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This has been another exciting and successful year for MaAOHN and we have many accomplishments to be proud of. It has been a challenging year though for our national organization. If you have been following the information that AAOHN has sent out, you know that AAOHN had to take drastic steps to remain fluid or file for bankruptcy. The directors decided to hire a management company, which has extensive experience with nursing organizations, and work together to write off whatever debt they could and negotiate existing contracts for a lesser rate. The directors, who have volunteered thousands of hours to us all, took over many of the tasks that were performed previously by AAOHN staff. They have worked tirelessly and, with the help of the management company, have turned AAOHN around and back into solvency. We should all be proud to have such a terrific national Board!
I encourage you to go to the AAOHN website and see the changes that have been made and, if you have a minute, write a quick thank you to the Board. They deserve our praise and a pat on the back for a job so well done.
As for our chapter, we are financially sound, our by-laws and policy and procedure manual are up to date, our regional chapters are holding well attended and interesting professional development programs and we co-sponsored another very successful NECOEM conference. The NECOEM conference vendors, brought together by our own Western MA President, Anne Lafontaine, generated enough income that each of our four chapters received a check for $1500.00 to be used however the boards see fit.
In November, we signed an alliance with the MA Public Health Nurse Association. We are hoping to hold a few joint professional development conferences so we can align ourselves with those nurses who are so vital to our employees and their families. Our alliance with OSHA has proven fruitful. A program on hearing conservation was held at the beginning of the year and we will be working with OSHA on providing our website with some useful tools.
On December 31, the Rhode Island chapter of AAOHN dissolved leaving a void for those nurses working in Rhode Island. Shrinking membership was the main reason. A meeting was held with those who wish to remain active in AAOHN and they were offered membership in MaAOHN. We hope to have a networking meeting in early March in the South coast/Rhode Island area and I encourage you to come.
Our website remains very active with over 9,000 hits last year. Our board has met regularly and our upcoming meeting dates will be posted on our website. You are welcome to attend any of our meetings. If you have any ideas you would like to share with us, please get in touch. We are always looking for fresh thoughts.
Wishing you and your loved ones the happiest and healthiest 2010,
Terry Donahue, RN, BSN, COHN-S/CM
President, MaAOHN
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