What's New October 2014? ......See you in Saratoga!

1. We hope many members travel to the annual NPA conference. The NPAGR Board will be hosting a reception for our members in Saratoga on Friday evening, October 24 at 6 pm. President Heather Cook-Smith has a suite reserved. She will post the location of the reception on the Communication Board by the Registration Desk in the hotel.

2. Registration is now open for the Regional Conference planned for Saturday November 15th from 7:30 am until 4 pm. The conference will be held at St. John Fisher College in the Wegmans School of Nursing. The conference title, Contemporary Clinical Issues across the Lifespan: Cutting Edge Education for the Nurse Practitioner reflects the breadth of the topics covered at the conference from ADHD management in children, to women's health topics and on to polypharmacy in the elderly.

• We are pleased to welcome Joy Elwell back to Rochester. She will present on the impact of the Modernization Act and provide insights into owning your own practice.
• Since we will have election results by then, it will interesting to hear the strategy as it unfolds to communicate with the new members of the NYS legislature and reaffirm relationships with those who are returning.

3. The NPAGR board is dedicated to working toward empanelment of NPs as Primary Care Providers for patients. This is important for patient access to care as well as reimbursement for care provision. We need to work with insurance companies to make this a reality.

4. NP week is November 9th- 15th. Besides our regional conference, look for other visible ways of recognizing the contribution of NPs to the people of greater Rochester. PR Chairperson Erin Howe has arranged for her regular contributed article on health to focus on NPs and run in the Democrat &Chronicle on Wednesday of NP Week. Also look for an ad recognizing NPs in the City Newspaper. Finally, Channel 8 will feature a segment with an NP interview discussing access to patients.

5. YOUR TALENTS ARE NEEDED! For those of you who attended the October program on Effective Board Membership, presented by Mel Callan, here is your chance! There has never been a more important time to become part of the leadership structure of the Nurse Practitioner Association, New York State: Greater Rochester Chapter. Nominating Chairperson Sue Smith invites members to please consider running for President-elect or Secretary this fall. All terms begin in January, 2015.

• a. The President-elect serves a one year term, followed by one year as President, and a third year as immediate past-President.
• b. The other officers serve two-year terms. Wonderful support is available from your colleagues in other Board positions. More information can be found under "duties of officers" on the Bylaws section of our website: www.npagr.org. Members will receive an email with the ballot for easy voting.
• c. We also need people to help with numerous chapter activities as part of membership, communications, program, public relations, bylaws, and legislative affairs committees. Working together we can assure that our public continues to have access to the high quality services of Nurse Practitioners for years to come. Contact any of the officers listed in the leadership directory on our website to volunteer or for further information. We look forward to hearing from you!