September 30, 2012

Al Rundio, PhD, DNP, was installed as President of the International Society of Nurses on Addictions (IntNSA) on September 7 at the organization’s 36th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. After being voted into the presidency two years ago by the IntNSA membership, Rundio served a two-year term as President-Elect. He will now serve another two years in the role of President. IntNSA is a professional organization for nurses who are committed to addiction management, treatment, intervention, and prevention.

A Drexel University legacy is forming within IntNSA. Rundio is not the first President coming to IntNSA from the College of Nursing and Health Professions and he will not be the last. Rundio’s predecessor, Bill Lorman, served as President from 2008-2010. Current President-Elect Dana Murphy-Parker is a new faculty member at the College. Dana is a psych mental health Nurse Practitioner who joins us from the University of Wyoming where she was the coordinator of the psych mental health Nurse Practitioner Program. She will begin teaching in both the BSN and MSN programs during the Fall Quarter. “The Drexel name is definitely out there, well-respected and highly-regarded,” Rundio said. “Three CNHP faculty members serving in the presidency during eight years further implants that Drexel is a big part of IntNSA now.”

Rundio’s plans to move IntNSA forward include working to destigmatize addiction, promote big policy change initiatives around the early identification and prevention of addiction disorders, and increase both national and international membership numbers. Rundio said, “We must look at prevention and at identifying addictions early on so that a client can get treatment. It has a big impact on individuals and also affects the bigger picture cost to the nation.” It is estimated that between 40-50% of patients admitted to the Emergency Room in the United States have a substance abuse issue underlying their reason to seek medical treatment. Addictions cost the United States more than $400 billion per year.