Newsletter Spring 2017 Get to Know Our Board Members! This month we are featuring Lisa Bazinet, our President Elect. Lisa is a graduate of the University of New York and the University of UConn. She has been OCN certified since 2004. She recently completed her MSN from St Joseph s College with a concentration in Nursing Administration. Her current role is that of Regional Nurse Manager of Oncology Services for the East Region for Hartford Healthcare. Her main role responsibility is in the outpatient world for the care of the oncology patient and their families. Lisa wanted to share her thoughts about nursing and tell us more about what she likes to do besides being an oncology nurse. Although I can t really remember the exact moment I realized that I wanted to go into nursing, I do remember taking my first CNA course in high school and when I entered the hospital, I knew that this was where I belonged. Every day is different and every day may have its challenges but every day you have an opportunity to help a patient through their journey and make a difference, it s all worth it! My hobbies include scrapbooking, running, and playing outdoors with my German shorthaired dog, Chase. I am married and have two sons, Alex 19 and Jack, 14.
Page 2 2016 CCONS and SWCONS Symposium The Annual Oncology Nurses Connecting in Connecticut Symposium was held on Saturday, November 5, 2016 with more than 60 participants from both CCONS and SWCONS. Attendees were able to receive four contact hours from the symposium that could be used towards their ILNA. The presentations were as followed, updates on palliative care, creating a culture of safety, medical marijuana, and sexuality. Thank you to our Symposium Committee for a successful event!
Page 2 Membership News Gean Brown and Kris LeFebvre created a CCONS Mentoring program for our chapter. The CCONS 2017 Mentorship Program has been developed to provide the opportunity for oncology nurses within our chapter to develop and advance their professional and leadership skills. There will be a celebration of their accomplishments at the fall seminar! If you are interested in more information please contact Gean or Kris. gbrown@stamhealth.org or klefebvre@ons.org Volunteers Needed If you are looking to become more involved in CCONS and are wondering how, please contact one of our board members. We would love to answer any questions you may have. All of the board members contact information can be found on page 6. CCONS High School Scholarship Committee This year our scholarship committee will choose a student from new Haven County. The winner is a student majoring in nursing who will receive a $500.00 scholarship. Remember any CCONS member from any county who has a child graduating this June that is going into the nursing field is also eligible for this scholarship. For more information contact Lisa Bazinet Lisa.Bazinet@hhchealth.org Member Highlight Congratulations to Rebecca Sipples for being the recipient of the 2017 Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award. Rebecca was also one of the authors for a recent article published entitled, Perioperative Palliative Care Considerations for Surgical Oncology Nurses. Rebecca was also offered admissions into the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) program at The University of Alabama at Birmingham for the fall 2017 term. Amazing accomplishments! Way to go Rebecca! Newsletter News If you have anything you would like to put in the newsletter please contact Amanda Recchini or Deb Pantalena. amanda.recchini@midhosp.org and/or deborah.pantalena@midhosp.org
Page 3 Register at congress.ons.org today! Early Bird Deadline is March 16. This is the most comprehensive oncology nursing conference in the country! It is incredibly inspiring to be with so many peers! CCONS Congress Winner! Thank you to everyone who entered to win the cost of registration to Congress. This year s winner is Christine DeMaio, RN, OCN. Christine states, I am very excited to be attending this years Congress! I have been a nurse for over 20 years now, spending most of that time as a L&D nurse. I lost a friend/co-worker to breast cancer and was drawn to oncology. The past three years I have been working at the Bristol Cancer Care Center in an outpatient setting. This past December I became oncology certified through ONS-Yay! For the past year and half, I have taken on a the role of coordinator for our patients on oral chemotherapy. This was a role that started out just managing patient refills and grew into patient education, co-pay application assistance, adherence monitoring, etc. I am co-author with my manager, Jackie Dean for an abstract we will be presenting for poster presentation at this years conference about, 'Best Practice and Safety for Oral Chemotherapy Patients'. Thank you so much for this opportunity!
Page 4 Continuing Education Opportunities ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course Now Offers CNE and Certificate of Specialty Knowledge ONS and the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) have collaborated to provide the new ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Biotherapy Certificate Course. The previous two-day live ONS Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Course has changed to an online-only format. It is now a self-paced, comprehensive, online program that places a strong emphasis on your preparation. Upon successful completion of the course requirements, you ll be equipped with the tools you need to safely administer chemotherapy and biotherapy agents to your patients with cancer, while providing the type of quality care demanded by your institution. Plus, you ll earn CNE, a chemotherapy provider card (a symbol of competence in chemotherapy administration), and a certificate of added qualification that indicates attainment of knowledge (which cannot be provided without first establishing that level of knowledge.) The primary purpose of the new certificate course is to best prepare and reinforce critical information for safe administration and use evidence to manage acute side effects and adverse events related to chemotherapy and biotherapy administration. Registration is now open, so you can earn the certificate that proves that you re qualified. This new online program equips participants with the tools needed to safely administer chemotherapy and bio- Help Wanted! This years Symposium was a huge success. We would like to hold the Symposium in the fall once again. The first symposium planning meeting was held on April 5 and the planning for a fall symposium has begun! Any questions or ideas contact Sue Kane at Susan.Kane@hhchealth.org
Page 6 CCONS Board Members 2016-2017 PRESIDENT Rebecca Sipples, DNP, APRN, CRNP, ACHPN, AOCNP University of Alabama at Birmingham and Middlesex Hospital rsipples@uab.edu PAST PRESIDENT Jane Brown, BSN, RN, OCN Cancer Center of Central CT jbrown@ccofcentralct.com PRESIDENT ELECT Lisa Bazinet, MSN, RN, OCN Hartford Healthcare-East Region Lisa.bazinet@hhchealth.org TREASURER Pamela Christman, RN, OCN, CHPC Smilow Cancer Hospital North Haven pmcxman@comcast.net ASSISTANT TREASURER Corinne Dutka, RN, OCN William W. Backus Hospital Corinne.dutka@hhchealth.org DIRECTORS AT LARGE Wendy Thibodeau, BSN, RN, OCN University of Connecticut Health Center scowent@comcast.net Mary Kate Eanniello, DNP, RN, OCN Hartford Hospital Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center Mary.eanniello@hhchealth.org Wendy Garvin, APRN, RN Janssen Oncology wengarvin@gmail.com Jessica Warren, MSN, RN Jmwswct@yahoo.com Patti Szabo, RN, BCN, OCN Cancer Center of Central CT pszabo@ccofcentral.com SECRETARY Amanda Recchini, BSN, RN, OCN Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center amanda.recchini@midhosp.org MEMBERSHIP Patricia O Brien, RN, OCN, CBCN pat@obrienclan.us NEWSLETTER Amanda Recchini, BSN, RN, OCN Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center amanda.recchini@midhosp.org Deb Pantelena, RN, OCN Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Deborah.pantalena@midhosp.org Kristine B. Lefebvre, MSN, RN, AOCN ONS National klefebvre@ons.org PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE CHAIR Gean Brown, MSN, RN, OCN Stamford Hospital geanb@comcast.net Ellen Cook, RN Lawrence & Memorial Hospital ecrook@lmhosp.org Hayley Dunnack BSN, CMS-RN The Hospital of Central Connecticut Cancer Institute hayleyjdunnack@gmail.com Chapter Historian marcia Caruso-Bergman, APRN, MSN Hartford Hospital Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center Marcia.caruso-bergman@hhchealth.org WEB DESIGN Pat Zikorus, MSN, RN, OCN Onc.nurse@yahoo.com