Tennessee Section August 2013 AWHONN TN Leadership Chair Donna R. Frye, RN, MN donna.frye@hcahealthcare.com Secretary/Treasurer Gwen Wheeler, RNC-OB, C-EFM, BSN Gwendolen.wheeler@mlh.org Legislative Chair Kitty Cashion, RN-BC, MSN mcashion@uthsc.edu Chapter Coordinators Chattanooga Bridget A. Hayes, RN, BSN bridget.hayes1@hcahealthcare.com Clarksville/Ft. Campbell Vacant Memphis Gwen Wheeler, RNC-OB, C-EFM, BSN gwendolen.wheeler@mlh.org Rebecca Philips, RN rphillips@amaxxtn.com Knoxville Robin Swaggerty, BSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM rswaggerty@utmck.edu Northeast TN/Tri-Cities Liz Foley, BSN, RN Foleyea@msha.com West TN/Jackson Vacant Middle TN Melanie Morris, MSN, APRN,WHNP-BC, CCE melanie.h.morris@vanderbilt.edu Barbara Padovich, RN padovichb@mail.belmont.edu Middle TN Secretary Anisha Fuller anisha.fuller@vanderbilt.edu Section Web Master Liz Foley, BSN, RN Foleyea@msha.com Greetings From Your Section Chair Where has the summer gone? Can you believe a new school year is already beginning? The National AWHONN Conference in June here in Nashville seems like only yesterday! Prior to the conference there were 174 participants from Tennessee registered. I am sure that the total participation from Tennessee was much greater! This National AWHONN Conference, just as every National AWHONN Conference that I have attended over the years, was packed from early in the morning until late at night with educational sessions, special interest meetings, the latest products to review in the exhibit hall, and best practices to examine in the poster room! There was no lack of new friends to meet and old relationships to renew. Every maternal, newborn, and women s health nurse should make it a priority to attend a National AWHONN Conference at least once in your career! My sense is that one time will not be enough. One time participation will be addictive so that you will make National AWHONN Conference participation a priority for years to come! The Host Team, led by Anisha Fuller did a tremendous job! Anisha, Cindy Bass, Vicki Bechet, Joyce Costa, Ann Danielle, Susan Drummond, Ellen King, Pat Steimer, Gwen Wheeler, and I had the opportunity to serve as the Host Committee for the Conference! Cindy, Pat, and Vicki did a tremendous job decorating the booth! Anisha selected the best music! Ellen returned from West Virginia to be a part of the group! Ann managed to participate in the conference after just recently having a baby! Gwen, Joyce, and Susan were always there ready to do what needed to be done! The entire group demonstrated fantastic team work and did work tirelessly throughout the conference answering questions, directing traffic, and simply being available to serve their colleagues! Hopefully, the hospitality of the Tennessee hosts, official and otherwise, will be remembered by AWHONN attendees for years to come. The Tennessee Chapter and Section Leaders took advantage of the opportunity provided by the National Conference to host a reception for Tennessee AWHONN members and potential AWHONN Members during the conference. About thirty-five conference attendees spent time getting to know maternal, newborn, and women s health nurses from across the state as well as visiting with nurses from their own hospital and/or community. The group shared ideas regarding future Tennessee AWHONN efforts and activities. As summer turns to fall and we all settle into a fall routine, my request continued...
is that each of you continue to or begin to participate in local and state AWHONN activities. The Middle Tennessee Team is working on a fall calendar of activities. Johnson City is planning a fall conference in September and both Knoxville and Memphis are considering local conference options for late 2013 or 2014. Do mark your calendar to attend the Tennessee State AWHONN Conference. Initial planning has begun! Once again Baptist Hospital or the new ST. Thomas Midtown Hospital in Nashville will be the setting for the 2014 Tennessee State Conference. Half day preconferences will be held Thursday, May 8. There will be both a maternal and a newborn pre-conference. The Neonatal conference will focus on Family Centered Neonatal Developmental Care. The maternal preconference topic is yet to be determined. A leadership dinner is tentatively planned for the evening of May 8th. The conference will be on May 9th! Because the Potpourri Track was extremely well received last year, the suggestion has been made that we plan for a maternal, a newborn, and a potpourri track for 2014. Information will be forwarded regarding poster presentations. And, exhibitors with the latest products and technology will also be a part of the learning and festivities. Do you have a specific topic that you would like to hear addressed? Or, have you just heard a fantastic speaker that you feel would make a positive impact on Tennessee maternal, newborn, and women s health nurses? As planning begins in earnest, where and how would you like to server? Would you like to present a poster? Serve as a moderator? Or, participate as a committee member? Do give consideration as to how you can become engaged in local or state AWHONN activities. Email your interests with Gwen Wheeler or Donna Frye. We look forward to hearing from you soon! AWHONN Tennessee Section 2 Tennessee Safe Harbor Act This photo represents the successful outcome of educating and communicating with our state legislators on a very controversial issue. After months of strong and persistent advocating by phone, letters, emails, legislative office visits and receptions by many Tennesseans including the March of Dimes Advocacy and Government Affairs volunteers and AWHONN members, the Safe Harbor Act has been signed by Governor Haslam. The bill passed the Senate in March and finally the House on April 15th with a vote of 97 to 0!!! Thanks go to the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA) who drafted the bill that was sponsored by Representative Bill Dunn (House Bill 277) and Senator Ken Yager (Senate Bill 459) and Johnson City neonatologist, Dr. Mike DeVoe s testimony before the Senate Health & Welfare Committee. This is a bill that incentivizes pregnant women to get treatment for addiction. Rather than fear arrest and loss of child custody, if a woman seeks treatment for prescription drug addiction by 20 weeks of pregnancy and follows both her prenatal care plan and her treatment protocol (then absent other factors), the Department of Children s Services will not take her child away after birth. Pregnant women will also get priority treatment at publicly funded treatment centers. The new law does not prevent the Department of Children s Services (DCS) from filing an action to remove the child from the custody of the mother or caregiver if it determines the baby is not properly cared for by the mother or caregiver. More details can be found on the TMA website. Best Regards, Donna Frye, RN, MN Tennessee Section Chair Website! Check out the AWHONN TN Section website. It s updated with the most current section information.
12th Annual Project Blossom Conference AWHONN Tennessee Section 3 The Host Committee The Host Team, led by Anisha Fuller did a tremendous job! Anisha, Cindy Bass, Vicki Bechet, Joyce Costa, Ann Danielle, Susan Drummond, Ellen King, Pat Steimer, Gwen Wheeler, and I had the opportunity to serve as the Host Committee for the Conference! Healthy Improving Future Birth Outcomes by Addressing Health Now Babies 2020 September 26, 2013 9:00am-4:00 pm September 27, 2013 9:00am 12:00pm Downtown Library 615 Church Street Nashville, TN 37219 New Members April 29-August 24, 2013 Tina Ayers Tammie Berry Julia Sledge Bryan Michelle Cooper Cindi Corley Deanna Davis Annette Eskew Cherie Ford Judy F. Fox Virginia Anne Fulton Amy Guillont Michelle Harrison, Lisa Hayden Magan Henderson Kerrie Jelks Colleen Laing Bonnie Jean Miller Allena Mrzlack Catherine Norvell Nikki Polis Welcome! Diane Ridgway Jessica Anne Rogers, Lorisha Santiago Amy Smith Lindsey Smith Kattie Stevens Paige Tiller Teresa Walker Rachel Wallace Teri Wallace Melody Waller Sara Elizabeth Wilson Trudy F. Wright
AWHONN Tennessee Section 4 Registration Form Please print neatly, detach, and mail with registration fee by check or money order to: Tennessee AWHONN 1104 E. Market St Johnson City, TN 37601 Northeast Tennessee Tri-Cities AWHONN Chapter Conference SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 HIGH RISK, LOW VOLUME EVENTS: WHAT TO DO WHEN MECONIUM HAPPENS CONTACT HOURS AVAILABLE Name Address City State ZIp Phone E-Mail AWHONN # Early Registration Fee: Student$15 AWHONN Member $50 Non-Member $75 Registration Fee after August 31st: Everyone $85 Please choose your preferred breakout sessions Breakout Sessions A ( 11:00am-12:00pm) A1 A2 Breakout Sessions B (1:00 pm-2:pm) B1 B2 Breakout Sessions C (2:10 pm-3:10pm) C1 C2 Millennium Centre 2001 Millennium Place Johnson City, TN *Breakout sessions subject and times may change Online Registration available! For More information Contact Cindy Bass at bassca@msha.com
Middle TN Chapter Melanie H. Morris and Barbara Padovich, Chairs AWHONN Tennessee Section 5 Middle Tennessee Upcoming Community Service Opportunity Looking for something fun and rewarding to do on a beautiful Saturday morning in September? How about joining the AWHONN Diaper Dash team? We are going to participate in the Nurses for Newborns Second Annual Dizzy Diaper Dash 5K and Family Fun Festival on Saturday September 14, from 8am-10:30am. The event will be held at LP Field, Parking Lot R. MIDDLE TENNESSEE AWHONN FALL MEETINGS From the AWHONN WEBINAR LIBRARY: Perinatal Code Management September 23, 2013 at 5:30, Repeated at 7:30 Amniotic Fluid Embolism October 21, 2013 at 5:30 Repeated at 7:30 Childbirth Education Room 2nd Floor Centennial Medical Center Women s Hospital 2300 Patterson Street Varied activities will include a Children s Fun Run, Carnival Games, and a Bounce Slide as well as the walk-run for grownups. Snacks will be available. If you aren t up for the run, please consider volunteering for assistance with registration, festival set-up or tear-down, parking, or cheering the runners on! If this sounds like a whole-lotta fun, please let Melanie Morris or Barb Padovich know. Or, you can simply register to participate in the walk on your own by going to www.diaperdash5k.com. Come join the fun and may your load be light! Melanie.h.morris@vanderbilt.edu Barbara.padovich@belmont.edu Free Parking in the Patterson Street Parking Garage, directly across from the Entrance to Women s Hospital. Enter the front door of Women s Hospital. Take the elevators to 2nd Floor; follow the signs to the Childbirth Education Room.