BOARD OF DIRECTORS – 2008
| Executive Committee: |
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President: |
Ruth Swiggum |
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President Elect: |
Melony Carlton |
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Past President: |
Marge Patzer |
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Secretary: |
Mary Midgett |
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Treasurer: |
Muffy Ratto |
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Directors at Large: |
Mariann Cosby |
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Karen Juncker |
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Karen Orcutt |
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Anne Noder |
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Marilyn McDonald |
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Newsletter Editor: |
Teresa Cox |
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
2008 is well underway and we have accomplished so much with regards to planning the rest of the year, primarily high quality educational events. May’s educational is just around the corner and I want to encourage everyone to attend and invite colleagues and clients as well. Our goal is to have at least 60 attendees. Thanks again to Marilyn Mc Donald and her team!
Anne Noder is beginning to plan our Harvest Party in the Fall, as the majority noted for this event to be in the fall versus December. We also need a few more volunteers to complete essential chapter functions. Please consider serving in one of the following capacities and let me know immediately your willingness to help out:
1. Thank you Mary Midgett for volunteering to be our Secretary for 2008. Lynn Hemrick has moved out of state.
2. Educational assistant, to take over as Chair for our October Event.
3. Public Relations Chair needed immediately
Melony Carlton and Marilyn McDonald will be representing our chapter at the Leadership Forum in April for the national conference. They will be bringing back new and fresh ideas and we look forward to hearing from them in the near future.
Ruth Swiggum
President, GSAC – AALNC
GSAC-AALNC COMMITTEES
| Bylaws: |
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Chairperson: |
Marge Patzer |
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| Finance: |
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Chairperson: |
Muffy Ratto |
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| Holiday Party: |
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Chairperson: |
Anne Noder |
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| Membership: |
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Chairperson: |
Melony Carlton |
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| Nominations: |
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Chairperson: |
Marge Patzer |
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| Policy and Procedure: |
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Chairperson: |
Melony Carlton |
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| Public Relations: |
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Chairperson: |
Position Open |
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| Publications: |
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Newsletter Editor: |
Teresa Cox |
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Web Spinner: |
Tracy Albee |
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| Education: |
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Chairperson: |
Marilyn McDonald |
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MEMBER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
On 2/29/08, Marilyn McDonald was a presenter at the Institute of Paralegal Education Conference in Sacramento. The 8 hour conference was titled "Medical Record Evaluation for Paralegals". The presentation included chart components, documentation styles, terminology, acronyms, abbreviations and electronic records. Her co-presenters included 2 attorneys and a paralegal. There was a wonderful turnout and each attendee received a flyer for the upcoming May 3rd GSAC event: “Elder Law Face Off-Why the Other Side is Just Wrong.”
Welcome Newest Members!
Bilbuena, Marie “Trini”: marie.gilbuena@comcast.net
Grutman, Kathryn: kgrn02@hotmail.com
Midgett, Mary: midgettlnc@gmail.com
Poonamallee, Cynthia: ckpucd@hotmail.com
Stidham, Jamie: jamiestidham@pendulumpreparations.com
Please feel free to go to our Members listing and learn more about all our members.
http://www.gsac-aalnc.org/Pages/MembersListing.aspx
PAST EVENTS:
There was a good turnout for the February 2, 2008, Educational Luncheon held at Scott’s Seafood featuring:
Chris Pasero, MS, RN-BC, FAAN
A nationally known expert on Pain Management
The focus of the lecture was on two primary sources of litigation, specifically, the undertreatment and overtreatment of pain. Classic court cases resulting in litigation included the circumstances and decision making that lead to the errors in treatment where patients being undertreated suffered greatly and those being overtreated endured severe complications and even death.
Chris further enlightened us on types of pain, the different pain scales used, symptoms of chronic pain and the adverse effects of unrelieved pain. She included the current clinical management and standards of care and the recommended principles, standards and care guidelines that help prevent the under and overtreatment of pain.
If you would like a copy of the program handout, please contact Marilyn McDonald at: marilyn@bluebeaconmedical.com
UPCOMING GSAC EVENTS:
“Plaintiff v. Defense – Point/Counterpoint”
Elder Law Face Off – Why the Other Side is Just Wrong.
with
Defense attorney:
Michael Le Vangie of Prout & Le Vangie
vs
Plaintiff attorney:
Steve Garcia of Garcia Law Firm
with
Honorable Cecily Bond (Ret.)
mediating
Saturday May 3, 2008
8 am to 1:30 pm
The program will feature a Trial atmosphere with the Hon. Cecily Bond (Ret.) mediating Attorneys Michael LeVangie and Stephen Garcia as they engage in a lively and inspiring discussion while presenting and arguing Elder Abuse cases and issues.
A Question and Answer period will follow the presentation.
Where:
The Sacramento Hilton 2200 Harvard Street
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916)922-4700
Registration: 8:00-8:30 am
Continental breakfast
Program: 8:30-12:30 am
Lunch: 12:30-1:30 pm Served in the Atrium
Additional Dates to Reserve:
June 11, 2008: Board Meeting and mini educational
Topic to be determined
Denny’s Banquet Room
8707 Elk Grove Blvd
Elk Grove, CA
Phone: (916) 686-2054
September 10, 2008: Board Meeting and mini educational
Topic to be determined
Denny’s Banquet Room
Elk Grove, CA
UPDATE FROM NATIONAL:
By Tracy Albee, AALNC Board of Director
“Journey to Excellence”
AALNC National Educational Conference
Tampa Marriott Waterside
Tampa, Florida
April 9-12, 2008
www.aalnc.org/conf/2008/
Registration is open and filling up rapidly. Make your conference and travel arrangements now! Don’t miss out on the valuable educational and networking opportunities!
2008 Chapter Leadership Forum!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 from 1pm to 5 pm
Each chapter is encouraged to send two representatives. Our president, Ruth Swiggum, will RSVP that Marilyn McDonald and Melony Carlton will be our chapter’s representatives!
2008 Chapter Night
Florida Fun in the Sun Beach Party!
Chapter Night is a reception featuring displays from each of AALNC’s participating chapters. It’s an excellent opportunity for members to network and share information, and for the chapters to showcase their activities and enthusiasm. The deadline for registration is March 17th at $50.
LNCC - Certification:
The April 8, 2008, certification Exam takes place prior to the 2008 National Educational Conference in Tampa, FL.
Other LNCC Certification Exam schedule for 2008:
Exam Date: Postmark Date:
April 8, 2008* February 9, 2008
May 3, 2008 March 8, 2008
Fall – TBD TBD
*Takes place prior to the 2008 National Educational Conference in Tampa, FL only.
· For LNCC exam resources, please visit the Certification Resources section of our online bookstore at http://www.aalnc.org/edupro/profresources/landing.cfm#cert.
What’s happening today:
MRSA:
Jan. 2, 2008 -- The FDA today announced that it has cleared for marketing the first rapid blood test for MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a drug-resistant staph bacterium that can cause deadly infections.
The new MRSA blood test -- called the BD GeneOhm StaphSR assay -- delivers results in two hours. Other tests take several days.
WebMD Medical News
Expert Testimony:
02/13/08 (WV): State Supreme Court Justice Speaks to Law Association
The Court reversed an order of the Circuit Court of Cabell County in WALKER v. SHARMA that granted judgment as a matter of law to the Circuit Court of Cabell County in WALKER v. SHARMA, that granted judgment as a matter of law to the defendant after the trial court determined that the plaintiff's expert could not testify as to the national standard of care because he was unfamiliar with the specific method to dilate urethral strictures at hospitals not located in Columbus, Ohio, where he practices. We said that the trial court erred in determining that an experienced, board-certified urologist could not testify as to the applicable standard of care and spelled out some law on the subject:
"Following a trial court's decision that a physician is qualified to offer expert testimony in a given field, issues that arise as to the physician's personal use of a specific technique or procedure to which he or she seeks to offer expert testimony go only to the weight to be attached to that testimony and not to its admissibility." Syl. Pt. 3.
"Where there are several approved methods of performing a particular medical procedure, the fact that a physician who is qualified to offer an expert opinion based on [a] field of practice and expertise utilizes a different method than the doctor whose actions are at issue does not prevent the physician from offering testimony on the applicable standard of care in a medical malpractice case." Syl. Pt. 4.
You are invited to read then Chief Justice Davis's concurring opinion, because I believe that the series of cases I have just reviewed with you and her concurring opinion strongly suggest that our law tracks the original intent of Daubert and Wilt, that the trial court is a gate-keeper against junk science, but that the trial court is not a stone wall against which none but the most widely-held scientific opinions will prevail and, perhaps even more importantly, that when the expert is clearly qualified with in his or her field, Daubert and Wilt are not really relevant and attacks on the testimony of such a witness goes to its weight, not its admissibility. I believe it is fair to say that the federal courts and many state courts have departed from the original intent of Daubert and Wilt and are using them to exclude, rather than qualify, sound but more novel or less widely held expert opinions. http://www.xprolegal.com/newsletters/mar08/mar2.php
Settlement: $2,750,000
Sunbather killed
49 year old sunbather was run over and killed, June 2007, on a beach by two Oxnard police officers driving a 6,500-lb. SUV. Reportedly the officers were unaware they ran over the victim and returned to the scene about 20 minutes later (Krieger v. City of Oxnard, Ventura County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Mark O. Hiepler).
(CBJ; Sioux City Journal.com)
Auto design
Award: Defense
Passengers in a Kia automobile involved in a head-on collision blamed their injuries on a defectively designed restraint system (Delgado v. Kia Motors Corp., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Defense attorney: Mark V. Berry).
(California Bar Journal)
MORE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:
Advance Job Fair & Career Event
April 24, 2008
You are invited: Three of our members will be presenting a lecture on “Legal IQ” from 9:15 to 10:15 am.
Good Luck to Melony Carlton, Mariann Cosby and Teresa Cox. We know they will be doing an excellent job.
Location: Sacramento Convention Center
1400 J Street
Sacramento, CA
9:30 am to 3:30 pm
All Access Pass to CE Sessions & Job Fair – Free
18th Annual Medical-Surgical Nursing Conference
April 3-4, 2008
Bay Area Healthcare Providers
Location: South San Francisco, CA
www.med-surg.org
American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting
May 3-8, 2008
“Our Voice in Action: Advancing Science, Care and the Profession”
http://www.psych.org/APAStory/Annual%20Meeting.aspx.
Legal Assistance for Seniors presents the 4th Annual Elder Abuse Conference
May 5 & 6, 2008
Hilton Oakland Airport Hotel
2008 Elder Abuse Conference Registration is Now Open!
Join more than 300 elder abuse prevention advocates at Legal Assistance for Seniors' 4th Annual Elder Abuse Conference.
http://www.lashicap.org/services/elder-abuse-conference/elder-abuse-conference-2008
Spinal Cord Injuries
May 14-17, 2008
Contemporary Forums
Location: San Francisco, CA
Call: 800-377-7707
www.contemporaryforums.com
17th Annual National Expert Witness Conference
June 19-20, 2008
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Presented by SEAK
For more information: www.seak.com
Educational opportunity for GSAC chapter members:
GSAC has available for continuing education credits a home study course courtesy of Medical Legal Adventures. This legal case study is for use by GSAC members on an individual basis. Contact Kim Digardi if interested @ ddigardi@sbcglobal.net
AALNC Membership Benefits
Tracy Albee, Director at Large for AALNC
AALNC constantly strives to help members gain experience in our profession and, more so, to increase business for our members by promoting the role of the LNC to attorneys. As one of our strategic initiatives, AALNC will be working to enhance attorneys’ awareness of our profession and the numerous benefits of using a Legal Nurse Consultant as well as promote the availability of the AALNC – LNC locator tool (www.lnclocator.org).
LNC locator tool
The LNC Locator is connected to our membership database.
Please encourage your members to keep their member profile up-to-date so they are recognized in the LNC locator tool.
Their information will automatically be updated at Headquarters, and will be reflected immediately in the LNC locator.
Continue to visit www.aalnc.org for the most up-to-date information regarding the AALNC attorney awareness marketing initiatives throughout the year.
Attorney testimonials: http://www.aalnc.org/hire/testimonial.cfm
Awareness News Releases: http://www.aalnc.org/hire/release.cfm
AALNC Membership Directory
AALNC offers all their members access to the membership directory. As you use this directory to look up other AALNC members, please remember these helpful tips:
You may use as many or as few of the search fields as you wish. The fewer criteria you enter, the more names that will be returned from your search. Example: If you are looking for Jane Doe in Tennessee, then only enter Doe, Jane into the Last, First box and TN in the State box.
If you do not know how to spell a last name but you know that it starts with "J", just enter the "J" into the Last, First box.
Unless you are certain that the person you are looking for is a member of their local chapter, do not use the Chapter/Region search box at all.
If you want a list of all AALNC members in a specific state, use that state as the only search criterion.
If names are not returned using the appropriate searches, it is possible that the individual has requested not to be listed in the directory for privacy reasons.
About AALNC membership
Our membership numbers are currently at a 2,600 mark!
We would like to thank all of you for your help in stream-lining our dues processes with the dues calendarization change. As of 1/1/2008, all new and renewing members will now have the expiration date of 12/31/2008. This will make tracking member renewals less time consuming and allow for member retention. In turn, this will make the local chapter’s tracking of active membership much easier and streamline your ability at the chapter level to know a member has renewed their dues for any given year. Should questions arise, please contact our Director-at-Large, Tracy Albee.
- Don’t forget that membership dues can be submitted online at any time for renewals.
Please remember, all Active and Associate chapter members must be national members of AALNC. Sustaining members do not need to be national members; however, this membership category is meant for local vendors, attorneys and other non-nurses interested in your chapter’s activities. Use the online membership directory or contact us to verify membership statuses.
e-Communities – hopefully you have already had the opportunity to view and utilize AALNC’s membership benefit, e-communities. As an AALNC member, you have the ability to “subscribe” to the Members Only community and more. Within these communities you will be able to participate in various Discussion Forums, such as AALNC Member Community; Becoming an LNC; LNCC Prep Package Group; LNCC’s only, by posting and responding to messages and downloading information. When you login to your e-Communities page on our website, it should be listed just below the Becoming An LNC community. If you do not see this in your record, email info@aalnc.org and ask to be added to this community.
Our Bookstore
The AALNC Online Bookstore is an excellent source for legal nurse consulting publications.
Are you receiving many questions regarding resources available for LNC’s? Feel free to place the AALNC bookstore link (http://www.aalnc.org/edupro/profresources/landing.cfm) on your chapter website for easy access and resources!
LNCC Practice Test
The quarterly Featured Product, LNCC Practice Test, is now available to members only for $44.97, a 25% savings! These 100 practice questions were developed through the same process used to write the LNCC® examination -- except that the practice test includes answers and explanations! Use this tool to help assess your readiness for the spring LNCC exams.
Legal Nurse Consulting Online Course
ALL 8 Modules of AALNC’s Legal Nurse Consulting Online Course are available on the online bookstore. We now offer packaged deals for these modules which will save you money and give you the most complete LNC education! http://www.aalnc.org//onlinelearning/index.cfm..
Miscellaneous
The Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting
Members are encouraged to submit articles to the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting.
(Submission Guidelines are posted in the back of this journal)
Archived issues of the journal can be downloaded from the Members Only section of the website.
Past Newsletters:
All past issues of the newsletter are available in the Members Only section of the website.
To find out when chapter updates need to be submitted each quarter for inclusion in the newsletter go to: http://www.aalnc.org/about/chapter_leaders.cfm and scroll to the bottom of the chapter leader resource page.
GSAC-BRN number
GSAC’s BRN number is available for $25.00 per class session for those who are in need of offering contact hours for their instructional event.
Please remember our GSAC Members when you are in need for assistance with your cases, as many are just starting out and will appreciate the business.