KSNA Region Annual Reports

EAST REGION

The East Region is comprised of the following leadership: Bridget Camien, President; Traci Atzenweller, Vice President; Keri Jarvis, Secretary/Treasurer; Deana Wilhoite, Member at Large; Pia Spitzer, KSNA Board Member; and Jill Kleithermes, MDS CEO. The region has been meeting and has many goals for its term. The region plans to continue the pursuit of increased engagement and recruitment in numerous ways.

Recruitment strategies this year included new members to continue receiving a welcome letter from the KSNA president. Another strategy discussed was hosting pop-up events and booth set-up at region hospitals where members and non-members can learn about the organization, put a face to the name, pick up some KSNA-logo items, and even win prizes for visiting the booth.

The region has also discussed providing free continuing education to members through quarterly one-hour educational zoom sessions. The topics we discussed covering are toxic workplaces, incivility/bullying, and gender inclusivity. Finally, we have discussed holding a fun meet and greet event at the upcoming KSNA annual meeting.

We are very excited about the future of our region. Please let us know if you have any input on educational topics or future events. We look forward to serving the East Region!

Respectfully submitted by,
Bridget Camien, East Region President
Pia Spitzer, KSNA Board Member

NORTH CENTRAL (SUNFLOWER CHAPTER) REGION

The NC Region membership has held steady the last several years. Our attendance at meetings is showing the effects of no meetings during Covid, and hope to reverse that trend by sponsoring interesting programs for our members. Our May meeting featured an outstanding program on Human Trafficking presented by an experienced SANE/SART nurse, Karen Groot, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P.

In April, we prepared 115 goody bags with useful items- including chocolate, highlighters, sticky notes, and popcorn – for the graduating RNs in the NC area, and delivered the bags to the various schools of nursing in time for finals week. The students always enjoy these, and of course we include some KSNA promo items.

For Nurse’s Week in May, NC Region member Jeffrey Metzler BSN, RN went to his local school and talked to the students about Nursing and the many facets of nursing practice. (Jeffrey was a 2 year recipient of a KNF scholarship.)

One of the challenges we face in scheduling meetings is that hospital nurses are now expected to finalize their schedules and requests off sometimes months in advance.

Our Officers are: President Kathy Pike, Vice President Janet Jolley, Treasurer Janeane Houchin, Secretary Terri Johnson, member at Large Emma Doherty, and Nominations Committee Luanne Smith and Marleen Parker.

Our next meeting will be September 14 in the Conference Room in Nursing Building, at Kansas Wesleyan.

SOUTHEAST REGION

Main Objective(s) for the Committee/Council: Continue to get the region set up and more meetings established. Continue to need officers for region. Bylaws are being reviewed by KSNA By laws committee for recommended changes. We offered a free CE this fall on Professional Identity to the region membership. Still trying to get email updated, and improve communication within the region. Would like to have more meetings and get more activities scheduled within the region in 2024. Will continue to have zoom meetings and F2F meetings as the membership requires.

Goals in Process:
1. Continue to build the Southeast Region of KSNA
2. Look at dividing the region for meetings at different days and times to improve attendance and involvement.
3. Continue to email new members, and members that have left to maintain communication, and assess how we can do better in the region.

Goals Accomplished: Offered a Free CE this year for SE region members on Professional Identity

Decisions Made: Continue to email membership monthly welcoming new members and inquiring what we can do better for members that have left the region. Need to have a meeting and vote on Bylaws once I get them back fro the KSNA Bylaws committee. Continue on working on highlighting a nurse, and start getting nursing stories from nurses to promote nursing and membership.

Unresolved Items: Still have these unresolved items: Continue to get SE Region set up and functioning consistently. Working with the MSD in getting emails updated. Want to try to set meetings for the year and get them out to the membership and see if that improves participation.

Committee/Council Actions: Need to establish a nomination committee or get volunteers to run for office and have meetings to get the region set up and functioning.

Committee/Council Requested Action for KSNA Board: None at present

Respectfully submitted by,
Laura Mallett, MSN, RN
President of SERA- KSNA

NORTHEAST REGION

Currently the Northeast Region, as a-whole, has been inactive in 2023.

KSNA Board Members, Vicky McGrath and Julie Miller, have been assigned to assist in reaching out to all members within the NE Region.

Vicky and Julie sent out a welcome email to members and will be conducting a needs assessment by the end of August.

Our current region membership is holding strong at 330, recruiting 25 new members. It will be important in our needs assessment to address why members are cancelling their membership. It is noted that 36 members within the region cancelled their memberships.

Respectfully submitted by,
Vicky McGrath, DNP, MBA, RN, OCN
Julie Miller, BSN, RN, CEN

NORTHWEST REGION

This region remains inactive in 2023. There have been various attempts to hold
regional meetings but there is little to no interest in regional activities.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION, Chapter 1

South Central Region, Chapter 1, as a-whole, has tried to remain active for 2022-2023.

Our meetings are held the second Thursday in September, November, January, and March, with the May meeting scheduled the first Thursday of the month.

We continue to travel to different cities in our region for each meeting. Our overall membership averages around 73 members but our meetings have an average of 10 members regularly attending. However, even this number has continued to decline. We offer teleconferencing opportunities, as the meeting location has available internet connectivity, but, only one or two members use this option. We also try to offer continuing education at each meeting. Schedule for 2022-2023 follows:

In our 2021-2022 year SC Region Chapter 1 established an endowed scholarship with Kansas Nurses Foundation (KNF) to honor our District and our current region. This scholarship is to assist either a current nursing student or newly admitted nursing student attending Barton County Community College or Hutchinson Community Community College. Additionally, this scholarship increases awareness of KSNA SC Region with current students in the profession of nursing. Thus, potentially expanding our membership.
Goals for 2023-2024 are:
1. Increase attendance and participation at meetings.
2. Maintain at least two meetings each year, potentially fall and spring.
3. Provide a continuing education offering related to Bone Marrow transplant and registry (fall meeting).
4. Participate in the women’s health fair in spring sponsoring a booth to offer literature and participation in the bone marrow transplant registry (spring meeting).

Respectfully submitted by,
Gaye Stach, President SC Region
Debbie Hackler, Secretary, SC Region

SOUTHWEST REGION

Currently the Southwest Region as a whole has been inactive during 2022-2022. Dustin Baker, Vice President continues has been assigned to assist with reaching out all members of the region. He continues to hold quarterly Zoom meetings to start conversations about the needs of the members and opportunities for leadership in the region. In 2023, two meetings were offered to members to attend. I look forward to holding another meeting very soon. Please watch out from emails from your regional contact. If you wish to serve in a leadership role within the Southwest Region, then please reach out to Dustin Baker at dpbaker@mnu.edu. I would love the opportunity to visit with you!

Respectfully submitted by,
Dustin Baker, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, NE

Legislative Committee

First and foremost, I would like to thank the members of the Legislative Committee this year, Sarah Tidwell, Danielle Olds, Amy Mason, Marlene Parker, Sally Malinski, Susan Stark, Vanessa McMillan, and Susan Terrien. I would also like to thank Dustin Baker who was the Legislative Chair earlier this year.

The Legislative Committee has been very busy this year. The KSNA Legislative Platform was reviewed and approved by the Committee. The Committee has monitored, supported, testified, and opposed several bills throughout this past Legislative Session. The Committee implemented Ujoin this year a platform to assist tracking legislative bills the Committee is monitoring and following. This year the Committee drafted the Nurse Protection Bill and worked collaboratively with KSBN to ensure the details were accurate. KSNA will bring the bill forward in the upcoming Legislative session.

The Committee reviewed potential lobbyists and recommended the hiring of a KSNA Lobbyist to support the Executive Director in the advocacy efforts for the association. The KSNA Board of Directors approved the hiring of the lobbyist and Mike Murray will begin this fall with the new Legislative Session. We were also able to attend the signing of the Nurse’s Day Proclamation by Governor Kelly.

Linda Adams-Wendling was asked to present on Advocacy 101 at the Kansas Organization of Nurse Leaders (KONL) annual meeting. Terry Seik, Membership Assembly representative and Linda Adams-Wendling actively participated in the ANA Day on the Hill in June 2023. They were able to meet with legislative representatives from Kansas to share key advocacy issues not only being faced in Kansas but also the nation, including, workplace violence, nurse staffing shortages, nursing workforce centers, and improving care and access to nurses (ICAN) to mention a few.

In closing this has been a very exciting year for the Legislative Committee. The Legislative and Advocacy Conference in spring 2023 was well received with the virtual on-demand format. Because the 2023 conference was well received in a virtual on-demand format plans are underway to hold the spring 2024 Legislative and Advocacy Conference also virtual on-demand. Plans are also underway to add an on-site Day at the Capital with the assistance of our new lobbyist. Be on the look-out for more exciting news on this program.

The Legislative Committee task force, including Sarah Tidwell, Danielle Olds, and Dana Erikson have been actively working on an Advocacy Toolkit as a part of the KSNA Strategic Plan. The advocacy toolkit will be posted on the KSNA website to provide guidance and education to members in their advocacy journey and goals. We are so excited about this project.

In conclusion, it has been an exciting year for the Legislative Committee for KSNA. If you are interested in being a part of the committee, please complete the Consent to Serve on the KSNA website. We would love to have you join. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to myself or members of the Legislative Committee.

Respectfully submitted by,
Linda Adams-Wendling
(Interim, Legislative Committee Chair)

Annual Report Membership Committee

The Membership Committee has been active this year. But before I begin the report, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the Membership Committee, including Adam Tebben, Danielle Olds, Amy Mason, and Vanessa McMillian. Thank you for your service to KSNA.

The Membership Committee has met several times over the past year and is working on several projects. Member recruitment and retention are high priorities for the committee.

Nurses month this year was a success. A recognition video was developed by Adam Tebben and posted on a variety of social media venues. Ongoing nursing recognition presentations were aired on key media channels across Kansas.

Congruent with the KSNA Strategic Plan each region has a Regional Representative assigned as a resource for each region. Goals for the Regional Representatives are to assist regions with their goals and structure, welcome new members, and to reach out to region membership on a regular basis. The KSNA Region Representative assignments include Pia Spitzer-East Region, Linda Adams-Wendling- South Central Region, Laura Mallett-Southeast Region, Dustin Baker-Southwest Region, Vicky McGrath and Julie Miller-Northeast Region, and Terry Siek-Northwest Region. On behalf of the KSNA Region Representatives please reach out if you have questions.

The Membership Committee is excited about the implementation of quarterly Town Hall meetings for the regions. The kick-off meeting is planned for 8/14/2023 with a Meet the Candidates. Each quarter a Town Hall meeting will be planned and at the meetings there will be for example, member updates, hot topics or trends in nursing, advocacy updates, and recognition of new members. The goal will be to record the Town Hall meetings for members unable to attend to view at a later time. Refer to the KSNA website for dates and links to the meetings. The Committee is also finalizing a Welcome Video for new members for the KSNA Website.

The Membership Committee is excited about some upcoming plans to implement a Member-Get-A-Member Campaign with the goal of securing 110 new members by the end of 2023. Information on the program will be coming out in the near future. The Committee is also exploring a Social Media Campaign to ignite passion for membership for the MZ generation.

In closure, thank you for your continued membership in KSNA. Reach out to a colleague who is not a member and share the value and benefit of being a KSNA member. And send us a video of yourself sharing why you are a KSNA member. We would love to hear from you. Remember you are a part of the largest health care profession. We are 4.2 million strong in the Nation! What an impact we can make together.

Respectfully submitted by,
Linda Adams-Wendling
(Membership Chair)

Bylaws Committee Report & Proposed Amendments Update

Chair Terri Johnson and members Marleen Parker (also a member of the KSNA BOD), Julie Miller (also a member of the KSNA BOD), and Carla Lee conducted all business of the Kansas State Nurses Association (KSNA) Bylaws Committee via email and phone conversations. The 2023 proposed bylaws amendments recommendations came to the Bylaws Committee from the KSNA Board of Directors, the KSNA Treasurer, the KSNA Nominations Committee, two individual KSNA members, and KSNA Bylaws Committee members. The 2023 proposed amendments have been reviewed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Committee on Bylaws (COB) for harmony with the ANA Bylaws. The ANA COB has no recommendations for amendments to propose at the KSNA’s next annual meeting to maintain harmony with ANA Bylaws. The COB did, however, identify under Editorial Recommendations three Articles in which the Bylaws Committee has policy/procedure wording that, following the MA, should be removed from the Bylaws and placed into the KSNA Policy/Procedure manual.

Based on the ANA COB calendar, the next Quadrennial review of the KSNA Bylaws will be due in 2024. The current bylaws can be viewed on KSNA website link: https://ksnurses.com/ksna_bylaws_10-22/

Respectfully submitted by,
Terri Johnson, RN, MSN, APRN
Chair, KSNA Bylaws Committee

KNF Annual report

The Kansas Nurses Foundation is a strong organization with a long history of supporting nursing students in the state of Kansas. We are proud to fulfill our mission by awarding scholarships each year.

We awarded 12 scholarships in 2023 for a total of $12,000. We need your help to have more scholarship applications as we have more money to give. To increase applications, the due date for applications will be moved to the end of March, during the school term. We hope this puts the KNF scholarships in the forefronts of students and faculties minds.

We would like to recognize two nurses that recognized KNF in the estate planning this year. We were the beneficiaries of sizeable donations from the estates of Glen E and Greta L Snell and Marjorie Sams Dillon. These funds will help solidify the foundation well into the future. Please consider donating to KNF each year and if you would like to establish a gift in your estate, please let us know.

In 2022, Pat Brown, who had been on the board for a long time stepped down from the KNF. We are very appreciative of the time, expertise, knowledge, and dedication that Pat gave to KNF over the years.

We also were sad to lose a long-term board member, Esther Ideker. Esther was an advocate for nursing scholarship and continued to serve even as her health was failing. I will miss Esther’s dedication to the KNF.

The Bull Attorneys, in conjunction with KSN, continue to donate to KNF each month in recognition of the monthly Honor a Nurse. We cannot thank the Bull Attorneys enough for their generous support. Please remember to nominate nurses each month for this valuable recognition of their work and dedication to patients.

Respectfully submitted by,
Terry J. Siek, MSN, RN, NEA-BC

Appointed Nominations Committee Report July 2023

The KSNA elected Nominations Committee met from January 2023 to April 30, 2023, and prepared the 2024 KSNA Officers slate to be presented to the membership for voting. Before the end of the open nomination period, three of the four Nominations Committee members chose to resign from the committee and place their names as candidates on the 2024 ballot (as per KSNA Bylaws). Unfortunately, this meant that the slate brought to the June KSNA BOD meeting had on it the three members from the Nominations Committee and a fourth Consent to Serve that had arrived just prior to the end of the open nominations period that had not been vetted as per KSNA bylaws process. The BOD mandated that an appointed committee be formed, and the bylaws be followed. The members of the appointed committee, appointed by President Linda Adams Wendling, were Terri Johnson, Chair; Sara Beikman, continuing from the elected Nominations Committee; Ashley Kautz, from the 2023 ballot running for Nominations Committee; and Carla Lee. It was determined that a small portion of the KSNA Bylaws was inadvertently missed and, therefore, could be picked up now. The nominations were re-opened from July 7th to July 14th and the information was sent out along with a list of the current Nominations Committee members and their contact information. Three more Consents to Serve were received during this time. Three candidates on the slate for more than one office were approached, as part of the vetting process, to verify that this was their intent. The three candidates chose the one office they were most interested in. One candidate was approached, as per the vetting process, to clarify her intent. All members were sent the ballot-vetting form and the Consents for Serve needing vetted for review. The Appointed Nominations Committee met per ZOOM with the assistance of Dana Erickson, KSNA Executive Director, and Jill Kliethermes, Chief Executive Officer of the Midwest Division, on Tuesday, July 18th and vetted seven Consents to Serve, prepared and approved the 2024 KSNA Officers slate, approved the voting timeline of August 20th to September 20th, made several suggestions for changes in the “Congrats” and “Regrets” letters, referred several concerns from both the elected Nominations Committee and the Appointed to the Bylaws Committee, and supported the idea of the KSNA Membership Committee to do a candidate “Meet and Greet” during a statewide virtual event.

Respectfully submitted by,
Terri Johnson
Chair Appointed Nominations Committee

Treasurer’s Report as of June 30, 2023

We had a better than expected attendance at our Legislative Conference this year, and mutual funds/ CD’s were invested at a higher interest rate, both of which positively impacted our finances. Our tax return for 2022 showed a gain in assets of $3,291.00. Our income from membership dues is holding steady. That’s the good news.

However, we started the 2023 year with the Board aware that our projected budget deficit for 2023 would be in the minus $18,000 range. The latest numbers available to me as Treasurer show that our total equity on June 30,2023 was $ $241,814.48 ; our total equity on June 30, 2022, in comparison, was $251,014.10, a loss of $9,199.62 in equity over the past year.

As in previous years, our agreement with the Midwest Multistate Division (MSD) for 2023 is a model of shared expenses with Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arkansas based on numbers of members in each State Nursing Association. Because Arkansas left the MSD as of July 1, 2023, we do not yet know how KSNA will be affected in the future. We currently pay 19.7 % of the MSD expenses.

As a 501 (c) 6 non-profit corporation, our tax forms (IRS non-profit 990 form) are considered public information and are available to anyone who asks.
Please refer to our June 30, 2023 Balance sheet, which is accessible on the KSNA website.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Treasurer. If you have questions about our finances, please email me at meparker8@gmail.com

Respectfully submitted by,
Marleen Parker, BSN, RN
KSNA Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair

Annual Report Editorial Board

First, I would like to thank all the aspiring and established authors in Kansas for their wonderful submissions and we have had another year of robust publications. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the KSNA membership for the opportunity to serve as the Editorial Chair for the Kansas Nurse. It continues to be a wonderful opportunity.

I encourage you to submit publications and to encourage other nurses and students to submit articles for potential publication. This is a wonderful venue to be able to disseminate to the voice of nursing in Kansas. Again, thank you for a wonderful year of publications.

Respectfully submitted by,
Debra Pile, PhD
KSNA Editorial Board Chair

Education Council Report

Main Objective(s) for the Council: The Education Council will plan and implement activities related to nursing professional development, Association awards, and continuing education accreditation activities.

• Promote the understanding of nursing professional practice responsibilities defined by the most recent versions of the Kansas Nurse Practice Act, ANA Scope and Standards of Practice, ANA Social Policy Statement, and ANA Code of Ethics for Nursing;
• Develop mechanisms to provide professional development, which are proactive and responsive to healthcare issues;
• Assure representation on the Membership Assembly and Legislative Conference Planning Committees and oversee other events in accordance with MSD event planning guidelines; and
• Coordinate KSNA awards and recognition processes (including the Nightingale Tribute) and recommend to the BOD those candidates to receive recognition.

Goals in Process:

• How does KSNA engage with schools of nursing
• How to promote nursing in a positive light
• Develop questions for membership to tell their stories of nursing
• Discussing how we could promote tax credits for nurses that become preceptors and or mentors in nursing.

Goals Accomplished:

• We reviewed and discussed and approved the Council bylaws
• Voted on Vice Chair for Council
• We reviewed the CE application and fees, we proposed to raise the fee to $20 and submitted proposal to the KSNA Board.

Decisions Made: See above

Unresolved Items: working on goals

Council Actions: See above, no further actions at this time

Council Requested Action for KSNA Board: See above. No further actions were requested.