation presses
onward towards rebirth and restoration, I can only
wait with fervent anticipation until I can return once
more to their island in hopes of immersing myself
deeper into the culture of Haiti.
Delta Omega Member Serving Our
Country
Submitted by First Lieutenant April D. Wertz
(Standing right of center with the grey jacket, this
has the almost illuminated V shape on it. The staff
is a combination of RNs, LPNs, and our Medics.)
My name is First Lieutenant (1LT) April D. Wertz,
graduate of the University of Akron in 2007 and I
was inducted into Delta Omega chapter of Sigma
Theta Tau that same year. I’ve been on active duty
service now for two years as an Army Nurse Corps
Officer. My experiences started at Womack Army
Medical Center (Fort Bragg, NC) on the Mother
Baby Unit, caring for antepartum and postpartum
patients, and then caring for post-operative surgical
patients on ward 2 North of the same hospital. I am
now deployed with the 28th Combat Support
Hospital in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
part of the Intermediate Care Ward.
Most of our patients are not unlike what you
would find on the medical and surgical floors of the
hospitals stateside. These patients include our
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General Surgical and orthopedic patients, most of
which have been appendectomies and recreational
fractures. We also see trauma patients with GSW or
work-related injuries. MASCAL preparations and
rehearsals are common, often pulling our nightshift
personnel from their sleep in the middle of the day.
This is to ensure we are always ready for what may
come. The MASCAL situation here is more
frequent than we’ve experienced stateside.
Explosion (IED) and subsequent burn injuries are
the common diagnoses of our MASCAL trauma
patients. While Pediatrics is not a specialty of our
hospital, we do adapt quickly to receive and care for
these patients. Recently, this has included receiving
and caring for pediatric patients suffering blast
injuries, and those suffering burn injuries.
The Intermediate Care Ward (ICW) itself is
very small compared to stateside facilities, but
comparable in mission to the Medical-Surgical
wards of any hospital. At any given time, we
fluctuate between almost empty to almost full. The
average length of stay for our patients is generally
less than a week, as they are transferred by Air
Evacuation to other hospitals for a higher level of
care. This reflects the mission of the C.S.H. as the
stabilization and “damage-control” point of care,
often meaning patients receive the definitive care
for their illness or injuries at the Medical Centers.
Our current nurse to patient ratio ranges from 1:1 to
1:3, with 1:5 being our maximum ratio. At any
given time, there is at least one RN and one LPN on
the floor. Our schedules include five twelve hour
shifts with an additional day of “on-call” status,
although out here every day you are not in the
hospital is considered an “on-call” day.
The recreational activities range between
things as simple as volleyball games against the Air
Force, working out at the gym, and engaging each
other in matches of chess. Further education and
professional growth are highly encouraged here. If
you are not taking some form of course, you are
considered to be wasting your time. This varies
between college courses and preparations for the
Army’s specialty courses. We also have
opportunities to sit for the GRE while we are
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deployed, and many of the nurse specialty exams,
like the CCRN. A few of our Soldiers have also
made time to volunteer at the USO during their
down time.
Overall, deployment is a time where we not
only further develop our critical skills as nurses and
further pursue our dreams for career progression,
but also where we can provide the ultimate support
for our brothers and sisters in arms. This is where
we make a direct impact in caring for them, from
the moment they arrive to us from their unit medic
and until we package them onto the plane or
helicopter for evacuation to higher levels of care.
This is where I have seen some of the most
dedicated care provided, care with a real and true
sense of honor and duty to our comrades. I could
think of no one among our group of professional
nurses that would not be willing to stand beside our
patients as they battle injury or illness, or in front of
them in defense of their lives. What we experience
is beyond the traditional nurse-patient relationship.
They’re more than just our patients. They’re our
family. I could think of no greater honor than to be
here serving in support of the mission.
To provide a sense of the climate that we
live and work in, I will leave you all with one little
anecdote from a recent event. I was training in the
ER and we were preparing to receive several trauma
patients. As we all stood by our assigned stations in
the ER, nervously waiting for the patients to be
brought from the flight line, we overheard someone
whistling the theme song to MASH. This provided a
moment for all of us to take a breath, laugh, and
enjoy a moment of what we were doing just prior to
the controlled chaos that is trauma. Although I
could think of better places to be, I could not
possibly think of better people to work with or a
cause any more deserving than the one we serve.
Do you know a nurse working outside of the
United States?
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Sigma Theta Tau Delta Omega Chapter is hoping to
open our chapter to international nursing leaders.
The board is asking if you know a nurse from any
country outside the United States. Would you be
willing to share this contact with the
board or contact the nurse personally and
discuss any interest in an international
membership with our chapter?
Region 10 Collaborative Program
Two Delta Omega members, Dina Dornack and
Marcia Cornell, have been representing our chapter
on the planning committee for the Region 10
conference, which will be held at the Four Points
Sheraton in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 16 and
17, 2010. This conference, “Bridging Nursing
Leadership and Research” is one you won’t want to
miss. It will feature Karin Morin, DSN, RN,
ANEF, President of Sigma Theta Tau International,
Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO of the
National League of Nursing, and Mary Wheeler,
MEd, RN, PCC, co-author of Coaching in Nursing.
The program will start on Friday evening and
continue all day on Saturday. Mark your calendars
now so you will be able to attend this program.
Registrations and other details are being finalized
now, and should be available soon.
Community Corner
OPEN-M “Christmas for the Love of Children
2009” Program
Submitted by Dina Dornak
Many thanks to our membership for
helping two families this year have a
better holiday season. Both families
were provided with gifts for the
children and a $150 gift card to Acme for groceries.
Chapter expenses for the project were $238.36
thanks to donations made by chapter membership.
Additionally, Chi Eta Phi a service nursing sorority
at the University of Akron made “no sew” blankets
for each of the children. We also had a great time
wrapping and sorting gifts at OPEN-M on
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December 14, 2009. I thank Kelly Haight, student
intern for assisting me with shopping. Again,
thanks to the following members for making the
program a success: Stefanie Bodjanac, Linda
Breedlove, Barb Brunt, Peg DiMarco, Dina
Dornack, Lori Kidd, Mary Franklin, Kelly Haight,
and Mary Yeager.
SAVE the DATE for Hot Lunch at OPEN-M
On Monday, March 29th both
students and members of the
chapter will serve hot lunch at
Opportunity Parish Ecumenical
Neighborhood Ministry (OPENM) in Akron. This will be our
fifth year serving lunch to the
OPEN-M community and our taco salads continue
to be a big hit. We expect to serve 150 people and
need your help. Considering membership? If
you’re a student or nurse leader who is considering
membership – come have some fun. This is a great
opportunity to meet the membership while giving
back to the community. Please contact Immediate
Past President, Dina Dornack @
[email protected] with questions. Please
contact Immediate Past President, Dina Dornack @
[email protected] if you are able to help by
Monday, March 15, 2010. We
would love to have you for any
length of time. Thanks and look
forward to seeing you. Here is the
typical schedule: set-up from
10:00am-11:30am, serve from
11:30am-1:00pm and clean up
from 1:00pm-1:30pm.
provided for the best nursing related project. Gabrielle
Hicks and Suzanne Magazzeni were both given $25
award for the Project titled “Stop, Drop, Dissolve” where
they compared how fast brand name Tylenol versus a
generic tablet dissolved in simulated gastric contents.
Their conclusion stated “Brand name medicines are
expensive for general public to obtain, but generic brand
painkillers are cheaper and have been said to dissolve in
our system just as quickly as brand name, our
experiment put that to the test.”
Criteria used to determine the winner:
1 - Can the project be applied to the field of nursing.
2 - Does the project promote awareness of health
and/or medicine.
3 - Is there evidence of nursing or medicine-related
research in the student journal and/or literature search.
This is a close up view of Gabielle’s picture on the
poster, showing her working on the experiment. She was
unavailable for a photo because she was working.
Susanne Magazzeni with poster.
Science Fair
Submitted by Marcia Cornell
Delta Omega provided a judge and award for the Akron
Science and Technology Expo on January 30th held at
North High School. A financial award of $50 was
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News from Summa Health System
Reporter: Barb Brunt
Jodi Padrutt, MSN, RN, CDE had an article
“Resolving Conflict -Now More Important than
Ever” published in the January 2010 issue of
Nursing Management
Cathy Rosenthal, BSN, RN, CDE, IBCLC, had an
article “Case Management in the Obstetric Clinic
Setting” published in the January/February 2010
issue of Professional Case Management.
Carolyn Holder MSN RN GCNS-BC, Sue Hazelett
MS, RN, Greg Smith EdD, Aileen Jencius MCIS,
Eileen Fleming MSN RN, Elaine Fink, and Kyle
Allen DO had a poster presentation “Health Care
Workers Who Serve as Informal Caregivers to
Older Adults: Perceived Needs” at the American
Geriatric Society Annual Meeting April 29-May 2,
2009.
Member News
We are proud and delighted to announce that one of
our distinguished members, Lori Kidd, PhD, RN,
CNS was just granted her PhD in Nursing from
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case
Western Reserve University (January 2010).
Doctoral dissertation entitled “The Effect of a
Poetry Writing Intervention on Self-transcendence,
Resilience, Depressive Symptoms, and Subjective
Burden in Family Caregivers of Older Adults with
Dementia”
Congratulations DR.KIDD!!!
Dr. Allen, Sue Hazelett, RN, MS, Kathy Wright,
MSN, RN and Jan Weinhardt, MSN, RN and others
had an article on “Randomized Trial Testing the
Superiority of a Post discharge Care Management
Model for Stroke Survivors” in the
November/December 2009 issue of the Journal of
Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease.
Linda Gleespen, BSN, RN had an article on
“Computerized Physician Order Entry Helps
Hospitals Improve Care” in the October 2009 issue
of Quality Digest and an article on “CPOE is the
Surest Route to Meaningful Use” in the October 27,
2009 issue of HIStalk.
Jim Rosneck, BSN, MA, RN and others had an
article on “The METER: A Brief Self-administered
Measure of Health Literacy” in the Nov. 3, 2009
issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
He also had poster presentations on “Effect of
Cardiac Rehabilitation in Depressed vs. Nondepressed individuals on Fitness, Depression, and
Perceive Exertion” and “Establishing
Psychometrically Valid and Reliable Assessment of
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Cardiac Rehab Core Curriculum Adult Learning
Objectives” at the annual meeting of the American
Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary
Rehabilitation on October 1-3, 2009.
Lyn Benedict, MSN, RN, CNS, Joyce Restifo,
MSN, RN, Eileen Fleming, MSN, RN, Denise
Kropp, BS, BSEd, Sue Hazelett, MS, RN, Carolyn
Holder, MSN, RN and Dan Lane, BSN, RN
presented a poster session on “Maintaining Function
and Mobility of Older Adults During
Hospitalization via a Structured Function and
Mobility Program: A Pilot Study at Celebrating
CNS Practice: The Many Hats of the CNS October
2, 2009 at the Cleveland Clinic.
Linda Gleespen, BSN, RN, CPHQ, Trish Enos,
BSN, RNC, CPHQ and Steven Shaha did a poster
presentation on “Conquering Stroke Care through
Meaningful use of CPOE and EMR” on December
17, 2009 at the AMIA Conference in San Francisco,
California.
Marilyn Nibling, MSN, NNP, RN-BC, Karen
Frantz, RNC, and Denise Kropp, BS, BSED had a
poster presentation of “A Study Comparing the
Length of Stay for Infants Treated for Neonatal
Abstinence Syndrome with Methadone versus
Morphine and Phenobarbital” on November 16 and
27, 2009 at the March of Dimes conference in
Columbus.
Kathy Wright, MSN, RN, Rose Beeson, PhD, RN,
Sue Hazelett, MS, RN, Denise Kropp, BS, BSEd,
Carolyn Holder, MSN, RN, Eileen Fleming, MSN,
RN and Dr Allen has a poster on “Transitional Care
Across the Continuum: Empowering the Older
Adult to Change through Medication Reconciliation
and Management” at the Sigma Theta Tau
Convention in November, 2009.
Steve Counsell, Dr. Allen and Kathy Wright, MSN,
RN, did a paper presentation on “Improving Care of
Vulnerable Low-Income Seniors through Innovative
Integrated Chronic Care Models: The GRACE and
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AD-LIFE trial” in October, 2009 at the National
PACE Association Conference in Pittsburgh.
Kathy Wright, MSN, RN, Sue Hazelett, MS, RN,
David Jarjoura, and Dr Allen presented a poster on
“Unlocking the ‘back box’ of Care Management
through a Retrospective Exploration of Bandura’s
Social Learning Construct of Self-efficacy: A Case
Study” in November 2009 at the Gerontological
Society of American Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
Local News Reporters
As the new editor of the Delta Report I am seeking
reporters who are willing to provide updates about
nursing and their organizations. The Delta report
comes out three times a year and is published on the
Delta Omega website.
Reporters are needed for the following:
Barberton Citizens Hospital
Akron General
University of Akron
I currently have listed the following reporters:
Children’s Medical Center of Akron Anne Marie
Brown
Robinson Memorial
Jan Balhe
Summa Health System
Barb Brunt
If any of the information is incorrect or if you
would like to volunteer as a reporter, please contact
Marcia Cornell at [email protected]
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Upcoming Delta Omega Meetings
Save the Dates
January 14, 2010
January 25, 2010
January 27, 2010
February 22, 2010
March 22, 2010
March 29, 2010
April 16-17, 2010
April 18, 2010
April 26, 2010
Winter Program at
Ursuline
Board Meeting
Student Information
Session
Board Meeting
Board Meeting
Hot Lunch Open M
Region 10 Combined
Conference
“Nursing Leadership
for the Future”
Four Point Sheraton
Ann Arbor, MI
Induction & 30th
Anniversary
Celebration
Board Meeting
Visit the Calendar of Events on our website for
important deadlines and upcoming events:
http://www2.uakron.edu/deltaomega/Calendar.htm
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