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Fall 2014

MeANA: Who We Are/ The Girls, by Tom Nolan, President-Elect About 16 years ago my wife and I visited on vacation. Among other things, my wife was impressed by how much the people we met liked to talk about their home state. We both noticed how many people had dogs, and we met lots of them too. Soon after we returned home to Cincinnati, Ohio, we started talking about relocating to Maine. And somewhere along the way, we decided that getting a dog would be an appropriate first step. On Halloween of 1998 we welcomed our first girl. A beautiful, one and a half year-old black, Labrador retriever into our family. We named her Molly. We read lots of books, and talked to lots of people about how to be good humans. But really, we were in the darkest of nights on the subject. Fortunately, Molly was completely devoted to training her humans. For instance, she taught me about her separation anxiety by leaving me subtle clues throughout the house. After numerous trips to the hardware store to replace things like scratched-off paint, ripped carpets, and chewed-off doorknobs, I was fully aware that she didn’t like being alone. The next spring, we moved to Maine. You’d have thought that Molly was born here. She was a great hiker, camper and sailor. She liked swimming anywhere, anytime, even on cold winter days. Naturally, we developed friends who were dog families and we were advised (incorrectly) that two dogs were no more bother than one. So, a couple years later, we came home with our second girl, baby Emma, a yellow Labrador retriever. Though Emma did make one false move at the dog dish (Molly quickly taught her to eat her own kibble), Molly warmly welcomed her into our family. Molly never had to fear being alone again. Life went on for the four of us. We all liked being outside in any kind of weather. Both girls loved winter. We encountered a few incidents with tics, skunks, porcupines and vet bills, but generally it was all good. In 2006 we moved to Bridgton, and the girls took it in stride. But in 2012, when Molly turned 15 (which is about 3 years older than the average life expectancy of her breed), we knew our remaining time together would be short. In September, it was evident that she was not enjoying her life so much. Everything was hard for her. For weeks, we went back and forth, considering all our options, and finally decided to euthanize Molly. I actually know people who would never own another dog after such an experience. It was very hard for all of us. I like to remember Molly as our first girl, who taught us a lot. Without her, we may never have become owners and admirers of dogs. Just before Christmas that year, we brought home another girl and named her Lucy. I picked her out from among a litter of eight. She’s a strong-minded yellow lab, and life with Lucy was a real trial for the first 22 months. My wife says Lucy was sent to punish us for all the mistakes we made with Molly. But Page | 2

Lucy’s strong suit has always been that she’s just too cute to stay mad at. Fortunately, Emma has been a rock through it all. As Lucy turned two, she came around and has become a real prize. Our girls have given us the gift of their companionship. We’ve learned patience, unconditional love, appreciation for the miracle of life, and we never have to be alone. My wife and I are convinced that we are better humans as a result of being their humans. Recently, Lucy had knee surgery on both back legs at the same time. For all of you regional fans out there, she had general anesthesia with an epidural catheter for postoperative pain relief. Of course, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between veterinary and human surgical care. For example, the bill showed that the anesthesia cost twice as much as the surgery. Lucy is healing nicely and we expect a full recovery. If anyone needs a good orthopedic veterinarian, just let me know. Some time ago, I was talking with one of my patients. He is a widower and was concerned for his dog’s welfare during his convalescence. He said to me, “they give a lot more than they require”. I could not agree more. AANA ANNUAL CONGRESS – ORLANDO FLORIDA

The Annual Congress held in Orlando had several days of education for CRNA’s to find the lectures which fit their needs. There was fun for all with events such as the college bowl, the foundation talent show and special this year - the ALS ice bucket challenge. Students attending the event were asked to post their pictures using #AANA 2014 and obliged with thousands of postings. Our very own President-elect at the time, Kristie Hoch, served as the AANA Program Committee chair this year and ended her term by hosting the Banquet which caps off the congress. Just a few of the pictures from members attending the event can be seen on the next page. As you will see people took full advantage of the time in Orlando to network, learn and bring back to Maine some great memories. Next year the Annual Congress will be held in Sal Lake City, Utah. For more information, visit www.aana.com/meetings. We hope to have a great turn out from the members of Maine as this meeting offers something for everyone. A few days after returning from Annual congress, Kristie was asked to write a page for the AANA website, entitled “A Day in the life of a CRNA.” Her page can be found at - http://www.aana.com/…/P…/A-Day-in-the-Life-Kristie-Hoch.aspx.

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AANA ANNUAL CONGRESS (2) – ORLANDO FLORIDA

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Fall Leadership Academy – Chicago Illinois

Left to right top row- ,Maribeth Massie, Tom Nolan, Kristie Hoch, Elsa rodriguez-Roth, Sandy Richard, and Kristin Clark Left to right seated – Cathy L’Heureux, Chris Jackson, Stacey Whittington, Abraham Crockett and Cheryl Nimmo

The AANA Fall Leadership Academy was held in Chicago on the weekend of November 7th-9th, 2014. The AANA has identified various leadership tracks for state board of directors to train them on skills, tools and personnel on the national level that can guide them during their terms. Several of our Board of Director’s were in attendance to attended lectures in various tracks of interest. This year was the first year a state lobbyist could attend the academy. Our lobbyist, Chris Jackson, attended with past president Stacey Whittington. Tom Nolan, our president-elect attended the president-elect track, while Maribeth Massie, our state reimbursement specialist, went to the lectures pertaining to her position. President Hoch attended the leadership track with MeANA secretary Cathy L’Heureux and board of director member Sandy Richards. President Hoch also brought with her a student from the University of New England, Abraham Crockett. Please see his letter at the end of the Student Page | 5

News. The Fall Leadership Academy is a great way to meet leaders of our profession and to network.

This year, a nationally recognized author, Dr. Marty Makary, spoke and had a book signing. He entertained the group as well as informed.

The Fall Leadership Academy PAC event was a huge success and a way for members to have a little fun also. Page | 6

MeANA President s with Frank Purcell MeANA members with President Sharon Pearce BOD’s Sandy Richards, Cathy L’Heureux with Maribeth Massie New England Assembly Fall Meeting/ Hoch

Sea Crest Hotel NEANA President’s with AANA President Sharon Pearce The NEANA Fall meeting was hosted by Massachusetts this year at the beautiful Sea Crest Hotel in Falmouth Massachusetts. AANA President Sharon Pearce gave an AANA update. Maine will be hosting the NEANA fall meeting next year and we are hoping to have everyone from Maine come to help us welcome the CRNA’s of New England to Portland the 9th – 11th of October 2015.

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AANA President- elect, Juan Quintana has agreed to speak at the fall meeting hosted by MeANA!

The Education committee is diligently working to create the lecture series for the fall meeting as well as finding exhibitors. The meeting will be held at the Sable Oaks Marriott in Portland. Please plan to spend your Columbus Day weekend with leaders of your national and state associations as well as CRNA’s from across New England. There will be great events and surprises for all.

Student News/ Hoch

University of New England Students, Abraham Crocket and Elsa Rodriquez-Roth joined the MeANA members at the Fall Leadership Academy. President Hoch, “They were a great addition to the group. They will be great leaders themselves one day.” Able to take some time on arrival to the windy city, President Hoch and Abraham Crockett, SRNA were able to visit the AANA Park Ridge office prior to the start of the lectures and various leadership tracks. They were also Page | 8 introduced to many of the region directors, AANA staff, as well as state and national presidents.

AANA Fall Leadership Academy – A student’s perspective/Abe Crockett

This November I had the pleasure of attending the Fall Leadership Academy as a student. Going into the weekend I was not sure exactly what I had signed up for, but I knew I wanted to see the other side of things. Being an anesthesia student means your life revolves around school, clinical’s and board preparation, and I wanted a view of the life beyond anesthesia school.

After a five a.m. Thursday morning departure and a run through the wonderful Philadelphia airport to catch our connection, we arrived at O’Hare. The weekend started with a tour of the AANA headquarters, followed by dinner with a group of CRNAs all in leadership roles. Good food and great stories made the night for me.

As they say “early to bed, early to rise”… so too began a Friday full of meetings and networking. The topics included educational leadership, the future of the AANA public relations, issues of state reimbursement, tools to develop and optimize staff, and many more. Saturday’s meetings were broken down to smaller groups, allowing for more focused sessions based on the type of leadership of interest.

All work and no play was not the motto for Saturday evenings PAC event! Dueling pianos and silent auctions helped in raising over 46 thousand dollars. The evening was amazing, great food, great music and a group of passionate people giving to a cause that will ensure CRNAs and SRNAs are represented in government.

Sunday was a half-day of meetings followed by goodbyes and flights home. In only 3 days I had made great friends with the leaders of not only Maine, but all over America. Page | 9

On the flight home I finally had a moment to think about the weekend, and what really hit me was the awesome group of passionate people I will soon be sharing this profession with. It is rare to find a group of like-minded people that not only care about their profession but care for each other. The kindness that I was shown, the support and encouragement was something I will never forget. During the short weekend I met so many amazing people, made contacts with the leaders of today and tomorrow, and gained a new respect for what these leaders are doing to ensure a bright future for CRNAs around the country.

The MeANA board of Directors worked hard during the 2014 campaign season to assure the CRNA’s across our state had a voice during the elections. The following pictures are just a few of the various political rallies, fund raisers and events attended.

Rally for Governor LePage

President Obama speaking at a rally Page | 10

MeANA Federal political Director Kristie Clark with Hillary Clinton speaking at a rally State Government Relations Message Stacey Whittington, MSNA, CRNA, APRN

Now that the elections are over it is time to build relationships and introduce ourselves to our legislators. An easy thing would be write/e-mail, call, and/or visit your legislator to congratulate them on their election and briefly share your “story” about how and why you became a nurse anesthetist, what you do every day to care for patients, and how research has shown that nurse anesthetists are excellent, safe, cost effective anesthesia providers. As the MeANA State Government Relations Chair I will be working under the direction of the MeANA board and with our lobbyists to ensure that we address legislative and regulatory issues that will ensure Maine citizens have access to nurse anesthesia services throughout the state.

Tips for Sending E-Mail to Your Legislatures Please note that because legislators are a very visible target for spam and malicious attacks, they use powerful anti-virus programs. Unfortunately, they occasionally reject legitimate e-mails. Here are a few things you can do to help your message get through quickly and successfully: • Type your message directly into the e-mail; their security programs may reject messages with attachments - and even if the attachments get through, they are advised not to open attachments unless they are something they were expecting from a sender they know • Use plain text without animation, colored backgrounds or other enhancements • Put a subject in the subject line (a descriptive subject such as “nurse anesthesia services” is better than "Hello" because it makes it more obvious that it is a real message & makes it easier for the legislator to find your message again when he or she has information to send you) • It's is more effective to send a personalized message to one member than a general statement to everyone (The Maine State Government site to find your legislators has not yet been updated with the 2014 elections —stay tuned as soon as it is I will e-mail the link)

• Individually written letters, rather than mass generated form letters, make a greater impression on your legislator. Type your name, address, and phone number at the top. • Addressing correspondence: Tips for Hand Written Communications to Your Legislators To a State Senator To a State Representative The letter is a direct way to communicate with a state legislative office. When writing a letter, this list of The Honorable (Full Name) The Honorable (Full Name) suggestions will improve its effectiveness: Senate of Maine House of Representatives 3 State House Station 2 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0003 Augusta, Maine 04333-0002 Page | 11

Dear Senator (last name) Dear Representative (last name)

I hope you all take a minute to get involved. You may reach me at [email protected] Best regards, thanks for all you do every day. Stacey

Lobbyist Report/Chris Jackson SENATE (20 Republicans; 15 Democrats)

Senate Republicans: In the Senate, the new 20-member majority Republicans unanimously elected Sen. Mike Thibodeau of Knox County as Senate President. Thibodeau served as Senate Minority Leader in 2013-14, and is widely viewed as a close ally of Governor Paul LePage. Sen. Garrett Mason of Androscoggin County was elected Senate Majority Leader. The youngest member of the Republican caucus, Mason was most recently a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. Finally, Sen. Andre Cushing of Penobscot County was elected Majority Whip. Cushing is the former Republican Whip in the House, and since joining the Senate, has served on the Labor, Commerce, Research & Economic Development Committee. Notably, Sen. – who was Whip in 2013-14 – did not seek a leadership post. Some speculate that he is unelectable for a leadership post because he is too moderate for the new Republican caucus.

Senate Democrats: The 15-member Senate Democratic caucus elected Sen. Justin Alfond of Cumberland County as Minority Leader. Alfond was Senate President in 2013-14. Sen. Dawn Hill of York County was elected Minority Whip. Hill was most recently the Senate Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Former Whip Sen. Anne Haskell of Cumberland County did not seek reelection because she did not think that it was in the caucus’ best interests to have both leaders from the same county.

HOUSE (79 Democrats; 68 Republicans; 4 Independents)

House Democrats: The 79-member House Democratic caucus unanimously re-elected Rep. of Berwick for a 2nd term as House Speaker. Former Majority Whip Rep. Jeff McCabe of Skowhegan was elevated to the Majority Leader post over Rep. Barry Hobbins of Saco. And newcomer Rep. Sara Gideon of Freeport (beginning her 2nd term) was elected Majority Whip over Rep. Lori Fowle of Vassalboro. Gideon served on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee last session.

House Republicans: The 68-member House Republican caucus unanimously reelected Rep. Ken Fredette of Newport as Minority Leader. Rep. Ellie Espling of New Gloucester was elected Minority Whip.

The LARYNG0SCOOP/Moyer

In this issue of the Snooze News I have chosen to interview a former student now working in Caribou Maine. Many students touch our lives through the years but Darrel Freeman was unique. The words that come to mind are kindness, generosity, Page | 12 hardworking and humility. Darrel's road to education wasn't easy. He put himself through school while raising his large family and his ill mother who he took care of in his home. You wouldn't hear him refer to this often. Instead he went through his day with a smile on his face and a calm demeanor. I think all of us at Mercy Hospital were both impressed and touched by Darrel. MaryKay Moyer CRNA MS Tell us about yourself Darrel,

I am a native of Baltimore, MD. At the age of 19, I performed missionary service for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Caracas Venezuela. Upon returning to Maryland, I received my BSN degree from The University of Maryland in 2006. I obtained clinical nursing experience in Cardiac Surgery ICU at The University of Maryland Medical Center. I earned my MSNA from UNE in 2011. After graduation, my family and I moved to Caribou, ME were I began my career as a CRNA at Cary Medical Center. Cary is a rural access facility with 30 beds, 4 OR's, and an Endoscopy suite. I have 4 CRNA and 2 Anesthesiologist colleagues and practice in a supervision model. Surgical services at Cary include Ortho., Gen. Surg., OB/GYN, & ENT. I am married and have six children, ages 4-10yrs. My family enjoys traveling, skiing, scouting, as well as camp fires. By far, my favorite hobby is sleeping!

QUESTION: Can you describe a typical day in your job? A typical day at Cary includes 2-4 OR's running with Endoscopy. I'm on stand-by for OB for intrathecal/epidural services.

QUESTION: What have you seen as the biggest challenge in your position in caribou? While possessing expertise and skill in providing anesthesia care for a variety of surgical patients, some have to be transferred to tertiary faculties for surgical procedures were extended ancillary services for post-operative care are available.

QUESTION: Living and working in Maine, tell us about a moment when you felt "Yes! This was the right move for me" On one of my family trips across the state, my oldest daughter said, "Daddy, I'm glad we moved to Maine, I'm learning a lot of cool things!"

QUESTION: You have a long history of service, especially in your church. Can you tell us what that has meant to you? Providing service gives me a sense of purpose; often times, stepping out of my comfort zone. It helps me to stay focus on the simple and important things of life.

QUESTION: Are there skills you utilized as a Father that serve you well in your role as a CRNA? One of my best fatherly skills is concentration. With the possibility of six different conversations to manage, seven including my wife, at the dinner table, I focus on conversations or questions while being engaged in the overall conversation. In the OR, there are simultaneous events occurring during an operation and my ability to concentrate allows me to provide vigilant and safe anesthesia care to my patients while being aware of overall events in the OR.

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QUESTION: What has been one of your most rewarding moments as a clinician thus far? I provided care for a Trauma patient who was stabilized and transported to a tertiary facility for additional care. The individual recovered. The care they received from the Anesthesia and Surgical team at Cary was pivotal in the recovery of the patient.

QUESTION: What one piece of advice would you give to someone interested in entering the field of nurse anesthesia? Go for it! Nurse Anesthesia is a wonderful career with a variety of opportunities and practice settings.

QUESTION: The cocktail party question: If you could do anything you wanted (besides sleep!) what would it be? I would travel the globe with my family and teach my children about the world in real time. I would learn a lot as well. Oh, and somehow receive an income to accomplish this feet. Perhaps I should contact TLC and create a "reality show"!

Thanks for taking the time to read your latest edition of the Snooze News. As always, if you are wondering when to get involved with MeANA, NOW is the time! Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] with ideas, suggestions and/or content for the spring edition of the Snooze News.

Upcoming articles: • The new AANA public relations campaign Page | 14

• The MeANA video

“Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people--motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people- centered." -- Colin Powell