CHAPTER CONNECTIONS
The News letter of the Illinois Chapter,
Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare
President: Tom Tynan, LCSW
Vol. April 2001
Editor: Nancy Brooks, LCSW
sswlhc.org
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
First of all, mark your calendars for the Illinois Chapter Annual Educational
Conference which will be held in Allerton Park (Monticello, Illinois) on September
17 and 18, 2001. The focus of the year’s annual conference will be on
developing and improving our leadership skills. Several examples of leadership
success stories from our membership ranks will be highlighted. At least 9 CEUs
will be offered.
As you may know, the Illinois Chapter of the SSWLHC is made up of four
districts: Chicago, Northwest, Central and Southern. In order for a district to exist
as part of the Illinois Chapter, it must have elected officers and conduct its own
meetings. The Central District, due to declining membership in the Central
Illinois area, has been inactive. As a result of a survey conducted by one of the
remaining Central District members and careful review by the Illinois Chapter
Board, a sub-committee was created to address the issues of redistricting (remapping) and to bring the recommendations to the Board. Any action that would
change our current number of districts requires a by-laws change that would
have to be approved by the membership. If you would like input into this
process, feel free to contact anyone on the sub-committee. Please see the
minutes from our last board meeting for more information.
We will soon be mailing out membership renewal forms for 2001. Although it
varies from year to year, most of the monies raised through membership are
returned to the districts for their use. For example, all the membership fees
collected for the year 2000 will be returned to the districts. For those of you who
became new members in 2001, you will not need to renew your membership.
Within the next few months, the Nomination’s Chair for the Illinois Chapter will be
seeking candidates for all elected Board officers for the 2002-2003 term. The
elected officers are as follows: President Elect, Treasures, Secretary, and the
Nominations and Awards Chair. If you would like to nominate someone
(including yourself) for an Illinois Chapter Board office, contact Dawn Moutray,
Nomination’s Chair, at (815) 222-5544, ext. 504. If you have any questions
regarding the duties and responsibilities of Board officers, call me at (847) 5702032. In addition, you may want to start thinking about possible candidates for
the Illinois Chapter Social Work Leader of the Year Award. Dawn will be sending
out more information regarding the award criteria in the near future.
NATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE
The National Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare is holding its 36th
annual educational conference in San Antonio April 25th –28th. Each year the
Illinois Chapter sponsors scholarships to the meeting. A lottery drawing awards
the scholarships. Any member who did not have 100% funding from their place
of employment and submitted their name was eligible for the drawing. This year
the scholarships were awarded to Pat Sutton, Hinsdale Hospital, Hinsdale and
Mary Suhr, Illini Health Services, in Silvis. They each received a scholarship in
the amount of $750. Congratulations Pat and Mary.
ILLINOIS CHAPTER BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
The Illinois Chapter Board meeting was held March 2 in Springfield. The
treasurer’s report showed a balance of $20,122.70 on February 28, 2001. State
chapter membership is 92; National society membership is approximately 1300.
State chapter membership renewals for 2001 will be mailed. Most of the Board
meeting was devoted to planning the Allerton educational conference for
September.
DISTRICT HAPPENINGS
Chicago District: Diane Soltis, Chicago District President, reports that the first
program for 2001 was held on March 28th in honor of Social Work Month. Greg
Jensen from the University of Iowa Hospital presented in conjunction with Social
Work PRN and NASW Insurance Trust on malpractice liability. The program was
a success. On June 19th, the Chicago District will be holding its annual business
meeting at the Erie Street Café. Presentation topic will be announced soon.
Diane reports that the new Board has really come together and the next two
years will be exciting and informative for members. Watch this space for
upcoming events and announcements.
Northwest District: Northwest held meetings in January and March. The focus
of the meetings was on JCAHO survey preparation and PI/CQI. Dawn Moutray,
Illinois Valley Hospital, Peru will be surveyed in May. Northwest also welcomed
two new members: Deb Keaschall, CGH Medical Center in Sterling and
Theresa Noel, Community Memorial Hospital in Monmouth.
Southern District: Forty people attended an educational workshop held at St.
Clare’s Hospital in Alton on March 28th. The speaker was Keith Neuber and his
topic was “If it’s not fun, you’re doing it wrong.”
CONDOLENCES
The Chapter extends condolences to two of its members on recent losses: Larry
Ponce, St. John’s Hospital, Springfield, on the loss his wife, Barbara. Kathy
Driscoll, St. Mary of Nazareth, Chicago, on the loss of her husband.
RESOURCES AND ATTACHMENTS
SNF BOOKLET: HCFA published a new booklet titled, “Medicare Coverage of
Skilled Nursing Facility Care.” The booklet explains what skilled care is; what is
covered by Medicare; steps to locating a skilled nursing facility; and information
on long-term care coverage and referral information. To order call 800MEDICARE.
METROPOLITAN CHICAGO HEALTHCARE COUNCIL: Larry Harman, Alexian
Brothers Medical Center, Hoffman Estates is a member of the MCHC Ethics
Committee. This committee is developing guidelines for health care providers
interacting with patients of various religions. Two of these guidelines are
attached – “Guidelines for Health Care Providers Interacting with Patients of the
Sikh Religion and Their Families” and “Guidelines for Health Care Providers
Interacting with Muslim Patients and Their Families.”
AMBULANCE COVERAGE CRITERIA: Dawn Moutray has provided information
on Medicare coverage requirements for ambulance services. This information is
attached.