Be a Nurse Advocate
As part of the ANAC2022 conference, we held an advocacy and policy workshop to provide resources, scripts and action steps to be an advocate in your community. A few items from that workshop include:
Sign on to our letter to the Governors’ Association, Majority/Minority leaders of Congress & HHS Secretary Becerra. Sign on closes at midnight Thursday, Dec. 8. Show your support for:
- Full LGBTQ rights & access to quality healthcare for all LGBTQ individuals of all ages.
- Full reproductive rights and reproductive health care for all women and girls.
- Equitable access to preventative & health care services that address the racial and geographic inequities in health outcomes
- Voter rights & protections
- Modernization of outdated HIV Criminalization laws and policies
- Full funding for HIV prevention, care & treatment and research in federal and state budgets.
Download the ANAC advocacy tool kit. This handbook provides a basic overview of advocacy strategies and tactics. Key to all of them is the role of nurses in advocacy for sound public policies that enhance health, well-being, equality and social justice. |
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Upcoming Webinars
We are wrapping up the 2022 free educational offerings with a flurry of great webinars, all eligible for NCPD (CNE), in December! Before you head off for the holidays, join us for these upcoming webinars:
- Dec. 13: Medicare and Aging with HIV Part 2: Focus on Ryan White HIV AIDS Program
- Dec. 15: Contemporary HIV Treatment and Prevention 2022: Optimizing HIV Outcomes in Challenging Scenarios in partnership with Clinical Care Options (CCO).Registration info coming soon.
- Dec. 22: Expanding PrEP Update: Barriers and Solutions – Nursing Perspectives in partnership with CCO for members in our West region. Registration info coming soon. Additional regional talks that were already presented are available on CCO’s website.
Mpox Vaccines: Science, Readiness, Equity held on Dec. 5 and other webinars from throughout the year are available on our website for on-demand viewing.
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HIV and Aging
We have launched a series of free, on-demand virtual learning modules on HIV and Aging, all include the opportunity for obtaining continuing education contact hours.
Looking for Presenters
ANAC is seeking members who are passionate about speaking and presenting. ANAC has opportunities throughout the year to present virtually and in person on a variety of topics such as PrEP, HIV conference updates, emerging infectious diseases and mental health. If you have a particular expertise and would like to nominate yourself or a colleague as a presenter, please contact Sheila Tumilty at sheila@anacnet.org.
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Inequalities Report Released
On Dec. 1, WHO released a report, " Dangerous Inequalities." It unpacks the impact that gender inequalities, inequalities faced by key populations and inequalities between children and adults have had on the AIDS response. |
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Join ANAC and AAHIVM for a Twitter chat on Friday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. ET about the All of Us Research Program, the value of nursing research and the importance of representation from diverse communities in research. Follow, reply and retweet @anacnurses and @AAHIVM. #JoinAllofUsToday |
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This year we headed to Tampa for the ANAC annual conference. We awarded a record high of 15 full or partial registration scholarships due to generous donations from our sponsors, members and board of directors. We also honored 13 award recipients. View the award winners.
There were 150 first-time attendees and 480 participants total from around the globe. This year’s conference featured six plenaries, invited speaker concurrent sessions, abstracts and posters mainly centered on the roles of nurse leadership at intersections of health and social justice, equitable health policy and implementing innovative person-centered HIV prevention and treatment with, and for, the communities we serve. Take a look at some of the most memorable moments in Tampa. |
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Next year, ANAC will be heading to New Orleans Oct. 25-28. Mark your calendars now!
If you attended, please fill out evaluations and claim your CNE! Either, go to the Evaluations tab under Conference Information in the app or, click here. Log in using your ANAC user ID and password and follow the prompts from there to complete the evaluation and access your CNE hours. CNE and evaluations will close Dec. 31, 2022, so don't delay. |
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Holiday Outreach
We hope you support these great projects this holiday season:
TransSanta - Check out this Instagram project to deliver gifts to trans youth in need, safely and anonymously.
SERO Project Holiday Card Project - A grassroots project that sends holiday cards to incarcerated people (some with HIV or locked up because of HIV related charges) across the U.S. Deadline Dec. 16.
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Business Meeting Recap
A virtual business meeting was held on Nov. 30. The presentation slides and a meeting summary are available on the member log-in page. A proposed bylaws change regarding membership categories was discussed and will be presented to the membership in January. |
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Rhode Island Chapter
Houston Gulf Coast Chapter
The Houston Gulf Coast Chapter will be holding a holiday gathering to both welcome their newly elected board and to collect black haircare donations. If you are in the Houston area - plan to attend and RSVP here. |
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All active ANAC Committees met during the annual conference in Tampa last month. Committees are always looking for new members to contribute to ANAC’s mission and goals. 2023 is a great time to get involved. Reach out to Nakera at nakera@anacnet.org for more information. |
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Long-time Member Retiring
Sending a warm congratulations to Jeannette Southerly who will retire at the end of this month after contributing 30 years to the HIV field. She has dedicated the entirety of her nursing career to caring for people with HIV, starting in Charlotte, NC on an oncology unit as a new grad (including people with HIV), and providing HIV education for the AETC (West Virginia Regional Partner of the MAAETC) for the remainder of her career. She has been in this role with West Virginia University and MAAETC for the past 32+ years. Jeanette has also been a member of ANAC since 2009.
Native American Heritage Day
Each year, Americans observe Native American Heritage Day on Nov. 25. Native Americans are accorded special honor on this day, and their rich cultures, accomplishments, contributions and heritage are celebrated. We sat down with ANAC members Earl Blair, RN, BSN, and Donna Roberson, PhD, FNP-BC, about what this month and being an ANAC member mean to them. Read more.
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Remembering Mary Jo Hoyt
We are saddened to share the news that ANAC member, Mary Jo Hoyt passed away on Nov. 7, 2022. She was a long-time ANAC member and HIV nurse practitioner, serving as the director of the women’s health program in the Division of HIV Medicine at St. Vincent Hospital in New York City and later as research program manager in the pediatrics department at Rutgers University’s College of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey, with a focus on reducing perinatal transmission in the U.S and globally. Her work took her to different global settings, including South Africa as part of research teams. She chaired two CDC expert panels and served on a CDC task force on mother-to-child HIV transmission. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Unbound, the charity that Mary Jo worked with in Venezuela. Unbound supports and partners with families living in poverty in 19 countries. Donations can be made via unbound.org. |
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Award Feature of the Month
Joanne Ruiz Achievement for Excellence in Clinical Practice in HIV
This year, Gwen Verlinghieri, MSN, CRNP, ACLPN was awarded the Joanne Ruiz Achievement for Excellence in Clinical Practice in HIV award. This award recognizes an outstanding nurse clinician who is a source of pride to self, peers, patients/clients and colleagues. She brings knowledge, skill and care to people with HIV and their loved ones. Gwen is a family nurse practitioner and is the director of the HIV department at the AIDS Care Group, a multisite network in Delaware County, outside of Philadelphia providing comprehensive and compassionate clinical care and support services to persons with public health conditions that include sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, mental illness and opioid use disorders.
This award is named in honor of Joanne Ruiz (1949-1991), one of the first nurses in the United States to become HIV positive through occupational exposure. Despite this, she continued as an HIV/AIDS nurse and was admired by her colleagues for her compassionate care and non-judgmental respect for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
Consider nominating a colleague. Call for nominations will open spring 2023!
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