WKU News

The annual American College Health Association (ACHA) Conference was May 28^th – June 1^st in Chicago, IL. The theme for the conference was College Health: Architects of Change

Attendees from WKUHS included Vicky Rosa, Kathy Trulock and Dr. Patricia Blewett. Each attendee attended several session some of which are included below.

Conference Sessions:

• Improving Patient Flow and Satisfaction with Care through Process Thinking
• Bully on College Campuses and in the Academic Workplace
• Developing a Meaningful Quality Improvement and Peer Review Program that meets AAACH Guidelines
• Safety Day: Making Mandatory, Annual Training for Health Center Staff Interactive and Fun
• HIPAA & ICD-10: An Overview of What You “Need to Do”
• Safety First: What to do When a Student Threatens You
• In Stores Now: Salvia, Spice, Bath Salts and Other Legal Highs Available to Your Students

College Shooters: What Can We Learn from Their Stories

The below safety video shows how to respond if a student/patient threatens a staff member. WKUHS Patient Services Coordinator, Kathy Trulock is featured in the video.

Safety First Video

____________________________________________________________________

Executive Director ACHA Update

I have attended my 10 annual American College Health Association conference.  In those years I have learned how crucial it is to meet people from all over the country in sessions and networking functions.  It has not only allowed me to find out I am not the lone person out there but also that I am able to mentor others.  I believe that is a lot of what ACHA is ~ mentoring.

I have been a member of the HIPAA/HIM coalition for about 8 years.  I have also been asked to do a presentation for that group 7 out of the last 8 years.  This year was different – I didn’t want the stress of presenting.  Little did I know that I and four others would be asked by the Executive Director of ACHA as well as the President of ACHA to do a Pre-Conference session presentation that wouldn’t stop growing!

In November 2011 a question was put across the ACHA list serv in regards to college health nursing policy and procedure.  There is truly no such thing.  College health is a unique type of health care that is just beginning to be recognized by the American Nurses Association as well Health and Human Services.  After 6 months of planning and never meeting the others who were presenting until the day of the presentation, our group launched a Pre-Conference Session on Nursing Protocol and Procedure that brought 104 attendees.  This has now been made a permanent Pre-Conference Session as we continue to move forward with writing and publishing College Health Nursing protocol.

At the end of this year’s session I also officially became the Chair of the Nurse-Directed section of the American College Health Association.

This will be an eventful year as I move forward in both roles yet I can’t wait to see the outcome!