February 2006 | Vol. 24, No. 2

Chapter News

By Shelly Burns, RVT LPN
Chair, Chapters Committee
Tel. 330-375-3288; Email: burns@summa-health.org

Northeast Pennsylvania Vascular Chapter (NEPVC)

The NEPVC local chapter, located in the Lehigh Valley, is about one hour north of Philadelphia. The 2006-2007 President is Nancy Rist, RN, RVT, and President-Elect is June Coccia, MS, RDCS, RVT. The 2005-2006 Treasurer and Secretary are respectively: Kathy Seufert, RN, RVT and Sam Wagner-Sevy, RDCS, RVT.

The NEPVC meetings are held the third Wednesday of every other month. They are planning a special Saturday meeting in the spring. If you would like any more information about NEPVC and its meetings, please contact Nancy Rist at nlrist@comcast.net.

NWVT and OIT Hold a Joint Meeting

The Northwest Vascular Technologists (NWVT) held its 20th Annual Meeting in conjunction with first Joint Chapter Conference with the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) on Oct.14-16 in Klamath Falls, OR. It was hosted by OIT.

A great list of speakers included Gregory Moneta, MD; John Schwartz, MD; Tanya McVay, MD; Janette Isaacson, Ed.D. RVT, RDCS; Bonnie Johnson, RVT, RDMS, FSVU; Dale Aspelund, RVT, RDMS; Heather Nicoletto, RVT; Bree Pollard, RVT; Roberta Hicks, RVT; and Kari Olmsted, BS, RVT. Some of the highlights from the conference included a panel discussion on carotid disease in the future, considerations for dialysis vein mapping, and a hands-on demonstration of some scanning techniques. A cadaver carotid endarterectomy was performed by Dr. Moneta and Dr. Schwartz.

Awards were presented to Philips Ultrasound, Toshiba, and Unetixs for their contributions to OIT's Vascular Ultrasound program.

Greater Boston Vascular Technologists (GBVT)

The GBVT chapter has tentatively scheduled their spring 2006 meeting for May 13 at St. Vincent's Hospital in Worcester, MA. Guest speaker will be Marsha M. Neumyer, BS, RVT, FSVU, and International Director, Vascular Diagnostic Educational Services in Harrisburg, PA. Additional speakers will be announced at a later date. A special thanks to Unetixs for their sponsorship and for donating a fold-up bike that is going to be raffled off at our spring meeting.

Northern Ohio Vascular Association (NOVA) holds its Annual Fall Symposium

The Northern Ohio Vascular Association, NOVA, held its annual fall symposium on November 19, 2005 at Summa Health System. Speakers included Dr. Teresa Carmen, lecturing on fibromuscular dysplasia, and popliteal disease. The ins and outs of carotid stenting were presented by Dr. Joseph McShanic. Craig Penoff gave a detailed lecture on abdominal and mesenteric vascular disease states with a multitude of images. The highlight of the meeting for many members present was the student poster competition. Six second-year students and eight first-year students from the Cuyahoga Community Western Campus Sonography Program entered posters in the competition. The Poster session was run in a similar fashion to SVU’s national meeting format. The student teams did an outstanding job making the judging difficult. Jean Beckner presented the first place award to Mindi Mendenhall and second place to David Beck. First place was a paid student membership to SVU for 2006 and a check for $25.00. Second place was a $25.00 check. These students are to be complimented for a superb performance.

Philips Ultrasound and Siemens Medical Systems provided generous financial support for this meeting. The NOVA Board is in the process of planning the NOVA Annual Spring Symposium to be held in Independence, Ohio. Please contact Margaret Park at Parkm@ccf.org if interested in speaking or if you have a topic of interest for consideration.

New Chapters Committee Co-Chair and New Northeast Regional Advisor

I am pleased to announce that Paula Walsh is the new Co-Chair for the Chapters Committee for 2006. Paula has been the Chapters Committee Northeast Regional Advisor for the past 2 years. She volunteered much of her time to assist at the annual conference in 2005. Her interest in the vascular profession and support of SVU all make her a great asset for us. Congratulations Paula!

Jeanette Flannery, President of the North Jersey Vascular Association (NJVA), has taken over the role of Northeast Regional Advisor. She has done a wonderful job with the North Jersey chapter. NJVA was one of the Chapter Award recipients in 2005 thanks to Jeanette and the hard work of the NJVA Board. We welcome Jeanette to the Chapters Committee.