Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists
VANA 2013 Fall Conference - September 20-22nd
11 CE's offered & Optional Pre-Conference Workshop on Friday.
Ritz Carlton Tyson's Corner

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Nurse Anesthesia Featured in USA Today
The “Thanking Our Troops” special section in the November 9, 2012, issue of USA Today features a two-page spread on the role of nurse anesthetists in th
e U.S. Military. The timing of this wonderful insert, which includes a full-page advertisement and a full page of editorial content from your AANA, coincides with Veterans Day on November 11.
Nurses first provided anesthesia to soldiers on the battlefields of the Civil War, and ever since have been the primary anesthesia professionals caring for U.S. service personnel and veterans at home and abroad. To all of our CRNA colleagues who have devoted their lives to preserving and protecting the freedoms we enjoy in this great country of ours, thank you so much on behalf of your friends and colleagues at the AANA. Our participation in the USA Today special section “Thanking Our Troops” is but a small token of our appreciation for all you do.
Distribution markets for the print version of “Thanking Our Troops” include New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Antonio, Houston, and Washington, D.C.; total readership, not including digital impressions, is expected to exceed 1.4 million. The special section will also be distributed widely via the Internet.
Please enjoy the special section in USA Today honoring CRNAs past and present in the U.S. Military, and have a wonderful Veterans Day.
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VANA Strategic Planning & Branding Process Update
VANA’s strategic planning and branding process was launched in July of 2012.
The process began with assessment interviews with VANA Board members and two days of facilitated sessions at VANA’s 2012 Leadership Weekend (held July 13-15 in Wintergreen).
In September, Louise Hershkowitz was appointed Chair of VANA’s Strategic Planning Committee which consists of the following members:
Diane Howell president@vana.org, Patti Bright Watkins presidentelect@vana.org, Reggie Elam treasurer@vana.org, Gary Hahn peerassistance@vana.org, Jane Belcher district34@vana.org, Robin Morrison office@vana.org, Louise Hershkowitz louisehershkowitz@yahoo.com
Based on input from VANA Board and members, VANA’s strategic planning efforts are focused on the following priority areas:
- Member Communication
- Education
- Recertification
- Beyond CEUs
- Member Engagement
- Volunteer recruitment
- Event participation/attendance
- Student CRNAs
- Mentor program (all levels from board to student)
- Networking
- Advocacy
- Branding/Marketing
- Operational Structure
- Board
- Committees
- Staff
- Districts
- Mission/Vision
- Budgeting for growth/revenue building
With the strategic planning process underway, Catch Your Limit Consulting has also been working on their brand recommendations for VANA. Catch Your Limit utilized the Strategic Planning Committee as a sounding board and received positive feedback. The brand that is being proposed reflects VANA’s membership and the ideas that have been shared along the way in this process. We are eager for Catch Your Limit to share their recommendations for approval to VANA’s Board of Directors and excited to be getting closer to sharing these exciting initiatives with members at large.
We not only welcome input from all VANA members … we consider it critical to this process. If you have ideas to help VANA meet the needs of our members and our profession now and in the future, please reach out to a VANA Board member or VANA Strategic Planning Committee to share your thoughts.
Stay tuned for additional information regarding these exciting VANA initiatives that are designed to help us deliver more value to our members today and in the future!

