CNA prepares for RN degree

Some nurses enter the field as a certified nurse assistant before they finish nursing school.

Bethanie Hill, CNA, chose that path and she said she feels grateful for the experience she has gained as a CNA.

CNA finds fulfillment

Before she got her Certified Nurse’s Assistant license in 1996, the last thing Pam Robinson wanted to do was work in the medical field.

Robinson, who is now a CNA at Olathe Medical Center, worked in bars and warehouses, but decided that wasn’t for her.

CNA helps others through home health career

Charla Macoubrie, CNA, became a certified nurse assistant because she wanted to help others.

After six years in the field, she can proudly say she has met that goal.

Students speak out against domestic violence

For the past three years students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City have strived to give a voice to domestic violence victims.

Students continued their efforts with the “These Hands Don’t Hurt” campaign in October.

Celebrity promotes vaccines

Olympic gold medalist and “Dancing with the Stars” winner Kristi Yamaguchi visited Kansas City last week to spread awareness about seasonal flu vaccines.

Yamaguchi serves as one of the American Lung Association’s Faces of Influenza. The Faces of Influenza campaign encourages Americans to get seasonal flu shots.

As the mother of two daughters age 4 and 6, Yamaguchi has become an advocate for the seasonal flu vaccine.

“I make sure they get vaccinated every year,” Yamaguchi said. “I am a Face of Influenza.”

The H1N1 virus brought influenza into the forefront of the media earlier this year. Yamaguchi said people need to be aware of the dangers of the seasonal flu as well.

“The seasonal flu is actually more severe than the H1N1,” Yamaguchi said.

According to the American Lung Association, 226,000 Americans are hospitalized because of seasonal influenza each year and on average 36,000 people die from the flu annually.

For Kansas City mother Julie Moise, those statistics hit close to home. In 2003, Moise’s 6-month-old son Ian died after he contracted influenza.

Moise said she never thought the effects of the flu would be so drastic.

“I walked out of the (doctor’s) office thinking, ‘Good, it’s just the flu,” Moise said.

Ian died within 30 hours of his first symptoms. Moise said she had taken him to get the shot for his seasonal flu vaccine but he had not received the second shot yet, which infants require.

“He didn’t have full coverage,” Moise said.

In 2003, the death toll for influenza rose higher than normal.

“The year Ian died, 64,000 people died,” Moise said.

Moise created Ian’s Rainbow Flu Foundation to raise awareness about the flu throughout the metro area.

“I speak in the Kansas City area at different conferences,” Moise said.

Moise receives a seasonal flu shot every year and she said she makes sure her three children receive the shot as well. She encourages all parents to do the same.

Moise organized Walking to Fight the Flu 2009 through Ian’s Rainbow Flu Foundation. The event took place Saturday, Oct. 17, at English Landing Park, Parkville, Mo.

Participants age 6 months to 18 years received a free flu vaccine shot or a $5 flu vaccine nasal spray at the event.

Some people avoid annual flu shots because they think the shot will make them sick. Yamaguchi said she wants to dispel this myth.

“You can’t get sick from the flu vaccine. The shot is a dead virus,” Yamaguchi said.

Area hospitals have enhanced efforts to ensure that employees receive flu shots. Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics require all employees to receive the flu vaccine or sign a declamation form.

“It’s just a way that we can document that the employee was offered that opportunity,” Barbara Mueth, hospital spokeswoman, said.

Mueth said more than 4,800 of the hospital’s 5,500 employees already have received the vaccine. Children’s Mercy offers the seasonal flu vaccine to its employees free of charge.

A vaccine for the H1N1 virus is expected to be available as early as this week.

Yamaguchi said she does not want the H1N1 vaccine to cause people to forget the importance of the seasonal flu vaccine.

“Our goal is to help it not get overshadowed by the H1N1,” she said.

Yamaguchi also has visited Denver and Dallas, and done a series of satellite interviews to spread the word about the importance of the flu vaccine. She said she wants to use her celebrity status to promote something she feels passionately about.

Health care officials recommend that parents and children, working adults, people age 50 and older, and anyone with a chronic illness receive the influenza vaccine.

For more information about the risk of influenza and the Faces of Influenza campaign, visit www.facesofinfluenza.org.

Emergency Nurses Association presents annual awards

Association members celebrated the evening with dinner before Chapter President Teresa Coyne, RN, BSN, CEN, announced the award winners.