April 2015

To my fellow HPNA Chicago Chapter members,

I am Tricia Dziabis who will soon be your Chapter President. I am very excited to be given this opportunity to be a part of a great local chapter of a fantastic national organization. HPNA was where I went when I was starting out in the hospice field over 5 years ago. I didn't even know it existed until a co-worker mentioned it. I signed up and have been an active member ever since. HPNA has provided me information, education, guidance, resources and now the opportunity to give back to my local hospice community by being part of the leadership board here in the Chicagoland area.

It is nomination/election time again. We are looking for new people to join our board and help us run the Chicago Chapter. We have great needs this year, and are looking for President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer. We already have someone who has volunteered to fill the Treasurer position so we really need the other positions to have candidates. We do try to alternate years so that so many board members don't leave at the same time, but Colleen our treasurer has stayed beyond her term and we are grateful for that. The positions are a 2-year commitment but we also know that life circumstances can change and we understand if people are reluctant to commit to that length of time.

The main issue with not having members to fill our board is that our chapter will run the risk of closing. It's the reality of the situation. This year, we have really tried to make the chapter more sustainable. We want to make it easier for the board and all the members to get information and be able to sign up for meetings, events and membership electronically through our website. We hope it will improve communication and enhance our chapter. So this also makes the board positions not as time consuming. I will honestly say that the time commitment is not huge. We plan our meetings, topics, speakers, and everyone pitches in and helps. It's a few hours a month.

So can you help us?

Also, we send a person to the Leadership conference—all expenses paid—in Pittsburgh in July. It is a wonderful, inspiring weekend and all the local chapters from around the country are there. That's where we got the website idea from-as well as topic ideas. It's a very cool event.

On a personal note, since I first wrote this, my dad died. He was getting radiation for squamous cell in his neck and it all fell apart very quickly. I learned a lot from the experience in 'acute care world'. It was bewildering for me that orders didn't initally provide for the adequate control of symptoms. It did all work out in the end but my dad did struggle at times, which was distressing. It absolutely reinforced that I am doing the right thing by being a hospice nurse but it also made me realize that there is a desperate need for good communication and EDUCATION for staff, doctors and families. It's no wonder our patients and families are a wreck physically and emotionally by the time they sign up with hospice, and our referrals are so late in the game.

So, please consider giving back to our chapter and our community and run for an office. Help us grow and educate others and ourselves about hospice and palliative care. It truly made a difference in my dad's end of life experience and for that I am grateful.

Warm Regards,

Tricia Dziabis BSN, RN CHPN

chicagolandchapterhpna@gmail.com