Greetings fellow GMAC members,

After our long and very snowy winter, it appears that spring

has finally arrived! Only in Wisconsin, do we get excited

about temperatures in the 40’s! The days are definitely get-

ting longer and hopefully we will soon be seeing signs of new

life all around us as the trees and flowers begin to bloom.

Spring is a time of renewal and new growth. GMAC is no ex-

ception. There are many opportunities to get involved in

chapter activities and leadership. Spring is a great time to

renew our commitment to our professional development and

to the advancement of our chapter.

I encourage you to take advantage of our educational ses-

sion on April 11 as well as our June dinner meeting on June 18. NTI is also an excel-

lent chance to network with other acute and critical care nurses across the country

as well as increase your professional knowledge. NTI will be held May 18-23 in Bos-

ton. Several of our members will be attending the Leadership Development Work-

shop (LDW) on Sunday, May 19. LDW is always a very worthwhile event and this year

our chapter has been asked to participate in a panel discussion to share our strate-

gies in achieving excellence in leadership development. This is great recognition for

our chapter and all the wonderful work that you do.

Another great way to renew your commitment to GMAC and to grow, both personally

and professionally, is to become a member of the board. Please consider sharing

your time and talents to help keep our chapter moving forward as well as cultivate

your personal leadership skills. Serving on the GMAC board has been an extremely

rewarding experience for me. I have learned a great deal and I have made lasting

friendships. I look forward to future opportunities to continue to participate in chap-

ter leadership. Check out Mary Jo Palmstein’s article for more details. I and any of

the other current and past board members would be happy to answer any questions

you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Lastly, spring is an excellent time to reflect on where

we are with the dares we have made so far during

this chapter year. We can dare to meet the challeng-

es we have set for ourselves or to set new goals.

There is still plenty of time!

I look forward to seeing you on April 11.

Anne Putzer

President

Message from the President — Anne Putzer

American Association of Critical Care Nurses - Greater Milwaukee Area Chapter

April 2013

Volume 40, Issue 4

The Monitor

Inside this issue:

DARE TO … Grow 2

DARE TO… Recognize Certification 3

DARE TO … Become a Chapter

Officer

4

DARE TO … View the Treasury

Report

4

DARE TO … Learn 5

DARE TO … Network 6

Plethora of Opportunities 8

2012-2013 Board Members:

President: Anne Putzer

President-Elect: Angie Kinter

Vice President: Leslie Daughtery

Vice President-Elect: Suzanne

Sala

Treasurer: Mary Kay Feeny

Secretary: Bobbie Glaser

Member At Large: Andrea Klipp

In the February Monitor we thanked all the members who participated in outreach this year and invited members to

share in a volunteer opportunity at the Growing Power Urban Farm in Milwaukee. A couple of weekends ago, a few

members and one member’s son accepted the invitation and met up at the Farm. We were able to attend an orien-

tation session and discover all the Farm has to offer. This month the outreach article will focus on one attendee’s

and her son’s experience. Please take a moment to enjoy their perspective

and then think about joining us on Saturday, May 4th. Family and friends

are welcome.

We will begin with a 10am orientation. We will plan

on staying approximately 2hrs total. If you are inter-

ested please email me at angelin-

akinter@yahoo.com. Interested members will re-

ceive additional information and directions to the

site.

This was the second time my son, Braedon, and I have toured Growing Power. When he was 8 years old we took

his Cub Scout den there on a field trip and they earned their World Conservation Badge. After that tour Braedon

came home with the idea to put a raised bed in our enclosed dog kennel to keep the larger critters from eating all

of our garden. Over the last 3 years we have been very successful at growing herbs in hanging potted planters and

growing tomatoes and lettuce in our 3x6 foot garden. We’ve experimented with other fruits and veges with less

success but its all fun even if we only get one pepper.

Last weekend he and I along with 2 other GMAC nurses completed the volunteer training, which took about

an hour. Similar to the tour but it included how YOU can be a farmer. It’s amazing what they can do on 2 ½ acres

in the city. They really do use every space for farming year round. We learned about their soil which is the essence

of planting and the use of red wiggly worms to keep it nutrient rich, we learned how the water in the large tanks of

lake perch and tilapia provide organic waste that is needed by the plants growing on the racks above and that wa-

ter is filtered through continuously providing a symbiotic relationship. Then we continued our tour outside and

learned they are raising goats for milk and chickens for eggs. At the end of our tour we were given our “job”. The 4

of us were to lay mulch in one of the greenhouses that had accidently gotten flooded. So we broke into teams.

Braedon and I grabbed the wheelbarrow and a pitchfork and Jeaneé and Angie grabbed a rake and some buckets

and we got the job done in about an hour.

So in just over 2 hours here’s what we learned: it all starts

with good soil, there are a lot of possibilities for container

gardening even in the winter, I miss my Dad teaching me

how to garden when I was young, my 11 year old can mulch and actually said out loud it was fun, and most importantly it

doesn’t seem like work when you do it with friends J We

have more to learn. Braedon has the idea he would like to

have some chickens at home for eggs? We will have to do

some more volunteering to see how to take care of them

and investigate if that’s even possible in our town, but

Growing Power gives you that opportunity to learn while do-

ing good works for others. It’s not work, its fun. Come join

us and bring your older kids.

DARE TO … Grow — Angelina Kinter

Page 2 The Monitor

Date:

Saturday, May 4th

DARE TO … Grow as a Family — Holly and Braedon Clanton

We invite YOU. We can all participate in GMAC on a variety of levels.

This can be your year to Dare to guide and lead.

I appreciated that Angie Kinter (Pres) and Suzanne Sala (VP) and Jeaneé Chedotte (Monitor, Webmaster) have

agreed to be the backbone of GMAC next year. Dave Budzein has obtained Kay Hoppe and the Columbia/St.

Mary’s site for the fall Review. Mary Kay Feeney continues to tutor each one of us in any position. The Student

Poster task force is already planning for next year.

We need others to dare to take up the opportunity to guide this chapter. Yes, it does require a few hours every oth-

er month. Yes, you will meet nurses from other facilities. Yes you can attend a board meeting and order diner, or

not. You may bring your children with you. The positions have been designed to be easy to do for busy people.

Wheaton Franciscan has been generous with their meeting rooms-if we can be flexible with our dates and so it

looks as though we will continue to meet there.

Please consider sharing your talents and time with us. You will never regret the decision to participate on this

board.

Please contact the officers or me for further information. palmsteinmj@hotmail.com

DARE TO … Become Involved—Mary Jo Palmstein

Page 3 Volume 40, Issue 4

President sets the agenda, chairs the yearly summer planning meeting and the board meetings.

They also pen a short message for the Monitor

President Elect guides our outreach efforts. It looks as if Angie’s Growing Power initiative is very

rewarding to many of us. We have been supporting the yearly Al’s Run First Aid tent for years.

VP follows up on the speakers and hosts the education meetings,

VP Elect chairs the June Dinner meeting and is also involved with the selection of speakers.

The treasurer writes our checks, balances our books and does the routine Post Office box check

(we have 2 keys so 2 individuals may share that aspect). Also files quarterly reports to National.

The Secretary is the note taker at the board meetings and should submit the notes within 2

weeks.

The Member-at-large is responsible for selecting the food for our educational meetings.

Board Learning Partners are able to explore all of the positions

Wonderful people-Mary Peters, Marcia Anderson and Holly Clanton have been greeting us at the

sign in tables for many years

Official descriptions can be elaborated on by current board members, however the gist of the jobs is:

GMAC's Annual CCRN\PCCN Review Course with Kay Hoppe

We will again be sponsoring a CCRN\PCCN review course under the expert guidance of Kay Hoppe this Fall. Be

sure to set aside September27th and October 4th from 8:30 -5:00 for a wonderful conference at The Water Tower

Medical Commons state of the art facility which is located next to Columbia St. Marys

Hospital in Milwaukee. This class will help you prepare for the CCRN or PCCN certifi-

cation exams administered by AACN. The course is also an excellent review for those

providing patient care in critical care and stepdown units and is a wonderful way to

earn CERP's to maintain your current certifications. Hope to see you there!

Major income and expenses were related to the recent spon-

sorship by the chapter of the visit of National AACN Presi-

dent Kathryn Roberts. The board allocated $500 to pay to

AACN the honorarium for her visit. We recuperated some of

that expense through registrations.

Reminder: When a bill/statement is picked at the central PO Box, the payment check is usually issued within a few

days. Checks that we receive in payment for membership or registrations are not immediately cashed. If the

checks are received for a special program or event, the checks are not cashed until it has been determined that we

have received the minimum number of registrations to make the activity cost effective. Other checks are typically

batch deposited, eg they are saved until a few have been accumulated. This is done because we incur bank fees

per transaction. So to deposit checks independently of each other would cost

the chapter money. Thus, your check may not be cashed for a month or so.

Thanks to chapter officers and members for providing the chapter paperwork

when requesting money, or when giving me money to be deposited. It has

helped immensely to be able to rapidly identify what the funds are for, or

where the money came from. It has allowed me to more accurately maintain

the records required by the National Office so that we can retain our 401C sta-

tus (tax exemption).

DARE TO… Become Certified—Dave Budzien

DARE TO … View the Treasury Report—Mary Kay Feeney

Page 4 Volume 40, Issue 4

Current Chapter Assets:

Baird Account $21,350.73

Savings $12,062.63

Checking $13,436.07

Hi Fellow NTI Attendees,

I will again develop a listing of cell phone numbers of chapter members who are at-

tending the NTI. Simply email me your mobile phone number at

mkfmke1@wi.rr.com. I will also include in the document, the hotel you will be staying

at and the days that you will be there. So as when you send me the info make it:

Name – cell phone – hotel – days attending!

Last Name First Name Cell Phone # Hotel Arrival Day Departure Day

Feeney Mary Kay 414-202-4503 Park Plaza Saturday Thursday

DARE TO… Attend NTI—Mary Kay Feeny

April 11

5:30-6:00 Registration and light dinner served. Programs held at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Wauwatosa.

201 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Conference Center. 1 contact hour provided for each speaker.

Cost: Free to AACN-GMAC members; Non-members- $20.00 per nights; Students-$5.00 per night.

6:00-7:00 Current and Emerging Therapies in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke presented by Marc. A. Lazzaro,

Assistant Professor, Department of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, Froedtert Hospital and Medical Col-

lege of Wisconsin. Dr. Lazzaro will discuss the impact of stroke upon healthcare including death, disability and

economic effect. He will provide information of the current methods of endovascular thrombectomy for acute is-

chemic stroke and describe the use of coil embolization and flow diversion devices in the treatment of cerebral

aneurysms. This presentation reveals current treatments treatment interventions and discusses treatment limita-

tions related to time sensitive interventions and patient outcomes.

7:30-8:30 Update on nurse sensitive outcomes, 30 day readmission, and nursing work environment research.

Kathleen Bobay, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, an associate Professor at Marquette University, will discuss nursing research

that links to nurse sensitive outcomes, nurse staffing decisions and patient outcomes (specifically 30-day read-

missions). Each day we are challenged with the our work environments and resources to create work and care

environments that are safe, healing, humane and respectful of the rights, responsibilities, needs and contribu-

tions of patients, their families and nurses. This discussion will begin the conversation of the links of a quality

work environment, excellent nursing practice and patient

care outcomes.

DARE TO … Learn—Leslie Daugherty

Page 5 Volume 40, Issue 4

SAVE THE DATE

JUNE DINNER MEETING

The dinner meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 18 at the

Packing House Restaurant, 900 E Layton Ave,

Milwaukee. Cocktails and sign in at 5:30, dinner at

6:00. Speaker to be announced. This is a great evening to

network and enjoy the company of other GMAC members.

SAVE THE DATE

FUTURE GMAC MEETINGS

September 11, 2013.

November 20, 2013.

Meetings to be held at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-

Wauwatosa. 201 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin,

Conference Center.

AACN - Greater Milwaukee Area Chapter

PO Box 1836

Milwaukee, WI

53210

milwaukeeaacn@gmail.com

We’re on the Web!

Milwaukeeaacn.webs.com

Facebook: AACN: Greater Milwaukee

Area Chapter of Critical Care Nurses

Twitter: AACN_GMAC

GMAC is the local professional "home" for nurses in South-

eastern Wisconsin who work with patients who are acutely

or critically ill. With over 85,000 members, AACN is the

largest specialty nursing organization in the world, repre-

senting the interests of more than 500,000 nurses. The

association is dedicated to providing our members with the

knowledge and resources necessary to provide optimal

care to patients along the critical care continuum.

The goal of GMAC is to:

Uphold the American Association of Critical-Care Nurs-

es' vision, mission, and values at the local level.

Support nurses working in a variety of

acute and critical care settings, whose patients re-

quire specialized knowledge and skills to assure opti-

mal outcomes. Our members work in intensive care

units, medical and surgical- telemetry units, interventional

radiology, emergency departments, on transport teams

and are faculty at area colleges and universities.

Support includes educational programs, networking

with professional colleagues, mentoring relationships and

scholarships.

Promote quality care of acutely and critically ill pa-

tients in Southeastern Wisconsin.

American Association of Critical Care Nurses - Greater Milwaukee Area Chapter

AACN is a community of exceptional nurses.

GMAC is your local portal to that community.

AACN’s Annual election is underway, but

many members have yet to cast a ballot. Your

vote and the votes of your colleagues are es-

sential to assure our national leadership

team represents the AACN community’s vi-

sion for the future of acute and critical care

nursing.

We’re asking you to do two things:

First, cast your ballot — today, if possible.

Voting is open through April 22. To learn

about the candidates and vote, go to our

election page.

Second, encourage your peers to vote.

Thank you for your help and all you do for our

Association. If you have questions regarding

the election, email volunteers@aacn.org.

DARE TO … Vote

We need your help. Our annual AACN election is underway, but many members have not yet cast a ballot. Your

GMAC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES Meeting Leader: Anne Putzer Date: 3/5/13 Location: Saz’s Recorder: Bobbie Glaser Participants: Anne Putzer, Suzanne Sala, Mary Kay Feeney, Angie Kinter, Bobbie Glaser, Jeanee Chedotte

Topic Discussion Action

Kathryn Roberts Visits

Wrap up – survey feedback was good

Educa-tion up-date

At this time, three speakers arranged for next year September meeting: ideas discussed for making board members more recognizable/personal

Network-ing night

Kathy Epping: Currently six poster presentations arranged, goal is 10 posters and 40 people Recruiting efforts ongoing Discussion regarding the format: less educational, more inspirational Dave Hanson, former AACN president is planned speaker

Jeanee to talk with Kathy E. about sched-ule for Dave Hanson

NTI Scholar-ship

Anne P.: Winner and backup contacted, waiting for answers. Discussion regarding awarding 2 scholarships

Angie K. to contact winner and backup

LDW-NTI Anne P.: 2 board members currently scheduled Received funding for registration

Angie will con-tact board members for interest

Board member elections

Anne P. will contact Mary Jo Palmstein for update

June Din-ner

Suzanne Sala: June 18, 5:00 sign-in, 6:00 start Mary Kay to handle registration

CCRN/PCCN Re-view

Fall 2013 session: possibly at Columbia/St. Mary’s, would have to be two consecutive Fridays. Question regarding pediatric review. Was conducted 5 years ago, 4 attendees, bigger push now for certification.

Outreach Angie K.: Growing partner – see email from Angie for volunteer op-portunities.

Certifica-tion day

Watch for monitor article No event this year, possibly next year – ideas for “dance party”

Member-ship

No report

Treasurer report

Mary Kay F.: Budget is positive from last year at this time. Slight loss on recent K. Roberts event.

Monitor Deadline

March 28, 2013