Greetings Nurses,
NASN's annual winter board meeting is being held in Washington, DC January 23rd-26th, 2016.
I have been busy preparing for the meeting and scheduling appointments with Senator Cochran, Senator Wicker, and Congressman Palazzo. Please take a moment to review the 2016 Legislative Priorities on the NASN.org website. Piper Largent, NASN Director of Government Affairs, will be briefing the Directors on updates prior to our meetings on the Hill.
I am looking forward to representing Mississippi as your Director. I couldn't be more proud of our progress in MS, however we need more school nurses to meet the needs of student's. There are 13 school districts without school nurses.
Removing the cap for NCSNs is also a priority in the state of MS. I encourage all of you to become involved by contacting your Senators and Representatives in support of removing the cap. The cap is 35 and there are 47 NCSNs. National Certification provides not only an annual salary stipend, but improves professionalism, influence, and student advocacy in our schools.
Please take a moment to read the Delaware Online Journal article featuring Beth Mattey, President of NASN. It should inspire you to keep on keeping on! We do indeed, make a difference everyday in the lives of students! Excerpt from article:
“We’re paying more attention to health as a community, and school nurses need to be part of that conversation,” Mattey said, citing a significant Massachusetts study, reported in 2014 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, that concluded that for every dollar spent on school nursing, the community saves $2.12. “We need to educate others about what we do and what we can do.”
Please feel free to contact me for questions or concerns about the upcoming NASN Board of Directors meeting. Thanks for all you do for the students in Mississippi!
Traci Easterling, RN, MSN, NCSN
NASN Director
Bayou View Middle School Nurse
212 43rd Street
Gulfport, MS 39501
228-865-1456ANCHORED IN EXCELLENCE!
Better Health. Better Learning.
Follow NASN on Twitter @schoolnurses