I have been honored to be your ANIA President for the past 3 years, but it is time for "new blood" and fresh energy. Please consider stepping up to lead this organization by nominating someone for President or Vice President. You can nominate yourself if you would like. We also have regional director positions open if you would like to be considered for one of those. Those of us who have been leading the organization will still be around to lend a helping hand and provide guidance if this is a task that is daunting to you. My number is 352-219-2502 if you would like to talk to me directly about any of the openings occurring this year.
Our organization has grown over the last 3 years from a small group to one with over 300 members. In addition, we have continued our focus on the continuum of care and have members from all of the various care milieus. We have provided education on various topics and have been vocal in our national organization as well as the political arena, assisting HIMSS in assuring that an HIT week is recognized each year. We have also led the charge, providing mentorship to new and growing chapters around the nation!
This past year our focus has been on how to best organize our chapter and provide appropriate leadership. To that end, we restructured our bylaws which are available showing the revisions on the chapter website. We continue to be active in social media. We have also mentored several nurses who have gone on to study informatics as well as hosted students from Jacksonville at our meetings so that they could get a taste of what informatics is all about.
This year, my intent and aim personally is to focus on the national arena, assuring that nursing has a voice in the various think tanks that are leading the charge to change the EHR to a useful for tool for those who are most important-our patients. To that end, I am representing post acute care at meetings in DC to help our vendors understand that silos are no longer tolerable and they must work together to make it easier for all of us to assist our patients with the best possible care and for us to meet government regulations.
Please consider stepping up to continue the work of our wonderful organization by nominating yourself or someone you know for the open positions of President, Vice President, or Regional Director.
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Sincerely,
Bonnie Lawrence, RN-BC
President, ANIA Florida
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