NEW COCHAIR FOR THE HEALTH POLICY AND ADVOCACY COMMITTEE
My name is Julie Sundermeier and I live just outside of Omaha, Nebraska. I have been married for nearly 35 years to my husband Mark, and we have 4 children and 6 grandchildren. I am the lead neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and I am blessed to work with a terrific team of nurse practitioners. When I am not working, I enjoy gardening, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. I have been to Haiti on 4 medical mission trips and love working with the Haitian midwives, mothers, and babies.
I started my nursing career in 1984; I was fortunate to work per diem while my 4 children were young. Initially, I worked in a variety of hospital settings, eventually taking a position and finding my home in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). I found the NICU to be both challenging and rewarding, and I had terrific mentors along the way. I worked nights for 10 years in a level III NICU before going back to school to become an NNP, and recently returned to school, graduating in 2012 with my doctorate of nursing practice. It was during this time that I developed an interest in advocacy; however, as a novice to all things legislative, my learning curve was steep. I was fortunate to be awarded the NANN scholarship for the Nurse in Washington Internship and attended the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' Student Summit in Washington, District of Columbia. My degree capstone project was facilitating the passage of a bill in Nebraska that removed limitations on ordering respiratory care therapy due to outdated legislation.
After completing my degree, I became a member of the NANN Health Policy and Advocacy Committee (HPAC) and have served on the committee for 3 years. I also serve on the Legislative Committee for Nebraska Nurse Practitioners. I am proud to say that Nebraska became the 20th state to have full practice authority after passing legislation last year. We continue to work to remove barriers and improve access to care for the citizens in Nebraska.
As a cochair for the HPAC, I would like to engage NANN members to be knowledgeable about issues and get involved in advocacy. The committee will follow legislation that affects neonates and the nurses who care for them. We will continue to communicate information on MyNANN discussion posts and take part in the NANN annual conference. I look forward to working with my cochair and the HPAC members to develop new advocacy projects and grow our NANN advocacy community.
NEW FACILITATOR FOR THE SURGICAL NEONATE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP
My name is Tamara (Tammie) Meeker, and I joined NANN while working as a staff nurse at the University of Maryland Health Systems in Baltimore, Maryland. This is where my true passion for the surgical neonate was born. I had the great fortune to be trained by an incredible core group of neonatal nurses specializing in the surgical neonate. They helped form my foundation and knowledge base-something for which I am forever grateful and have been building on ever since. In 2003, I graduated from the University of Maryland's School of Nursing NNP program and began working at The John Hopkin's Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, as both a transport nurse and a nurse practitioner. In 2006, I transitioned to my current role as an NNP for the general, thoracic, and fetal surgery team at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I still live in Philadelphia with my dog Sadie. As an NNP on this team, my goal is to ensure and promote excellent care of infants with a diagnosis of complex surgical anomalies in a level IV NICU setting.
My latest educational endeavor has been enrolling in the Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Education Program at Rutgers University's School of Nursing. I chose to complete this program because of my growing passion for neonatal patients with skin, wound, and ostomy challenges. Throughout my training, I have educated our advanced practice nursing group on advances in wound care and the appropriate product selection for wound and ostomy management. It is my hope that through education, prevention, and diligence, we can minimize injury and optimize healing for this vulnerable population.
I have presented at 2 NANN annual educational conferences on topics regarding the surgical neonate, and I am in my second term on the NANN Research Committee. My interests include education, research, care of the complex surgical neonate, pain management, wound and ostomy care, and short bowel syndrome. I am excited to embark on this new role of facilitator for the surgical neonate special interest group (SIG) and educate NICU nurses across the nation about the many elements of surgical NICU nursing. I hope to foster discussions and create a repository for the latest evidence-based practice within our MyNANN discussion board. I want the SIG to be our members' go-to place for information and questions. What would you like to talk about?