Highlights of the 2016 AONE Annual Meeting
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Highlights of the 2016 AONE Annual Meeting
held in Ft. Worth, Texas March 30th-April 2nd
by Bob Dent, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, FACHE
Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer / Chief Nursing Officer, Midland Memorial Hospital, Midland, Texas
AONE Region 7 Board of Director
The week started on Tuesday, March 29th with the AONE Board of Directors Meeting. We have a wonderful Board led by this year’s president, Dr. Maureen Swick, System CNE at Inova Health System.
The Chapter and Affiliates Meeting took place on Wednesday, March 30th. Dr. Cole Edmonson represented Texas. Mark Taylor attended from CMP this year as well. There are now 43 states who have affiliated with AONE. TONE, as you’ll recall, became the first chapter to become an affiliate of AONE. This half-day meeting was filled with updates from AONE. A significant portion of the meeting was devoted to each region identifying workforce strategies to improve recruitment and retention of nurses. There are many good things happening in Texas in the practice and academic settings.
The AONE Board of Directors had lunch with the Past Presidents of AONE. This is always an exciting time to visit with significant leaders in nursing. A good dialogue related to workplace shortages was introduced by past president, Dr. Kathy Sanford, System CNE with Catholic Healthcare Initiatives based in Denver, Colorado. This too has been a highly energized topic of discussion at a recent AHA Regional Policy Board Meeting in Oklahoma City, OK in March.
AONE’s President’s Dinner honoring Dr. Maureen Swick was held at The Ashton Depot in Ft. Worth. She had many of her family and colleagues from Inova present for the dinner. It was mentioned many times Maureen’s commitment to mentoring others and optimizing their strengths. She is highly regarded in her role at Inova. The Board of Directors surprised Maureen with her favorite song. I had the opportunity to teach the Board the Cotton Eye Joe to dance to the song. I then asked Maureen for a dance. We had a great time!
We broke attendance records at this year’s AONE Annual Meeting with almost 4,000 people attending. The opening ceremony with a boy’s choir donning cowboy hats was very good. Maureen came into the Arena with Jake, a Texas longhorn. The opening keynote session by Shawn Achor, the author of The Happiness Advantage was great. He gave many tips including journaling, meditation and random acts of kindness to be grateful and happy.
There were many great breakout sessions for attendees to attend.
The exhibit hall was packed with exhibitors giving away great items and providing insights into products to improve healthcare operational activities. In honoring Ft. Worth’s Blue Zone Project, the vendors hosted a Wine@5 event that was attended by many.
The evening of the first day was capped with the AONE President’s Welcome Reception that included an armadillo race. The dancefloor stayed full all night.
AONE’s app this year was full of good information. Many posted their pictures all week long.
On Friday, April 1st, the AONE Region 7 Meeting took place right after the Sunrise Sessions. We had great attendance from our region with lively discussion. There were about 250 members in attendance including a contingency from Vietnam. Thank you so much for your contributions to the discussions. In our region, we had robust discussions about workplace safety and the opioid epidemic.
The AONE Plenary Session Friday afternoon began with a tribute to Pamela Thompson. This was followed by our keynote, Rick Pollack, AHA President. He presented the changing landscape of healthcare in the United States.
That evening at the AONE Foundation Sunset Soiree was attended by a record 350 nursing leaders. As the AONE Foundation past-Chair, I believe this is one way for leaders to give back to the nursing leadership profession. I had the opportunity at the Soiree to teach folks the Texas Two Step, waltz and the Cotton Eye Joe. Donations to the Foundation go towards nurse leadership research and nurse leadership development. Pam Thompson, retiring in July was honored with her work with the Nursing Director and Nurse Manager Fellowship programs.
Speaking of AONE Foundation leadership development, the event following the Sunset Soiree was a reception for the past Nurse Manager Fellows, Board of Directors, Past Presidents and International attendees. Pam was again honored for her work with the fellows.
The last day of the AONE Annual Meeting began with the AHAPAC Breakfast with Leeza Gibbons, Emmy Award Winner and New York Times Bestselling Author, talking about the lessons she was taught over the years by her father and others. Her grandmother and mother both have been struggling with Alzheimer’s disease. She talked about advocacy of healthcare, wellness, and caregiving.
The AONE Foundation Nurse Research Lecture featured Dr. Sean Clark. He shared his research into the workforce and specifically about the IOM Future of Nursing and education.
And finally, the endnote speaker was Vijay Gupta, a violinist and music therapist. He hit it out of the park with the associations he made with the mental health crisis plaguing the US. He mentioned the largest mental health facility in the US right now happens to be a prison.
It was mentioned time and time again how friendly Ft. Worth was to AONE’s attendees. I believe most everyone would love to live in Texas! It was especially a special AONE with the many opportunities to recognize the contributions of Pam Thompson as she prepares for retirement. She will be sorely missed.
This is my last year on the Board of Directors representing Region 7. If you are interested in running for this position, applications are due sometime in May. You may contact me and/or AONE about the process. It has been great serving in this role for the past three years. I have learned so much; met many great nursing leaders; and hopefully shared some insights into how to make our profession even better than it is now. Thank you for your support!
As you can tell from this summary report, the AONE Annual Meeting was fun and filled with meaningful educational and inspirational sessions for attendees. Next year’s AONE Annual Meeting will be held in Baltimore, Maryland. This will be the 50th Anniversary of AONE. Our own Dr. Joan Shinkus Clark will take the helm as President of AONE and will be honored for her contributions to the nursing profession. If you have never attended this conference, I consider it a premier conference for education and networking opportunities. Take advantage of AONE and all our organization has to offer. Let me know if you have any questions by contacting me at bob.dent@midland-memorial.com; call me at (432) 221-4566; and follow me on Twitter @bobdent.
