What’s New at NPAGR July 2014

Summer is a great time to educate the public about nurse practitioners and about the nursing profession as a whole! Here are two opportunities for you to do so!

Close to Home: Come to The Bills Camp!The Bills camp is under way and runs until August 21st.

Join other NPs, CNSs, RNs and Nurse Executives at the Buffalo Bills Camp at St. John Fisher College to support the work of the Finger Lakes Health System Agency (FLHSA) BP screening initiative AND talk with the public about the Future of Nursing recommendations which impact NP practice. While we measure BPs and help our colleagues at the FLHSA we can spread the word about the Future of Nursing recommendations, the work of Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists and the need to support increased access to education for nurses and scope of practice issues.

The following dates have been selected to staff a table at the camp. (Note: On Tuesday, 8/5, the leadership team from Newark Wayne hospital will be at the camp from 5-7 pm, so more participants are needed at other times on that day, as well as the other two dates).

• Tuesday, August 5th from 5- 10 pm
• Wednesday, August 6th from 1- 6 pm
• Tuesday, August 19th from 1-6 pm.

You can choose to help out for an hour or two, or more, on a particular date.

This is our chance to educate the public and motivate them to support issues important to nursing when they interact with their representatives who vote on these issues. We can chat while measuring BPs and doing this essential health screening, reinforcing the role of nurses in preventing illness. Please email me at cmccloskey@sjfc.edu with the date and time range you are available to help out by August 1st. I will compose a schedule and let you know what to do about parking on campus. See you at the camp! A Bit

Further Down the Road : The NYS FairJoin your colleagues in helping to represent nurse practitioners and make the profession more visible to the nearly 1 million visitors who attend the Fair! The NPA will once again exhibit at the Great New York State Fair to be held from August 21st – September 1st in Syracuse, NY.

Will you help fill the many time slots available by volunteering for only 4 hours to help staff the event? Please sign up now! http://www.thenpa.org/?page=NewYorkStateFair

Summer is a great time to share information about the increase in NP independence with a visit to the NYS Fair and providing information to fair goers about all you do! Won't you spend a few hours volunteering at The NPA exhibit booth and then experience all that the Great NYS Fair has to offer?

Back in Rochester and planning for fall: Mark your calendar for this Fall meeting with other Nursing Service Organizations (NSO)

1. GVNA's Legislative Committee is sponsoring a Legislative Roundtable on Monday, September 22, 2014 from 6-7:30 pm. The meeting will take place at Highland Family Medicine, which is located at 777 South Clinton Avenue in Rochester, NY 14620. Members from GVNA's Legislative Committee and members of local NSO will be present. We are hoping that you or someone from your organization will be able to attend this meeting. The agenda will include an update on legislative issues and a discussion on how we can work together to combine our resources. It is anticipated that we will host this meeting annually so if you do attend, you will not be dragged into another committee to occupy your already busy schedule.If you have any questions, please email Nancy Iafrati at niafrati@brockport.edu
2. We need more nurses to join Board of Directors so that nursing viewpoints can be added to discussions impacting patient care. Are you interested in becoming a board member? Do you know what skill set is needed to be a constructive board member who advocates for nursing and those in our care? The NPAGR and the Finger Lakes Region Action Coalition of the Future of Nursing, and the Finger Lakes Association of Nurse Executives are planning a fall program, tentatively set for Tuesday October 7th from 5:30- 7pm. Our invited speaker, Mel Callan, will share her experiences of being on board along with effective strategies ofr success. Watch upcoming, What’s New communications for more details.
3. Finally: See you in Saratoga! The Nurse Practitioner Association New York State Conference: Registration is now open for The NPA's 30th Annual Conference, October 22-26, 2014 at the Saratoga Hilton, Saratoga Springs, NY. Use this link for easy access: http://www.thenpa.org/?page=ConferenceRegistrat