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RNS Newsletter
May 2015
Our Mission
~ May 28th Meeting ~
RNS is a membership
organization for
medical care
coordination that
provides continuing
education and
networking.
Topic: Is She Conscious?
How to manage severely brain-injured patients
with Disorders of Consciousness
The professional goal
of its members is to
advocate for quality
patient care while
utilizing community
resources in a cost
effective manner
Speaker: Caroline Schnakers, PhD
Location: Kindred Foothill Transitional Care Center
West Ada Avenue, Glendora, CA 91741
Dr. Schnakers was born and educated in Liège, Belgium. Since the beginning of her career, she focused
her research on severely brain-injured patients recovering from coma and, more particularly, on the detection
of conscious cognitive activity using behavioral and electrophysiological techniques. She has shown the
difficulty to detect signs of consciousness (40% of error rate) and the difference of sensitivity between
existing coma scales to detect these signs. In parallel, she developed electrophysiological paradigms for
detecting conscious cognitive activity without the intervention of motor functions (using mental tasks such as
counting) in severely brain-injured patients who are unable to actively interact with their surroundings. She
developed a testing solely based on ocular responses allowing the assessment of cognitive functions in
patients with severe motor dysfunctions (locked-in syndrome; characterized by anarthria, quadriplegia and
preserved consciousness). She created and validated the first scale allowing pain assessment in patients
with disorders of consciousness. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the
International Brain Injury Association in recognition of her work. She as published over 60 articles (H-index:
30) and she is the editor of “Coma and Disorders of Consciousness” (Springer-Verlag, Paris, 2011;
Springer-Verlag, London, 2012). Dr. Schnakers currently is affiliated with the UCLA Department of
Psychology and Department of Neurosurgery. (Please see page 4 for presentation abstract).
Upcoming Meetings
• May 28th
• June – Dark
• July 23rd
• August 27th
Objectives of the program:
• October 22nd
At the end of this presentation, the attendants will be able to:
1. Recognize the main disorders of consciousness existing in patients with severe brain injury
2. Distinguish the neuroimaging profile of conscious vs. unconscious patients
3. List the best assessment tools and treatments available.
• December 3rd
Target Audience: Nurses, case managers and other health care professionals
• September
24th
Agenda:
Contents
• May Program
1
• President's
Message
2
• Program
Registration Form 3
• May Presentation
Abstract
• RNS Annual
Membership
Renewal Info
4
11:30 12:00 1:00 1:30 2:20 2:40 3:00 -
Registration
Luncheon, Networking, Introductions
Introduction: the Coma state
Assess consciousness & unconscious patients
Treatments that are available
Patients with covert cognition
Meeting adjourn
Cost:
Members $25.00
Non-members - $35.00
Vegetarian meal available upon prior request
4
Visit us on our website:
www.rns-ca.org
Registration form
See page 3
MEETING SCHEDULE
11:30 - 12:00 Networking
12:00 - 1:00 Luncheon – More Networking
1:00 - 3:00 Presentation for CEUs
CEU’s: Approved for 2 hours
BRN provider # 01219
CCMC Approval Pending
To register for meeting contact: Merrilee De Bry
(714) 280-1816(preferred) or (951) 237-8500
mfdebry@gmail.com
Presidents Message
May 2015
Page 2
By Renae Paulson, RN, CCM
Dear Friends,
May Day…..May Day…..May Day!
This is my cry for HELP. How does the time just slip away
and you get so busy that you can’t remember the simplest
of tasks? Or has procrastination taken me over? Here I
am writing a note to you when it is already later than I think
our Newsletter should get out to you. Mother’s Day was
yesterday and I hope you remembered that and celebrated
it.
Has your May already been filled with weddings, births, 1st
communions,
and
upcoming
graduations
and
confirmations? Are you looking forward to Memorial Day
weekend or dreading getting ready for it? I have to admit
that I am struggling to ‘get it all done’ without complaining
too.
Do you remember making May Day baskets in school? We
put flowers in them and hung the baskets on the door knob
of a neighbor’s house, rang the doorbell and ran away.
The anticipation of seeing their reaction to the surprise at
the door was exhilarating! That joy a simple act of
thoughtfulness can bring to others and yourself.
What do you have to do to bring that spontaneity and joy
back in your life? I think planning is the answer. A
successful diet is based on planning ahead of time.
Enjoying Mother’s Day, weddings and birthdays are about
planning ahead of time. Getting my letter done earlier will
require me to plan ahead.
Getting to RNS requires planning for it. Some people are
very good at using a calendar to schedule their tasks as
well as appointments and parties.
Some use their
electronic devises, and some maybe their spouses.
Whatever your tool, it is only effective if we use them and
plan ahead. I am definitely working on doing a better job
for myself!
May is a busy month indeed! We have an excellent
speaker for our May meeting which will be in Glendora at
Kindred Foothill TCC. Our speaker is Caroline Schnakers,
PhD.. and she will be talking about Disorders of
Consciousness. Please see the box on this page for an
abstract of her presentation.
I hope you will find time to attend. When you are not there,
you are missed!
Renae Paulson, RN
RNS President
May 28th Presentation:
Is She Conscious?
How to manage severely brain-injured
patients with Disorders of
Consciousness
Abstract
I’m the only one to know that I am
conscious.
I can nevertheless
interact with others using verbal
communication or motor response to
let them know that I am conscious.
What would happen if, to some
extent, I knew I was conscious but I
was unable to express it? How would
people around me know? Here is the
challenge facing clinicians involved
in the care of patients recovering
from coma: differentiating reflex
from voluntary activity, in other
terms, during this talk, we will
present the main clinical entities the
patients go through before fully
recovering from coma, we will
explain how to assess consciousness,
what the brain activity is like in
conscious
versus
unconscious
patients,
and
what
are
the
treatments currently available. We
will
finally
introduce
a
new
dilemma facing clinicians: patients
with covert cognition.
Board of
Directors 2015
May 2015
Page 3
Introducing our new member’s business…
Renae Paulson, RN, CCM
President
(626) 286-0239
renae.paulson@gmail.com
Lily Lee-Martyn, RN, MPH, DCH, CCM
Vice President
(626) 712-7166
leeshiny@aol.com
RehabCare is the leading and premier provider of physical, occupational and speechlanguage rehabilitation services throughout the US. We provide therapy throughout
the full continuum of care, including long-term acute care hospitals, nursing and
rehabilitation centers, inpatient acute rehab units, independent rehabilitation facilities
and hospice and home care locations.
Rochelle Stearns
V. P. Committee Member
rochelle.stearns3@gmail.com
We currently have openings for Clinical Liaisons / Medical Sales Professionals
at Centinela Hospital Medical Center and Glendale Memorial Hospital
Merrilee De Bry, RN, BSN, CCM, PHN, MA
Treasurer
(714) 280-1816(preferred)
or (951) 237-8500
mfdebry@gmail.com
Rita Pathmanaban, RN, CCRN
Recording Secretary
(714) 336-3212
ritapath@gmail.com
Toni Bethke
Corresponding Secretary
(949) 573-3435
tbethke@caremeridian.com
Maryanne Sawoski, RN
Member at Large (membership)
(818) 753-5106
Cell (818) 730-8490
maryanne@cchomenurses.com
Our ideal candidate will have a college degree in and clinical licensure in addition to
having prior full life cycle sales experience within the healthcare industry.
Education:
College degree required.
License/Certification:
Valid driver’s license.
Clinical Licensure required. (RN/ LPN/ OT/ PT/ SLP/ PTA/ OTA)
Experience:
Two years of former marketing/sales experience.
Formal Sales Training.
We offer competitive compensation while working with a healthcare leader!
To apply, please visit
http://www.rehabcare.com/careers, or contact Richard Kellogg at
Richard.Kellogg@kindred.com Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Individuals with
Disabilities. Drug Free Workplace
Please RSVP for meeting by e-mail, phone or mail.
E-mail: mfdebry@gmail.com or Call: Merrilee De Bry
(714) 280-1816(preferred) or (951) 237-8500
May 28th RNS Meeting
Topic: Is She Conscious? How to manage severely brain-injured patients with Disorders of Consciousness
Location: Kindred Foothill Transitional Care Center, 401 West Ada Avenue, Glendora, CA 91741
Speaker: Caroline Schnakers, PhD
Number of members
_____ at $25.00
Number of non-members: _____ at $35.00
Detach and mail to….
(Please include your check)
Name:
Merrilee De Bry
c/o RNS
7963 E. Quinn Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92808
Regular Meal
□
Vegetarian Meal
__________________________________
Address: __________________________________
__________________________________
□
City: ____________________
State:_____ ZIP: ____________________
Remember, if you register, you are still responsible for paying for the meal, even if you don’t attend.
May 2015
Page 4
Mark your calendar to attend
the May 28th meeting …..
To e-mail your reservation,
send an e-mail to:
mfdebry@gmail.com
To RSVP by phone call:
Merrilee De Bry
(714) 280-1816
or (951) 237-8500
(preferred)
Mail your completed registration to:
Merrilee De Bry
c/o RNS
7963 E. Quinn Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92808
Membership Enrollment
We’re on the Web!
see us at
www.rns-ca.org
We are accepting memberships for 2015.
Applications are on the RNS website and will be
available at the May 28th meeting.
RNS c/o
Toni Bethke, Webmaster
18A Journey, Suite 200
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
tbethke@caremeridian.com
RNS
May 28th Meeting:
Is She Conscious? How to manage severely brain-injured patients with Disorders of Consciousness