Susan Chambers, RNC, MS, vice president and chief nurse executive of Gwinnett Hospital System, has been appointed to the Georgia Health Strategies Council by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
The council develops Georgia's state health plan and addresses policy issues concerning access to health care services. Members are appointed by the governor and represent a wide range of health care and consumer interests.
The council is responsible for adopting and submitting the state health plan, which includes ongoing evaluation of the state's existing health care resources, as well as long-term health insurance solutions for Georgians.
"It's an honor to be appointed to serve the health interests of Georgians through the Health Strategies Council," Chambers said. "I look forward to the opportunity to ensure that Gwinnett County residents and all Georgians continue to receive the best health care available."
SPEECH, SPEECH: Last month, Dean Marla E. Salmon, Sc.D, RN, FAAN, dean of Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, gave the keynote address at the Korean Academy of Nursing's Fifth International Nursing Conference in Seoul. Salmon's address explored the symbiotic relationship between nursing research and public policy.
"Nursing research drives and informs health-related policy, while public policy-related questions and funding drive nursing research," she said. "Shaping health-related policy is one of nursing's most powerful professional tools for its work of caring and enabling health. At the same time, nurse researchers must be vigilant to address the need for information and knowledge to inform, direct, and hold health policy accountable."
Since 2002, the schools of nursing at Emory University and Yonsei University in Seoul have had annual faculty and student exchanges, allowing members from both schools to explore nursing in a variety of international health care settings.
WEB WINNER: GeroNurseOnline.org, the Web site of the Nurse Competence in Aging initiative, was selected as a winner in the Spring/Summer 2005 World Wide Web Health Awards. This program recognizes the best health information Web sites for consumers and professionals.
Among more than 200 entries judged by a panel of health information experts, GeroNurseOnline.org received a Silver Award for health promotion/disease and injury prevention information.
REDUCING INFECTIONS: The Medical College of Georgia Health System won first place in the Partnership for Health and Accountability Quality and Patient Safety Award program in 2005 in the 300-plus beds division. The award was presented last month at the Atlanta PHA Patient Safety Summit.
PHA is a program of the Georgia Hospital Association. The health system was recognized for its efforts to reduce infection rates.
"We used root cause analyses and evidence-based strategies to make significant improvements in patient safety and clinical quality. Continuous improvement is one of our foremost priorities," said Patricia Sodomka, MCG Health Inc. senior vice president of Patient and Family Center Care.
BUSINESSPERSON HONORED: The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce has named Katherine Simons, owner of DDS Staffing Resources Inc., as the Small Business Person of the Year for 2005.
A part-time dental hygienist and mother of two children, Simons saw the need for dentists to find good permanent and temporary staff in 1981.
She started her staffing business and expanded it include medical staffing in 1991. Today, DDS Staffing Resources Inc. employs 28 people and extends staffing services to 10 states.
RLS SEMINAR: MCG Health System will host a free restless leg syndrome seminar on Dec. 10, at the Augusta Towers Hotel, 2651 Perimeter Parkway, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The event is open to patients, families and friends of those affected by RLS and will provide information on how the disease affects sleep, how it is diagnosed and advances in treatment.
A session on Parkinson's disease and RLS will be offered for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners and registered nurses. A continental breakfast will be served.
To register, call 706-721-2798 by Dec. 9, or register online at www.MCGHealth.org.