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National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Celebrates Highest Attended Conference in Association’s History
Apr 28, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Felicia Taylor, ftaylor@napnap.org; 856- 857-9700
Janet D’Alesandro, janetd@ajj.com; 856-256-2422
CHERRY HILL, NJ – The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) broke all previous attendance records at its recent 31st Annual Conference recently in Chicago, IL, with over 1,500 pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) and other health care providers gathering to hear the industry’s leading speakers and attend innovative education sessions.
“Our annual conference was record breaking in many ways - over 1,500 attendees experienced an extraordinary opening session, impressive accomplishments at our awards breakfast and the State of the Association shared in an innovative way at our Business Meeting” said NAPNAP President Michelle Beauchesne, DNSc, RN, CPNP, FNAP, FAANP. She went on to say “the Town Hall breakfast provided another new forum for respectful discourse and exchange. Energy, enthusiasm, and expertise filled the air!”
The theme of the conference, which was held April 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, was Achieving Vision: Pediatric Health Care Beyond the Millennium. At the meeting, attendees earned continuing education contact hours, perused the latest innovations and products in the exhibit hall, and enjoyed networking and special events.
Highlights
The conference’s innovative keynote session featured a Boston teenager who spoke about her perception of racial and ethnic health disparities in the city’s health care system. The opening keynote, Cynthia Bares-Boyd, PhD, FAAN captivated the crowd with her talk on cultural and social contributors to health disparities and ways healthcare providers can work together to eliminate these disparities for the ethnic population. There were also hands-on, intensive workshops and a wide variety of concurrent sessions on topics ranging from eating disorders to the media’s portrayal of children.
Given the enormous attention on health care reform this year, a major draw at the conference was speaker Susan Dentzer, Health Affairs editor-in-chief and television analyst for PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Dentzer explored “The Future of Health Care in America: What About the Children?” on Friday, April 16. Attendees left the session with a heightened understanding of how the country’s new reform bill will affect their practice and patients.
Among the other experts speaking at the conference were Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), who discussed quality of care issues for pediatric patients; and William Atkinson, MD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who presented a session on childhood and adolescent immunization.
Another highlight was the NAPNAP Student Reception on Saturday, April 17. PNP students, preceptors and faculty gathered to network and honor students and NAPNAP Past President Margaret Brady, PhD, RN, CPNP. The reception was sponsored by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) and the Association of Faculties of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (AFPNP).
2011 Conference
NAPNAP’s 32nd Annual Conference will be held in Baltimore, MD, March 23-25, 2011. For more information on NAPNAP and its education events, visit www.napnap.org or contact the association at 20 Brace Road, Suite 200, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034; phone: 856-857-9700; e-mail:info@napnap.org.
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About NAPNAP
NAPNAP is committed to improving the health care of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
An association of over 7,000 nurse practitioners throughout the United States, NAPNAP has 47 chapters nationwide. For more information, call 856-857-9700 or visit NAPNAP's Web site at www.napnap.org.
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