New Jersey Nurse - January 2022

Page 8 New Jersey Nurse & Institute for Nursing Newsletter January 2022
R egion News
Region 1
Morris, Passaic,
Sussex, Warren
Meghan Keaveney, BSN, RN, VP of
Communication
The Region 1 Board Members would like to wish
everyone a happy New Year. We look forward to
find out the wonderful things 2022 has in store for
the nursing profession. Our Region continues to
proudly offer and provide assistance to a nursing
Dover Public Schools is a progressive, culturally diverse
school district in Morris County serving approximately 3,400
students, Pre-K through grade 12 is currently accepting
applications for the position of a District Head Nurse. This is a
full-time, non-affiliated position with immediate availability.
Funding for this position will be supported by the Preschool
Expansion Grant and ESSERS II Funds.
Qualifications:
Current License as a Registered Nurse (RN) in New Jersey
Valid New Jersey School Nurse Certificate preferred
Experience in healthcare delivery in a public school setting
Essential Function:
This position will oversee all aspects of nursing services in the Dover
Schools and will serve as the primary contact with community health
agencies. Other duties will include monitoring and health services of
students in the district’s preschool program.
Application Procedure:
To be considered for the position, apply online via Applitrack and complete
all of the required components of the application.
https://www.applitrack.com/dover/onlineapp/
Dover Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified
applicants are encouraged to apply.
student by sponsoring the Dr. Foley and Brian
Foley scholarship. Please visit the NJSNA IFN
website for more information. We continue to offer
our Nightingale lamp notecards for purchase (pack
of 10 for $20). Please contact President Parker
(taralynneparker71@gmail.com) if interested in
purchasing notecards. This fundraiser assists our
region in our philanthropic endeavors.
Region 1 has started to safely attend community
service events. Of those events members have
attended Out of the Darkness Northwest New
Jersey Walk to Fight Suicide. We hope to be able to
participate in the Chester Science Fair and Autism
Speaks events as we have done in past years. We
continue to donate to various food banks in the
area.
Accolades
Thank you to Sheriff Gannon for presenting
at our October meeting about Hope One. Hope
One is a mobile substance use and mental health
disorder outreach that visits local communities in
Morris County and surrounding communities to
provide substance abuse counseling, resources,
Narcan training and Naloxone kits. The website
is as follows: https://www.morriscountynj.gov/
Departments/Sheriff/Community-Programs/Hope-
One
A special thank you for your commitment
and service to Region 1 to our “retiring”
board members: Josie Sanchez (Morris County
Coordinator), Daria Napierkowski (Sussex County
Coordinator), Lauren Krause (VP for Membership)
and Dan Misa (Nominations Committee Chair) and
Elisa Green (Nominations Committee Member). You
have done an outstanding job supporting Region 1.
Business Meetings
We had a wonderful and safe in-person
meeting in October at the Knights of Columbus in
Hackettstown, Warren County.
Upcoming Meetings:
We look forward to our upcoming meetings. Our
first meeting will be on January 22nd. This meeting
will be virtual. The topic is Opiate Alternatives
used in the field by paramedics presented by St.
Joseph’s Mobile ICU. Access to the meeting will be
communicated closer to the date. Then we meet
March 19th in a Morris County Location. The
presentation will be Verbal Abuse in the Outpatient
Setting and Maintaining a Safe Work Environment
for Nurses presented by Wendy Pritchett MSN, RN,
OCN, and Karen Kinsley, BSN, RN, OCN. More
information to follow.
NJSNA Election 2022
We were excited to retain valuable members of
our Board of Directors with the installment of our
new members. We look forward to another term
with the returning and new members.
Social Media Presence
Follow our social media pages for the most up-todate
for our events and news postings. Twitter and
Instagram handles are @NJSNARegion1. Facebook
link is as follows: https://www.facebook.com/
NJSNARegion1/
Region 2
Bergen, Hudson
Mary Jane Genuino, DNP RN-BC
It is that time of year again. The air is crisp, and
the hope for the future is brighter. We can smell
pumpkin spice everywhere, and our lists are filled
with ideas for gift-giving. It is a far cry from where
we were a year ago—but it is exactly where we’re
supposed to be—a place of hope and brighter
beginnings.
Region 2 is gearing towards a packed 2022. A
couple of projects are underway to provide more
exposure for the region. A new nurse mentorship
committee will give our graduating nursing
students an avenue to connect and be mentored by
experienced members. With the current workforce
shortage, we need our new nurses to stay and be
empowered to persevere. It will not only benefit
them, but it can positively impact patient outcomes,
as well. An annual event is also in the planning
stage to highlight our region’s best and brightest
within their different field of specialty. The best and
brightest–this is an excellent time to mention the
accomplishments of some of our members. Fatima
Sanchez was one of the awardees—unsung heroes,
from Lisa’s Living Room, a non-profit organization
for professional women of color. Kiki Magno
was involved in spearheading a Zen room for the
Emergency Department at Hackensack Medical
Center. Latiema Merilus earned two certifications
and is now double certified in Psychiatric Mental
Health Nursing through the ANCC and the
Addictions Nursing Certification (CARN).
Region 2 had two educational events—one in
September, which AbbVie Medical Affairs hosted.
The topic was on the challenges in differentiating
depression in today’s practice. It was well-attended
and provided great insights into the current
treatment and management trends of bipolar
disorder and depression. We also had a webinar
on October 14th with one of our own, Dr. Valera
Hascup, Assistant Professor of Nursing at St. Peter’s
University, who spoke about her recent study on
“Incivility in Academia.” Her study was funded by
the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing
via the George Hebert Award. Dr. Tess Medina,
the current president of the Philippine Nurses
Association of NJ, also spoke on “Resiliency and
Preventing Burnout.” Both topics and presentations
were well received and gave the participants a lot
of good information to take and apply in their daily
nursing practice. The plan is to provide educational
offerings regularly utilizing the talents within our
regions.
The past year or so has been challenging for
most of us. As we near the end of 2021, we
hope that 2022 will be the year for change and
innovation—a year for hope and renewal. A year
for our profession to shine further.
Region 3
Essex, Union Counties
Elsie A. Rivera, DNP, APN. FNP-C
VP Communications
President’s Message: Lois Greene, DHA, MBA,
BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPPS, CPHRM
Hello please allow me to introduce myself
my name is Lois Greene and I am your Region 3
president for 2022-2023. I have had the privilege
of working with many of you in different capacities
and I look forward to meeting many more of you in
the future. If I have learned anything in nursing, it
is that our connections are what makes us thrive.
Connections make the work better and ultimately
it is our connections that helped us thrive and
grow as professionals. The year of the nurse was
celebrated in both 2020 and 2021, and we can truly
say were the most unforgettable years of our lives.
Nurses in every professional environment have been
stretched, challenged, and come out on the other
side very different. I am so proud of being a part
of this amazing community of professionals. The
accomplishments of nurses are undeniable. This
year I ask you to share with our community what
helped you thrive? We will be collecting stories
called “Pearls of the Pandemic.” In this space I
am asking nurses from all over the region to share
their resiliency strategies. The information may be
sent by email, or you may drop your “pearls” via
social media. What I would like to see is a sea of
pearls that we can share widely that may turn into
something bigger. My plan for Region 3 is simple.
First, provide a network of colleagues that are
available to each other. Secondly, provide a forum
to share professional excellence. In this space