Date : January 24, 2010
To : AACN Board of Directors
Justine Medina, Director of Professional Practice & Education
From :
Susan Flynn, Senior Practice Associate
Kristine Peterson, MS, RN, CCRN, CCNS
President-Elect AACN
AACN
Liaison to: Society of Critical Care Medicine 39 th Critical Care Congress,
Miami Beach, Florida, January 9 – 13, 2010
Critical Care Societies Collaborative business meeting
Critical Care Societies 4 Presidents educational session
1. Description of Group and Purpose:
The Congress is a multidisciplinary educational conference designed to meet the needs of all those who care for critically ill patients. Attendees included nurses, physicians, physician assistants, respiratory therapists and pharmacists. The theme of the 2010
Congress was “Commit. Transform. Improve” with many presentations focused on implementing evidence based practices and measuring quality. The Congress included a joint leadership meeting of the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC) (SCCM,
AACN, ACCP, ATS) and nursing section annual business meeting. AACN had a booth in the vendor hall, staffed by Randy Bauler. Beth Hammer, AACN President, and Wanda
Johanson, AACN CEO also attend the Congress .
2. Meeting Discussion and Outcomes
As the first pharmacist to head SCCM, incoming President Judith Jacobi ’s presidential address highlighted the contribution of pharmacists to critical care, noting that increased numbers of pharmacists is associated with decreased mortality. Pharmacists will save 5 times more in healthcare costs this year than will be spent on their salaries. Ms. Jacobi emphasized the importance of collaboration among the entire multidisciplinary team. to make our care “even better than we think it is.” Noting that most of us feel we have an excellent critical care program, she asked us if we can prove it with measures. She challenged us to work together to make quality and safety part of our culture. “Today, tomorrow, together. The time is right for change.”
Plenary sessions included Janet Corrigan, President and CEO of the National Quality
Forum, speaking on the “National Priorities and Goals for Transforming Healthcare,” and
Marcel Amato, MD from the University of Sao Paulo, speaking on “Mechanical Lung
Protection.”

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Liaison Report
2
The Critical Care Societies Collaborative Joint Education Session was held on
1/11/2010. The topic was developing and implementing performance measures.
Because of ongoing collaborative projects between the Collaborative and Health and
Human Services (HHS), Dr. Don Wright, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health and
Human Services, was present at the session. Dr. Wright presented “Healthcare-
Associated Infections: The Health and Human Services View. Mitchell Levy, outgoing
President of SCCM presented “What is the Role for Professional Societies and Individual
Clinicians in Developing and Implementing Performance Measures?” Kalpalatha
Guntupalli, President of the American College of Chest Physicians presented “Do
Performance Measures Improve Performance?” Beth Hammer, President of AACN presented “Implementing Performance Measures at the Bedside: What is the Role of
Interdisciplinary Collaboration?” Finally, J. Randall Curtis, President of the American
Thoracic Society spoke on “Linking Performance Measures and Reimbursement: Where are We Going?”
The CCSC
Joint Leadership Business meeting was attended by each society’s CEO, president, president-elect and other key staff or volunteer leaders. Dr. Don Wright of
HHS also attended the business meeting. Dr. Wright noted new activities at HHS and updated us on the status of 2 initiatives proposed by the CCSC. Other collaborative initiatives discussed included developing a critical care research agenda, plans for a meeting on ICU Tele-Medicine, Capitol Hill activities, possible collaboration with the
European Critical Care Society on developing an advanced certification n critical care medicine, and endorsement of 2 010 as the “Year of the Lung.”
The SCCM Nursing Section Annual Business Meeting was held on 1/11/10. Award recipients and election results were announced. Several recipients are AACN members.
Current and future section member leadership also included several AACN members.
3. Implications for AACN:
Participation in the SCCM Congress continues to provide a forum for the four societies to showcase collaborative efforts as well as mutual support. The group also discussed developing a strategic plan for the Collaborative to increase the value of this collaboration for our members.
4. Future Meetings:
The 2011 Congress is scheduled for January 15 – 19 in San Diego. The Collaborative is planning a retreat for July 14 – 15, 2010.