DNA Reporter - December 2021

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Page 12 • DNA Reporter December 2021, January, February 2022 Advocacy Results of Delaware Nursing Dialogue – Advocacy Prioritization Annamarie Flick, MSN, RN-BC, NE-BC, Advocacy Director The Delaware Nurses Association recently launched Delaware Nursing Dialogue, an ongoing inquiry series for all Delaware nurses to participate in and contribute to the advancement of nursing in Delaware. Delaware Nursing Dialogue will feature a variety of topics focused on the profession. The first survey in the series Annamarie Flick focused on advocacy and legislative efforts. These results were recently presented to the Advocacy Committee and Board of Directors. I am happy to share them back with you. Demographics • There were 194 nurses that participated in the annual advocacy priorities survey. o 68% are RNs, 29% are APRNs, and less than 1% each were LPNs and nursing students. o 70% of respondents had over 20 years’ experience. o 66% of respondents are members in the Delaware Nurses Association. o 54% of respondents live in New Castle County. o 37% of respondents work in the hospital setting. Advocacy Prioritization • Provided a list of 11 critical topics in nursing advocacy/policy, respondents ranked them in highest to lowest priority as below. o Safe Staffing o Wellbeing of the Nursing Workforce o Workplace Violence o Top of License Practice o Nursing Education o Personal Protective Equipment o Ongoing Emergency Preparedness o Collaboration/Relationships/Respect within the Delaware Health Care Professional Community o Telehealth Access & Regulation o Environmental Health o APRN Clinical Preceptors • When asked about additional advocacy/ policy opportunities, respondents provided 82 additional responses. The themes that emerged from these answers include: o Access, regulation, and payment for home care services o Standing order protocols o Protecting scope of practice for all nurses o Access to and overall mental health services o Uplifting and maintaining the scientific, evidence-backed position of our profession and combatting mistrust o Increased, equitable, and consistent nursing pay/salary Advocacy Engagement • 22% of respondents expressed interest in the Advocacy Ally position to further support nursing engagement in policy, legislation, and advocacy. • 48% of respondents expressed a desire to be further involved in grassroots advocacy by connecting with their local legislators and speaking in support of nursing priorities. This information, provided by Delaware nurses, is already reshaping the way the Advocacy Committee is working and prioritizing our efforts. Several actions have already come out of the review of this data: • Marykate McGurk, BSN, RN, CCRN, Susan Conaty- Buck, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAANP, and Suzette Flores, DNP, BSW, APRN, NP-C have volunteered to work as grassroots coordinators and connect with the identified individuals on staying engaged and elevating the voice of nurses. • The Advocacy Committee is going to form three subgroups focused on the top priorities of Delaware nurses: workforce/staffing, wellbeing, and workplace violence. • DNA’s Executive Director is connecting with the identified Advocacy Allies to onboard them to their role, keep them engaged, and begin our work for the 2022 Delaware General Assembly. The Advocacy Committee will continue to analyze the results and align them with our strategies and legislation/policy that we support and move forward. Our 2022 Legislative Platform is also currently being updated based on these results and changes/trends in nursing and healthcare policy. This will be shared with nurses in the next edition of the DNA Reporter. The Advocacy Committee and Board of Directors thanks all nurses that took the time to answer the first Delaware Nursing Dialogue and provide us with this rich information. We encourage you to look for the next in the series to participate and lend your voice. Additionally, the prioritization of advocacy efforts will become an annual mainstay in Delaware Nursing Dialogue, so look for your chance to participate in Fall 2022! Retirement Readiness Checklist Every day brings you a little closer to retirement age. Are you prepared for the financial impact of leaving the workforce? Here’s a checklist to help you consider the variables that impact your retirement readiness: 1. Estimate your retirement living costs. Do you know how much money you will need to live comfortably in retirement? The amount you spend is likely to change over the years. For many retirees, expenses are highest in the early active years of retirement, but also may spike later in life, should you require costly living assistance. 2. Add up your assets. As you approach retirement, you’ll want to have a good handle on the assets available to fund your retirement. Consider the equity in your home and other properties, your investment accounts, retirement accounts, annuities or cash-value insurance and savings accounts. If you’re a collector and hope to cash in, now is a good time to get an appraisal to determine current market value. 3. Think about liquidity. How will you access your savings in retirement? Will you need to sell securities or properties? Do you own an annuity that can be converted into an income stream? Do you have a lot of pre-tax dollars in your retirement accounts? You’ll want to have a plan to withdraw from your retirement savings in the most financially advantageous way. 4. Calculate your Social Security earnings. How much you will receive each month from Social Security is based on your work history and the age at which you choose to retire. To receive your maximum monthly benefit, plan to claim your Social Security benefits at full retirement age (or later – up to age 70). Filing at an earlier age will result in a permanent reduction in monthly benefits. 5. Consider your tax obligations. Taxes continue even when you stop working. Assuming you meet the income threshold, some portion of your Social Security income will be taxed. The good news is that as a retiree, you will most likely qualify for a lower marginal income tax rate. State income taxes vary widely and may influence where you want to retire. 6. Don’t forget about inflation. While your Social Security benefits are adjusted for inflation, your other income may not be immune to rising consumer prices. Keep inflation in mind as you estimate your living expenses into the future. 7. Sign up for Medicare during the limited enrollment window. To avoid penalties, you must elect your Medicare benefits within a limited time frame on either side of age 65. Special rules apply for people who continue to work and are covered by an employer’s health insurance plan. During Medicare enrollment, you’ll also have the opportunity to choose an optional Medicare Supplement insurance plan. Medicare Supplement plans help pay for out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles under original Medicare. 8. Consult the experts. Don’t wait until the last minute to figure out how you’ll pay your way in retirement. Talk to your accountant and financial advisor and explore your options. Together, you can devise a retirement strategy to help you make the most of the savings you’ve accrued from a lifetime of work. Christopher Malmstrom, CRPC, APMA, is a Financial Advisor with Point to Point Wealth Planning a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Wilmington, DE. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 12 years. To contact him, visit his website www.ameripriseadvisors.com/christopher.malmstrom or call 302-995-7526. His office is located at 5195 W Woodmill Drive, Suite 27, Wilmington, DE 19808-4067. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and its affiliates do not offer tax or legal advice. Consumers should consult with their tax advisor or attorney regarding their specific situation. Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. | © 2021 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.
December 2021, January, February 2022 DNA Reporter • Page 13 Delaware Licensed Practical Nurse Leadership Journey to State Nursing Leadership Kenyette Walters, LPN, CDP® My name is Kenyette, most know me as Keni. I am a Delaware Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and currently, Vice President, Delaware Board of Nursing. I have been a nurse since 2012. Originally from Philadelphia, my background is in investment accounting and corporate finance. I am also a licensed Cosmetologist, former phlebotomist, heavy equipment operator, and spent some time doing academic grading/extern coordinator and lab administration for a graduate medical school in Philadelphia. After relocating to Delaware in 2007, and with long Kenyette Walters standing medical issues, I decided to pursue an earlier dream of entering the nursing profession. I felt that I owed good nursing care back to the community. I studied and obtained certification as a nursing assisting, worked in long-term care, and realized that nursing was my passion. In 2012, I completed nursing school and obtained my LPN license. Never discouraged by the saying “LPNs will be eliminated,” I endeavored to prove that LPNs are exceptional and prudent nurses with a wealth of opportunities to pursue. My career took off quickly. I quickly found that geriatric psychiatric, dementia, and behavioral nursing were my gift. In my role and practice setting, I was provided the opportunity to fulfill the charge nurse role and provide dementia programing for a large long-term care program in Maryland. I am a member of the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners and an active Certified Dementia Practitioner®. The road to excellence is not easily traveled. I had to endure many of the downsides of nursing, including bullying from peers and the “nurses eat their young” mentality. I persevered and have had the opportunity to practice in some of the following roles/environments: wound care, corrections, geriatric psych, orthopedic rehab, assisted living house supervisor, admissions nurse, and intravenous certification. I am currently an overnight skilled nurse in an exclusive lifestyle senior community. I also teach clinical instruction in the medical assistant program at Polytech Adult Education. Serving as the LPN member on the Delaware Board of Nursing, in addition to the roles noted below, has been pivotal in my professional practice, development, and leadership. I was reappointed to the board for a second term and most recently achieved a landmark milestone, I was elected by the board to serve as the Vice President. Additionally, I chair the Limited Lay Administration of Medications (LLAM) Committee. This committee is responsible for a state regulated program, further defined in the Delaware Nurse Practice Act, that allows individuals who have successfully completed a board-approved limited lay administration of medications training program to administer prescription or nonprescription medications to patients/residents/ clients in select settings. The Delaware Board of Nursing has been one of the most challenging, often stressful, yet highly rewarding roles to date. The board’s primary purpose is to protect the public from negligent/impaired nursing practice. Our other goal is to support nurses, ensuring that they can practice safely and within the law, provide assistance programs to help nurses in crises, and exact discipline, when necessary. This role requires fairness, consistency, and in-depth knowledge of the Delaware Nurse Practice Act, as well as knowledge of practice limitations at all levels. Looking to the future and my continued professional development, my next major goal is to enroll in a nursing home administrator program and precept in my current facility with our amazing Executive Director. I hope to one day be the leader of an entire community/facility. I can be reached via email at mskeni@prodigy.net. Nurses, thank you for your continued efforts to serve our community. I know that, at times, it can be difficult to find the passion needed, but your efforts are noticed and appreciated. The COVID pandemic has put a strain on the nursing community, with an end date hard to see at this time. Together, we will support each other, those we serve, and emerge stronger than ever. We are tired. We are weary. We will never give up. We are angels of mercy. We are nurses!
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