April 24, 2018

This is the first edition of R & B News (Rundio & Brooks News) or as we like to refer to it: “R & B (Rhythm & Blues) or R & B Rocks.”

The following are nursing highlights from the past month:

The most significant item to highlight is the excellent Collegiate Commission on Nursing (CCNE) accreditation site visit that we had from February 26th through February 28th, 2018. The CCNE will make their final board decision in early October 2018 regarding our reaccreditation of all nursing programs. So, we cannot state that we have been re-accredited. We can state that we had an accreditation site visit and that we met all four standards and elements with no recommendations.

I want to bring attention to the American Heart Association—a passion of mine for several years now. I became involved while supervisor of emergency services at Atlantic City Medical Center, City Division, now AtlantiCare. While serving as chair of the emergency cardiovascular care committee for New Jersey for three years, I led the way to regionalize this committee becoming the DE-NJ-PA ECC Regional Committee and creating more effective use of resources. A group of representatives from each state, not including me, took up the planning of how the committee would proceed. As a result, they requested that I chair the new regionalized committee. I have served two years thus far.

The committee has changed its focus from being, what I call “the CPR police” to getting CPR and AEDs out in the community and policy changes like mandating CPR and AEDs in schools. I would like to encourage everyone to join You’re the Cure—the American Heart Association’s health policy site. There you’ll be able to learn about significant initiatives by state, communicate with key legislators using sample letters provided, connect with advocates near you and stay up-to-date on the heart and stroke issues that matter most to you. This takes less than five minutes to do. As cardiac arrest happens to any one of us, our loved ones and colleagues, I am really passionate about AHA’s initiative.

If you feel the same as I do, please send me the information requested below and I will send it to AHA for you. Yes, I want to join You’re the Cure.

• NAME
• EMAIL
• ADDRESS
• TELEPHONE NUMBER

In future issues, I will share more about my work with AHA. And, for anyone who really knows me well, there will certainly be some humorous things that have happened.

Congratulations to Suzan Blacher, PhD (c), MSN, RN, CARN on her appointment as chair of the ANCB (Addictions Nursing Certification Board) for the International Nurses Society on Addictions. Congratulations, Professor Blacher!!!

The next issue will focus more on the Health Professions. Please submit any item that you want published in this newsletter, and don’t forget, anyone, faculty, staff and students, can submit items to the Daily Dose.

Al Rundio, PhD, DNP, RN, ARPN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Clinical Professor of Nursing
Associate Dean for Academic Nursing
Chief Academic Nursing Officer

Stephanie Brooks, PhD, LCSW, LMFT
Clinical Professor
Associate Dean for Academic Health Professions
Director of PMC Program