Our annual spring banquet was, by all accounts, a huge success! Now we look forward to a busy summer of planning programs, developing continuing education for nurses, recruiting a new MentorLink group, and administering it all as we enter our new fiscal year.
Through it all, we have the interests of our members and indeed, all nurses, in mind. If you have thoughts about important nursing issues that need to be addressed, email us at [email protected].
And in the meantime, enjoy the beautiful May flowers!
---
Sue Vermeulen & Rose Williamson
KCNA Staff
|
|
|
News2Use is published monthly for KCNA members and other nurses throughout King County. To comment or submit content, email [email protected].
To register to receive the newsletter, click here. |
|
|
|
And a good time was had by all. . .
More than 130 nurses and nursing students joined in the festivities as King County Nurses Association celebrated National Nurses Week at its Annual Meeting & Spring Banquet -- May 10 at the Ballard Bay Club. Five Shining Star nurse awards were presented; coincidentally, all the awardees are nurses at Public Health, Seattle & King County! Awards went to: Zerai Asgedom, RN, MPH; Karen Brozovich, RN, MSN; Xochitl Chavez, RN; Jennifer Sarriugate, RN, MN, CIC; and Lynn Tyner, RN, BSN. Our congratulations to all the 2018 award winners! More information on award winners is available here.
KCNA also presented 18 scholarships this year, in the amount of $3,000 each. The awards help qualified nursing students to pay tuition and books, helping them toward becoming the best registered nurses they can be. This brings the totals to 233 students assisted, for a total of $443,750! Click here to see short biographical sketches of the 2018 recipients.
And speaking of scholarships, KCNA held annual silent and live auctions at the banquet; 100% of proceeds go directly to the Scholarship Fund. Participation was lively, and the organization realized a total of $13,097 in donations!
As usual, the scenery was lovely, the food was delicious, and the program was inspiring. Join us next year!
MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO DONATED TO THE KCNA SCHOLARSHIP FUND THIS YEAR! THESE FUNDS ALLOW KCNA TO HELP DESERVING NURSING STUDENTS BECOME THE BEST POSSIBLE NURSES THEY CAN BE.
 AND SPECIAL THANKS TO SALAL CREDIT UNION FOR THEIR SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORT OF THE KCNA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM!
Congratulations to mini-IPAD winner Donna Yancey!
 During the period from September 2017 through March 2018, KCNA collected the names of every nurse who attended a KCNA continuing nursing education program and deposited them into a drawing for a mini-IPAD; the more times one attended, the more times his or her name was added. At the banquet on May 10, Donna Yancey's name was picked from the many names and Donna has received the mini-IPAD. Congratulations, Donna!
|
| NATIONAL HEALTH OBSERVANCES |
May is National Stroke Awareness Month
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., and a major cause of serious disability. About 795,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each year. However, steps can be taken to prevent or lower the chances of having a stroke (
here).
And, as nurses know, time is of the essence when stroke is suspected; members of the public are advised to call 911 immediately if they see signs of stroke. FAST treatment can prevent death and disability. For more information about stroke, click here.
|
NURSING NEWS AND CLINICAL ISSUES
|
Children, Adolescents receiving fewer prescription
medications
A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that, compared to previous years, children and adolescents are receiving fewer prescription medications. The lead study author told NPR, "The decrease in antibiotic use is really what's driving this overall decline in prescription medication use that we're seeing. . ." Stating that 30 percent of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary, he said that in addition to potential side effects, the overuse of antibiotics decreases the chance these drugs will be able to cure infections. Read more about the study here.
Overdose Epidemic Outpacing Response in King County
According to an article by Public Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin in
P
ublic Health Insider
, new data from 2017 indicates that overdose deaths due to opioids, methamphetamines and other drugs continue to increase across the community.
In 2017, drug use caused 379 deaths, an increase of almost 10 percent over the year before.
In the U.S., more people die each year from drug overdoses than died during the Vietnam War. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. A number of key findings from the report, and Dr. Duchin's perspective on what can be done to slow the epidemic, are
here
.
Fasting may increase regeneration of GI stem cells
As people age, their intestinal stem cells begin to lose the ability to regenerate. These stem cells are the source for all new intestinal cells, so this decline can make it more difficult to recover from GI infections or other conditions.
This age-related loss of stem cell function can be reversed by a 24-hour fast, according to a new study from MIT biologists. The researchers found that fasting dramatically improves stem cells' ability to regenerate, in both aged and young mice. Get study details
here
.
Ethics in Healthcare: Nurses Respond
 The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN) regularly selects a topic of importance to nurses and provides summaries of related articles. Six articles regarding ethics in healthcare have recently been reviewed and summarized in "Ethics in Healthcare: Nurses Respond," discussing various aspects of ethics that nurses encounter in education and practice settings.
ANA members
have the first opportunity to access this most recent OJIN topic.
As each new topic is posted, the previous topic becomes available to all viewers. This topic
will be available to all after May 31. Click here.
|
|
Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation: Curb the craving for sugar
Nurses know that overdoing it with sugar is bad for health. Excess sugar consumption can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, tooth decay, and type 2 diabetes.
But lim
itin
g sugar is complicated by its presence, under different names, in most packaged foods; it can be hard to "see," even when one is looking. The Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation website is offering a 10-day challenge to help curb the sweet tooth, or at least eat less sugar. The challenge began May 21, but there's still time to join in and access great daily tips to help meet success. Read
more
.
|
|
TED talk: How to connect with people living with depression
Want to connect with a depressed friend or patient, but unsure how to relate
to them?
Comedian and storyteller Bill Bernat has a few suggestions. Learn
some dos
and don'ts for talking to people living with depression -- and
handle your
next conversation with grace and maybe even a touch of humor. Click here to check it out.
Guide to HCPs who provide HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis
The National Prevention Information Network (NPIN)
and Emory University have integrated data to provide a comprehensive, national directory
of health service providers in the U.S. who offer pre-exposure prophylaxis
(PrEP) to prevent HIV infection. As a powerful tool for HIV prevention, PrEP can substantially reduce the chance a person will be infected with HIV, but only if they know about it and where to get it, can access the medication and laboratory services for free or at an affordable cost, and take it as directed.
|
4649 Sunnyside Avenue North Room 352 Seattle, WA 98103
|
|
|
|
|
