President's Message
Sizzling summer greetings from your Board of Directors!! I would like to take this opportunity to orient both new and old members to the inner workings of the APNA Board of Directors (BOD). Our 100% commitment to you as members is that your BOD and National Office staff are conducting daily business in a manner that is transparent and reflective of the needs and wishes of our membership. First and foremost, careful attention is paid to the financial status and bottom line of our organization. Members can rest assured that the APNA is weathering the challenges that the world wide economy presents all of us. In combination with our growing membership and attention to spending, APNA's fund balance is now in the 7 digits. This enables us to fund new initiatives and expand existing programs without a need to increase dues. This is due primarily to the dedication of you as members in your commitment to sustaining your membership as well as recruiting new members. Read More

Member Profile:  Celebrating a Great Partnership
In her editorial for the May/June 2010 issue of JAPNA, Dr. Stein wrote about her hope for the future of psychiatric-mental health nursing: a hope that all nurses will embrace working together as a unified team. That nurses from all areas of the discipline will together work toward the common purpose of providing the highest quality of care possible.  A recent collaboration on a research translation piece for the upcoming issue of JAPNA between three APNA members demonstrates that this spirit of unity and collaboration is alive and kicking in our members!   Read More

Announcing the 2010 APNA Janssen Scholars! 
Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing students from across the United States were invited to apply for the 2010 APNA Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC Student Scholarship Program. The Awards & Recognition Committee reviewed the scores of applications submitted and selected 15 Undergraduate and 15 Graduate students to receive this year's APNA Janssen Student Scholarship. This scholarship includes registration, travel and lodging expenses to attend the APNA 24th Annual Conference, along with a stipend for meals and expenses. The winners will also receive a one year complimentary membership in the APNA.  Click here to view the recipients.

APNA 24th Annual Conference: Keynotes!
APNA is gearing up for its  24th Annual Conference which will be held October 13-16 in Louisville, Kentucky.  This year's program includes two exciting keynote speakers who are nationally and internationally known advocates of psychiatric-mental health nursing:  Eric Arauz and Ronald Manderscheid, PhD.  Eric Aruaz is a national award winning consumer advocate who also happens to have been diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder and alcoholism in 1995. Using his personal experiences as a consumer, Mr. Aruaz speaks about his journey through the specific suffering and trauma endured by himself and others of his population to his success today.  Like Eric Aruaz, Ronald Manderscheid has devoted himself to consumer and family concerns. His impressive career includes serving as Senior Policy Advisor on National Health Care Reform during the Clinton National Health Care Reform Debate. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of the National Association of County Behavioral health and Developmental Disability Directors while also Adjunct Professor at the Department of Mental Health, John Hopkins University, a member of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Healthy People 2020, and President-Elect of ACMHA - The College for Behavioral Health and Leadership.   www.apna.org/AnnualConference

Elections 2010
The polls closed at midnight on July 16th, your votes were tallied, and the official results announced July 20th.  This year's elections saw a remarkable 50% increase in participation over last year!  Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote.  Please join us in welcoming the newly elected members of the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee.  APNA is looking forward to working with them all; this coming year promises to be as great as the last.  Elections 2010 Results

Surveys 
The Research Council is currently conducting a survey in order to determine our membership's research interests and needs. Please take a few minutes to complete their short survey to let them what research you are conducting, how you are applying research to your practice or education, and what research areas you find compelling.  The results will be integrated into the Council's Interactive Panel at the Annual Conference.  Click here to take the Research Interest survey.

With the advent of health care reform, APNA wants to know how you think psychiatric nursing will fit into the increased emphasis on integrated care.  If you work in an integrated care setting, we would love your input.  Click here to take the Integrated Care survey.

Safety Checks:  The All-Purpose Discussion forum has recently seen a lot of discussion regarding the practice, standards, and effectiveness of safety checks. Member Frances Hodgkins suggested putting together a survey about this topic to send out to all of our members; we think this is a great idea. In order to do so, we need your help!  Please email suggested questions for the survey to mtrimyer@apna.org.

Complete this sentence:  You know you're a psychiatric nurse when...
Email your responses to mtrimyer@apna.org  by August 31st.  We'll include our favorites in the September issue of Members' Corner!

The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2010 (S. 3491/H.R. 5527) has been introduced to Congress. This federal legislation will grant registered nurses a guiding voice in staffing decisions for hospitals, ensuring that sufficient nurse staffing will protect patients and improve the quality of care. Sponsored by politicians from both parties, the bill requires the establishment of staffing committees comprised of at least 55% direct care nurses or their representatives. These committees would create unit-by-unit nurse staffing plans which must establish flexible minimum numbers of RNs per unit.  Read the American Nurses Association's news release.

The Mental Health and Addiction Safety Net Equity Act, HR 5636, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 29 by Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY). The bill establishes federal status for organizations that offer treatment and supports for millions of poor and vulnerable persons with mental and addiction disorders. Full Story

The Parity Implementation Coalition has revised its fact sheet with answers to frequently asked questions about compliance with the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act. The FAQ is based on real examples of non-compliant policies, claims data and input from Parity Implementation Coalition members around the country in 2010. For plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2010, covered plans that fail to comply with the law are subject to a $100 per member per violation fine.  For each of the non-compliance issues, this FAQ document provides a brief description of individual and provider rights under the law. Click here to read the fact sheet.

For the first time in 25 years, medical experts are proposing a major change in the criteria for Alzheimer's disease, part of a new movement to diagnose and, eventually, treat the disease earlier. The new diagnostic guidelines, presented at an international Alzheimer's meeting in Hawaii, would mean that new technology like brain scans would be used to detect the disease even before there are evident memory problems or other symptoms, reported the New York Times on the Web. If the guidelines are adopted in the fall, as expected, some experts predict a two- to threefold increase in the number of people with Alzheimer's disease. Many more people would be told they probably are on their way to getting it. The Alzheimer's Association says 5.3 million Americans now have the disease. Full Story

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the awarding of $96 million in grants to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators. The grants will go to schools to give scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds with financial need, many of whom are underrepresented minorities.  Funds will also provide low-interest loans to nurse faculty students - students who want to teach nursing - as incentive for nurses to select careers as nurse educators. Full Story

The Tri-Council for nursing recently issued a statement in response to an RN Supply and Demand story broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio last month. To read the Joint Statement from the Tri-Council for Nursing on Recent Registered Nurse Supply and Demand Projections, click here.

The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems has named APNA member Kathleen McCann, RN, PhD as the Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs.  Dr. McCann is a past recipient of APNA's Excellence in Leadership Award.  In her new position, Dr. McCann, a clinical leader within NAPHS for more than 15 years, will be the point of contact for members and policy leaders on quality, clinical, accreditation, and regulatory issues which affect treatment for individuals of all ages who are experiencing psychiatric and substance use disorders.  She will work to build strategic partnerships in support of quality in addition to serving as the liaison to the National Quality Forum, working with hospital accrediting organizations in the areas of standards development and quality initiatives, and guiding and supporting the association's activities related to current regulatory requirements. Congratulations, Kathleen, on your new position!

Northeast Health System plans to merge its two behavioral health agencies as part of the company's ongoing effort to adapt to the changing health care environment. The merger will combine Peabody, MA-based CAB Health and Recovery Services with Beverly, MA-based Health and Education Services. Both are owned by Northeast Health System, the parent company of Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester and the Beverly Hospital, reported the Gloucester Times. Full Story

The Joint Commission and the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS), the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and the NASMHPD Research Institute, Inc. (NRI) have finished work on a set of core performance measures for Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS). Full Story

By publishing a final regulation in the Federal Register to simplify the process for a Veteran to claim service connection for PTSD, Veterans Affairs reduces the evidence needed if the trauma claimed by a Veteran is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity and is consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of the Veteran's service.  This science-based regulation relies on evidence that concluded that a Veteran's deployment to a war zone is linked to an increased risk of PTSD. Full Story