National Black Nurses Association, Inc. 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 330, Silver Spring, MD 20910 · Phone: (301) 589-3200 · Fax: (301) 589-3223

The NBNA Convention Goes to the BIG Easy, New Orleans!!!

The National Black Nurses Association, Inc. will host its 31st Annual Institute and Conference at the New Orleans Marriott, July 30 – August 3, 2003. The theme of the Conference is "Emerging Health Threats: Nursing Solutions in a New Era."

The Conference Opening Ceremony Keynote Speaker is Ronald A. Williams, President of Aetna. Mr. Williams has a distinguished career in the insurance and health industries. He was instrumental in nine NBNA members being a part of the 2003 Aetna Calendar of African American Nurses. Through the sale of the calendar, Aetna has generously provided $10,000 for the NBNA Scholarship Program.

Dr. May Wykle, Dean of the Fances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH is the Closing Session Keynote Speaker. Dr. Wykle will receive the NBNA Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in gerontology.

Dr. Linda Burnes Bolton, NBNA Past President and Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Cedars Sinai Health System, Los Angeles, CA, is the Keynote Luncheon Speaker at the NBNA Institute. She will present her findings from a survey that she conducted at the 2002 NBNA Presidents' Leadership Institute on the profession of nursing and leadership.

Dr. Gloria R. Smith, retired Senior Vice President, W.K. Kellogg Foundation will be the Plenary Keynote Speaker. The Plenary will be the culmination of a year long series of forums hosted by the National Black Nurses Foundation and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Dr. Carolyn Mosley, President of Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority will be one of the panelist for this event, along with Martha Dawson, Chief Nursing Officer, University of Louisville Medical Center and Christina Wray, RN, Student Representative to the NBNA Board of Directors. This session will highlight nurses as leaders within the profession of nursing and within the global health community. Dr. C. Alicia Georges is the Chairperson of the National Black Nurses Foundation.

NBNA will host six 4 hour Institutes on cardiovascular disease, children's health, diabetes, infectious diseases, research, women's health.

NBNA will host its 6^th annual health fair at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in New Orleans with an array of health screenings.

NBNA is inviting area youth, youth groups and people interested in the field of nursing to its first annual Career Fair on Friday, August 1, 2003, 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Marriott.

The Black Congress on Health, Law and Economics will host a town hall meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans on Saturday, August 2, 2003, from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Member organizations of BCHLE have meeting together in the same city every four years since 1980. This year, along with NBNA, the National Dental Association, the National Bar Association and the Association of Black Psychologists will host their annual conventions in New Orleans. NBNA Past President Ophelia Long is the BCHLE chairperson.

The National Black Nurses Association, founded in 1971, is a professional organization, representing 150,000 African American registered nurses, licensed vocational/practical nurses and nursing students. The mission of NBNA is to "investigate, define and determine the health care requirements of African Americans and other diverse communities to foster optimal health and health care services commensurate with that of the larger society."

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