Update for the Lake Charles Region

Hello Everyone: 

Both Melissa and I attended the annual LANP Board Retreat this past weekend in Alexandria.  This was a productive meeting in which the board worked on strategic planning for our organization. Strategic planning focuses on making LANP a robust organization and ensuring that the organization is focused on our future goals. The purpose of this email is to update everyone on topics that were discussed at the board retreat.

One thing that will be new for our region is that as the regional representatives, we will be required to check individual membership status at each meeting. Only individuals with a current active membership will be allowed to attend the regional meetings. (In the past, we had an option to charge non-members attending the meeting, but this is no longer the case.) This will also apply to students.  The board's position is that the monthly meetings and networking opportunities are privileges for active members only.  We will have a computer at each meeting in the event that someone needs to renew their membership.  I am including an addendum with membership benefits for the organization along with the current membership fees.  You may wish to check the website as LANP has been offering discounts on membership fees in the recent past.

LANP is in the process of completing paperwork to become a CEU provider which would allow the organization to offer CEU’s to the current membership. We are hopeful to have this process completed prior to the end of the year.

Another new request is that all job postings go through the executive director, Rebecca Thibodeaux.  Her contact is rebecca@lanp.org.  We have been requested to stop posting employment opportunities on the regional Facebook page and other regional social media applications that are labeled as the Lake Charles Region of LANP. This is an effort to mainstream all potential employment information for members only.

The executive board is tracking all legislative contacts by the membership. If you have had a face to face contact with any of the representatives, please notify either Melissa or me. We have been asked to report all contact with our representatives to the Health Policy Committee. We are collecting data regarding the elected officials’ thoughts and attitudes toward nurse practitioners, their interests, their likes/dislikes, and any other information we can gather. Depending on how involved membership is in each region, a decision will be made regarding the introduction of any legislative bills this session. It will be our regional goal to have our members reach out to our regional elected officials.

Lastly, AANP has a “Call to Action” on their website regarding a request from CMS. LANP is requesting that all members write a letter to CMS discussing the issues that you have had with ordering Home Health and diabetic shoes for your patients. We are requesting that you send an email to CMS discussing the NP’s inability to order these services for your patients. You can go to the AANP legislative action page and there are further instructions. We need every NP in our region to respond. The deadline for this is January 17, 2020. This is a federal issue and must be dealt with at this level.

Respectfully,

Dee Harless, DNP, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC

Melissa Kramer, DNP, FNP-BC

 Addendum: The following information is being provided regarding membership benefits and types of membership

 Membership Benefits

• Receive a $10 discount to become a full member of AANP
• Receive discounted rates at the LANP Annual Primary Care Conference
• Receive exclusive discounts on select educational tools and resources from APEA
• Peer networking
• Communication – news, e-mail, newsletter
• Community Service – Regional Opportunities
• Networking – Bonding, mentoring, AANP affiliation
• Education – latest healthcare information
• Email Blasts - All members receive information regarding job opportunities, research studies, and the latest legislative news
• Students- network for preceptors, jobs, and student resources

Membership Types and Qualifications

Regular Member - $125.00 Annually

Regular membership shall be open to those nurses who are certified as a nurse practitioner or nurse-midwife by the state licensing body. Regular members shall pay dues, may vote, hold elected or appointed office and serve on committees.

Career Starter Member - $75.00 Annually

Career Starter Membership shall be open to those nurses who are certified as a nurse practitioner or nurse-midwife by the state licensing body and who are in their first year, post-graduation. This level of membership is only available for 1 year. Proof of graduation date should be provided if requested by the membership chair. After the first year, the career level membership becomes a regular membership. Career level members shall pay dues, may vote, hold elected or appointed office and serve on committees.

Student Member -$50.00 Annually

Student membership shall be open to any registered nurse currently enrolled in a program for nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, or certified nurse specialists. Student members may serve on committees but may neither vote nor serve as officers of LANP. A letter of good standing must be submitted for student membership to be approved. This letter should include enrollment status, the program enrolled and expected graduation date. This letter should be mailed to membership@lanp.org

Associate Member - $75.00 Annually

Associate membership shall be open to any person interested in fostering the purpose and goals of LANP. Associate members must be approved by the Membership Chair and may have a voice but may neither vote nor serve as officers or on committees.

Retired Member - $35.00 Annually

Retired members shall be open to those nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives who have reached the age of 60 and have retired from active practice. The member must have a retired APRN license with LSBN, to be eligible for this membership. Retired members shall pay dues at a reduced rate, hold elected or appointed office and serve on committees.