The department of nursing and allied health at Missouri Western State University is proud to announce an upcoming conference designed to educate healthcare professionals and students about improving care for our nation’s veterans and military families. “Joining Forces: Partners in Care” will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 15 in the Fulkerson Center on the Missouri Western campus.
The conference will focus on the invisible wounds of war, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. It is co-sponsored by the Omicron Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, in cooperation with the departments of social work and military science, the Northwest Missouri Area Health Education Center, Heartland Health, the Kansas City VA Medical Center and the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing. The conference is part of the national “Joining Forces” initiative sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. “Joining Forces: Partners in Care” is one of the first healthcare conferences to be held in the region supporting this national initiative.
“We want to help our future nurses and other health care professionals in the region learn more about military culture so they are prepared to better meet the unique health needs of service members, veterans and their families,” said Julie Baldwin, associate professor and president of the Omicron Nu chapter. “The invisible wounds of war have impacted approximately one in six of our troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq and many of those coming home are seeking health care from civilian providers. It’s important that we teach those providers to ask the right questions so they can properly assess their patients’ needs.”
Featured speakers include Col. Tim Karcher, director of the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program; Dr. Andrea Zartman, clinical director of the behavioral health team at the VA North Texas Health Care System; and Lt. Commander Pamela Herbig-Wall, a psychiatric nurse practitioner with the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The registration fee is $20 for health care professionals and $10 for students. Register online at www.missouriwestern.edu/nursing or contact the Department of Nursing at 816-271-4415.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.