KSNA President’s Message

DEAR KSNA MEMBERS,

It is hard to believe we are already publishing another issue of the Kansas Nurse. We have collaborated with the publisher to ensure the sequencing (volume and issue) of the Kansas Nurse is congruent with the last issue of the electronic versions.

I wanted to take a few minutes to again present key points and follow up on our Fall Conference and Membership Assembly and address a few items we were unable to address as well as the additional announcements.

Fall conference

Thank you all for your participation at the Fall Conference-Safe Waters: Navigating Legal Storms. We had a good turnout for our first face-to-face conference for several years and we have had wonderful feedback related to the topic and content of the conference. A special thank you to our vendors and speakers. All were amazing!

Membership assembly

Thank you again for your attendance at the Membership Assembly Business Meeting. Due to unexpected business brought up at the Membership Assembly it took longer than expected to get to key agenda items. We had to close the meeting before getting to the announcement of the election results and opportunity to thank the outgoing and current KSNA officers. We have provided this information in the October e-newsletter but also are providing it in this issue of the Kansas Nurse. We also have included a link to the Nightingale Tribute in this issue.

Legislative platform

The Legislative Platform proposed in the KSNA Annual Report Supplement was approved by the KSNA Board of Directors and is the current Legislative Plat-form. We will continue with the Legislative Platform from last year as there were no new items and the additional statement was approved in the Member-ship Assembly Minutes from 2022 approved on Friday 10/13 at our Membership Assembly meeting. The KSNA Board of Directors had also approved the Legislative Platform.

As announced in the October Newsletter, if you have additions or suggestions you would like to propose to the Legislative Platform, to facilitate the pro-cess please submit these to Linda Adams-Wendling, Legislative Interim Chair and KSNA President. The deadline as published in the October newsletter was November 1, 2023, but if you have additions do not hesitate to provide them to me. These proposed additions will be presented to the KSNA Board and then presented at the Special Virtual Meeting of the KSNA Membership-the Continuation of the October KSNA Membership Assembly, December 18, 2023.

Multistate Division update

At the Membership Assembly a report was read by Marlene Parker related to finances of KSNA specific to the impact of the MSD. The report was not received or reviewed by the KSNA Board of Directors or the MSD Board of Directors for accuracy in the report prior to presentation at the Membership Assembly. The budget information for KSNA 2024 presented is preliminary and has not been reviewed or approved by the KSNA Board for modifications or adjustments. At Membership Assembly, the report presented by Marlene Parker was referred back to the KSNA Board of Directors for review based on our KSNA Bylaws. The KSNA Board of Directors and the MSD Administration have provided accurate information on the financial relationship of Kansas State Nurses Association and the Midwest Multistate Division in newsletters and in financial updates as well as in the KSNA Annual Report and supplement. The KSNA published financials were approved on 10/13/2023 by the member-ship at the KSNA Membership Assembly.

The KSNA Board of Directors receives MSD updates at each KSNA Board Meeting. In review of KSNA reports prior to KSNA entering the relationship with the MSD the KSNA organization had significant financial and operational challenges. Since enter-ing the MSD relationship, the KSNA organization has maintained stable membership, a positive bottom line, a strong balance sheet, and is on a trajectory to perform well again this year. Please contact me as KSNA President or feel free to contact Dana Erickson, KSNA Executive Director, or Jill Kliethermes know if you have any questions. We are happy to answer your questions.

2023 Election results

Please join me in congratulating the newly elected KSNA members. The newly elected KSNA Nominations Committee, ANA Membership Assembly Representative, and Board Members will assume their roles on January 1, 2024. Again, congratulations and thank you for your service to KSNA.

Nominations Committee

• Judy Stroot, RN, BSN, MA, NEA-BC- Chair
• Terri Roberts, JD, RN
• Tami Birkholtz, BSN, RN
• Kristen Knowles, RN

ANA Membership Assembly Representative

• Adam Tebben, BSN, RN, CEN

Board of Directors

• Angela Storrer, APRN

Treasurer

• Vicki McGrath, DNP, MBA, RN, OCN

Vice President

• Dustin Baker, MSN, APRN, NE, FNP-C

Outgoing KSNA Board of Director Members

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the off-going members of the KSNA Board of Directors. We also want to thank them for their service. Their tenure will end on December 31, 2023.

• Treasurer – Marlene Parker
• Vice President (re-elected as Vice President) – Dustin Baker
• President (continues as Past President) – Linda Adams-Wendling

2024 KSNA Board of Directors

I also wanted to take this time to announce and congratulate the KSNA Board of Directors for 2024. The individuals will assume their role in the office on January 1, 2024.

• President – Laura Mallett
• Past President – Linda Adams-Wendling
• Vice President – Dustin Baker
• Treasurer – Vicki McGrath
• Secretary – Susan Stark

Board Members

• Pia Spitzer
• Angella Storrer
• Julie Miller

A special thank you and congratulations to the KSNA awardees for 2023

Congratulations to the KSNA Awardees. We had a great turn out and are so proud of all of you!

• Nurse Administrator of the Year – Dr. Cathy Pimple
• Nurse Educator of the Year – Delyna Bohnenblust
• Volunteer of the Year – Martha Stroot
• Hall of Fame – Carol Perry
• Hall of Fame – Greta Snell

KSNA member get a member campaign

We are excited to announce the “Member Get a Member Campaign”. The goal of this campaign is to obtain 110 new KSNA members by December 31, 2024. We launched the campaign on November 1st. Current KSNA members will be asked to recruit as many new members as they can during the year. Whoever recruits the most members will win a FREE 1-year KSNA membership for themselves ($174 value)!

Thank you KSNA membership

I wanted to thank the Membership for the opportunity to serve as the KSNA President for the past two years. I also want to thank the KSNA Board of Directors, Dana Erickson, KSNA Executive Director, and Jill Kliethermes, MSD CEO, and the MSD staff. This has been an amazing experience in my leadership journey. I look forward to continuing my service this year as Past President with the KSNA Board of Directors.

Sincerely,
Linda Adams-Wendling, PhD, APRN, CNP, GNP-BC, NEA-BC, CNE
President, Kansas State Nurses Association

KSNA Executive Director’s Message

DEAR KSNA MEMBERS,

As we move from the fall season into the winter season soon, I hope this message finds you all in good health and high spirits. I would like to take this opportunity to update you on some of the recent activities at the Kansas State Nurses Association.

KSNA continues to be very busy managing and promoting the various meetings essential to the progress of and adherence to our association’s Strategic Plan, growth of our membership, development of plans alongside our new lobbyist to introduce new legislation for our state’s upcoming Legislative Session, focusing on the needs of the M-Z Generations through holding Focus Groups, and so much more.

KSNA’s Membership Committee meets monthly to discuss opportunities for meeting the needs of KSNA members, both current and future. Several of the Regions are working diligently to plan programs that benefit nurses and the general public. For instance, the South-Central Region has put together a Swab Event to get the word out about how important it is for every-one to consider being a bone marrow donor—it will be a wonderful event with a lot of informative content! And the East Region is putting together a program with a speaker that will discuss workplace violence in nursing environments and provide tools to nurses for dealing with this widespread concern. The East Region will also be holding booths in various healthcare locations that will provide information about the benefits of joining KSNA. Our Legislative Advocacy Conference Committee is working on a variety of projects, including developing a Tool Kit for our KSNurses.com website that will include information about how to communicate with legislators, becoming an advocate for legislative issues that KSNA supports through our legislative efforts, and other topics related to legislation, both at the Federal and State level. Please consider becoming involved in the legislative efforts for nurses—we all want nurses to help determine the laws surrounding nursing issues in Kansas instead of legislators who don’t have a healthcare background. Our lobbyist has been assisting us with these efforts and will continue to keep us updated on the latest legislative developments that impact our profession. These are just a few of the many areas that KSNA volunteer board and committee members have been working tirelessly on!

We are also excited about our “Member-Get-A-Member Campaign” that began on November 1st. Please see the KSNA President’s message in this issue of the Kansas Nurse for further information.

Thank you all for your continued support of the Kansas State Nurses Association. We are committed to advocating for our profession and ensuring that our members have access to the resources they need to succeed.

All the best,
Dana Erickson, Executive Director KSNA