Ohio Peer Assistance Team Receives Recognition
The OSANA Peer Assistance Advisory team of Jack Stem and Gregg Rampleman were recognized by the AANA as one of the leading states in peer assistance support. Below is a letter of recognition from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
It is with great pleasure that I write to congratulate the Ohio Association of Nurse Anesthetists in their leadership and fine example in the areas of Wellness and Peer Assistance for SRNAs and CRNAs at the state level.
We have recently undertaken the Website Peer Assistance Project with the goal of state association website inclusion of minimum basic peer assistance information. This includes prominent homepage links to a peer assistance page with state specific information as well as publication of AANA Peer Assistance Hotline information and links to resources. To this end I had undertaken a review of all state association websites to determine the currently available peer assistance information. In spite of having requested State Peer Advisors to work with their associations in order to publish this information to their websites early last year, only a handful of states currently include ANY wellness or peer assistance information anywhere on their websites.
The SINGLE shining example among all of the states is Ohio. The information provided exceeded our expectations and will be used as an example for other state associations to follow. Having been born in Youngstown and having trained in anesthesia there I have tried to find some way to take the credit for your fine work, but credit must go to where credit is due! Your own State Peer Adviser (SPA) Jack Stem has been way ahead of the curve in all things Peer Assistance for your state, including the development of web content. I have known Jack for about 3 years now, am intricately involved regarding Peer Assistance within the AANA both nationally and on the individual state level, and
I can say without reservation that Ohio is very fortunate indeed to have one of the most knowledgeable, compassionate and dedicated Peer Assistance professionals in Jack Stem. Without the enthusiastic support of a state association even the most committed SPA will spin their wheels however. According to your SPAs, Jack and Gregg Rampleman (another excellent Peer Adviser who also was chosen to represent the AANA on a national level), OSANA has fostered a very supportive atmosphere and is committed to Wellness and Peer Assistance for your members.
Congratulations indeed!
Greg Stocks CRNA EJD
