Patricia Sodomka has received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Health Services Management and Policy Alumni Society at Ohio State University. The award is given to master's-degree graduates who have made significant professional achievements in health care.

Sodomka, FACHE, is senior vice president of patient and family-centered care at MCG Health Inc. in Augusta. Sodomka is a national advocate for care that focuses on patients and their families. Her efforts at MCG Health System were showcased in the PBS documentary "Remaking American Medicine."

NEW CLINICAL DIRECTOR: Lanise Shortell, RN, CHPN, has been named clinical director for SouthernCare's northwest Georgia office in Cartersville. SouthernCare provides hospice care to terminally ill patients.

GAPAN OFFICERS: Six registered nurses from MCG Health System were recently elected to the board of directors of the Georgia Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. They are Leslie Edney, president; Diane Sherman, membership chairwoman; Sarah Gillen, Web master and newsletter editor; Monica Anadu, president-elect; Susan Andrews, research co-chairwoman; and Karen Catchings, immediate past president.

Andrews, who works in peri-operative services at MCG Health System, also was named Perianesthesia Nurse of the Year. She was awarded a $1,000 educational scholarship by the Georgia Society of Anesthesiologists.

NEW WEB SITE: United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia has a new Web site (www.uaprn.org). The site's new features include step-by-step directions on how to utilize prescriptive authority under current law, legislative updates, information about upcoming events, news that affects practice and job postings.

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