President's Message
Lori Brittingham, MSN RN CNS AACNS-N
Over the past year, the NANN Board of Directors worked to develop a strategic plan focusing on four priority areas: increased development and dissemination of clinical practice guidelines, support for early career professionals, increased engagement in advocacy efforts, and the strengthening of NANN’s brand through increased visibility and strategic partnerships. I am excited to share with you all that NANN is doing to move this strategic plan forward.
In the coming weeks, NANN will reach out to you as we work to enhance the number of clinical practice guidelines available for dissemination to our membership and the neonatal community. If you are interested in participating in this work, please let us know.
The inaugural class of the AWHONN/NANN Emerging Leaders Program has been selected. This year-long program offers training on a variety of leadership topics and aims to increase advocacy and legislative action awareness, enhance participants’ professional network, and provide opportunities for future association leadership. Congratulations to NANN’s five emerging leaders, Reena Blackwell, Rachael Zastrow, Kristin Howard, Kelly Roebuck, and Elizabeth Spear who will begin the program by attending a kick-off meeting in Washington, DC, this month.
In early January, several NANN content experts participated in an interview with the U.S. Government Accountability Office to help in their efforts to gather information about the prevalence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the United States, best practices for treating infants with NAS, and the services available to infants and families affected by opioid use disorder and NAS. Additionally, NANN members joined the Alliance of Nurses for Heathy Environments in a meeting with Gail McCarthy, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to solidify an alliance between nurses and the federal agency charged with protecting the health of all Americans. This meeting was a follow up to the May 2016 White House Summit where NANN also was represented.
This year NANN will continue to support members by awarding scholarships for the Nurse in Washington Internship Program (NIWI) and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Leadership Forum. NANN received an overwhelming amount of applications for both of these scholarship opportunities. The NANN board will hold a strategy session at our midyear board meeting to take a critical look at NANN’s current programs, products, and services. We plan to discuss ways to extend these offerings as well as identify new opportunities to better meet the needs of neonatal nurses.
NANN is partnering with Procter & Gamble to offer the Pampers Thank You Nurses campaign. This program celebrates the essential role nurses play in facilitating strong relationships between newborns and their parents. At the conclusion of the nomination period, there were 874 NICU nurses nominated. Stay tuned for the exciting announcement of this year’s recipient!
Finally, to help NANN better understand our membership demographic and how we can best support you, we will be conducting a member needs assessment in the near future. Please participate in this survey, as your voice will help shape the future direction of NANN!
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