President s Message: Celebrate the Cycle of Life.

President's Message: ",Celebrate the Cycle of Life",

By Mary Rita Hurley, MPA, RN, FNGNA

As summer segues into Fall I am reminded of the beauty that the changing of the seasons brings. It is the life cycle of birth (Spring/Summer) and dormancy/death (Fall/Winter). As Gero nurses, we experience these changes within our practices every day. Most people outside our world are scratching their heads at this statement. Believing that all we see is sadness and death. It seems like we have a secret that we need to share about the richness and wonder of the lives we are privileged to serve. Just today a dear friend of mine who is 75 years young called me with incredible excitement about her new iPhone 6. She spoke very rapidly about how she needed the new features, especially the Blue Tooth as her new sports car has the technology. I asked why the IPhone and she stated that she needed it to synch with her IPad. So, new technology is just for “young” people? I think not. This is just one of many stories we all have about living well, living long.

In our society and culture unfortunately, ageism is alive and well. As Gero health advocates, we are on the front line of dispelling the myths and educating the public. I truly believe it is our duty. With over 10,000 people turning 65 every day in the United States, we are creating a mass cohort of baby boomers who are an amazing, productive, innovative group. Enough already with the “old people” jokes, cards, slights, and innuendos. It is not funny. It is disrespectful and uneducated. As a baby boomer and aging woman I am offended by the platitudes, the ‘ma’am’s, ‘you are too old to go back to school’, ‘shouldn’t you be retiring’, and ‘I am only concerned about your welfare’ comments.

No, I am not retiring anytime soon, yes, I am looking into grad school, and thank you for your concern but I am in a great space professionally. We have an amazing opportunity to set the example of living long, living well. Our next generation of nurses as well as patients, residents, and clients are counting on us. So, as the Fall leads into Winter, please take time for self-care and self-renewal. We need our health - physically, mentally, and spiritually - to continue our quest as advocates and a voice for older adults.

All the best,

Mary Rita Hurley, RN, MPA, FNGNA

President

Hartford Foundation Caregiving Story Contest

The John A. Hartford Foundation is seeking stories that bring to light the challenges facing family caregivers of older adults and demonstrate practical and proven ways to overcome difficulties and obstacles. The Foundation is looking for stories from family caregivers and health care providers that illustrate the strategies and solutions caregivers are using to effectively and gracefully care for older adults.

Hartford Foundation supports EWA and it is a good opportunity for nursing as it the winners are all over their website.

The deadline to submit is January 15, 2015.

Call for Proposals

The West Coast Region of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School and the PSU &, OHSU IHI Open School Chapter are conducting a call-for-proposals for the breakout sessions at the first IHI Open School West Coast Conference (WCC) on Saturday, April 18th, 2015, in Portland, Oregon. The conference begins on Friday, April 17th and breakout session speakers are welcome to attend both days.

The theme of the WCC is Interprofessionalism: Improvement, Safety, System Design, and Leadership. Each breakout session will be categorized and focused on one of these topics.

The WCC aims to educate and empower learners to be interprofessional collaborators with each other, their patients, their communities, and their health systems by:

1. Disseminating evidence-based methods of interprofessional (two or more professions collaborating on a project) team-based care that enhance patient safety.

Exploring system redesign and opportunities for multiple sectors and professions to interface to design a health services delivery system capable of achieving the Triple Aim.

Spreading health systems improvement best-practices from interprofessional and student-led improvement projects.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE. Monday, December 15th, 2014 @ 5:00 p.m. PDT

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