HJBR Sep/Oct 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2020 45 Karen C. Lyon, PhD APRN, NEA Chief Executive Officer Louisiana State Board of Nursing not achieve the first-time tester success rate of 80 percent or better for any three calendar years out of the last 5 calendar year period. This would have represented a distinct deviation from NCSBN stan- dards, and the national practices of almost all states. The bill was also opposed by the Louisiana State Nurses Association and the Louisiana Council of Administrators of Nursing Education. LSBN did not support this dramatic change to our nursing rules. The bill was involuntarily deferred in Sen- ate Health and Welfare Committee. LSBN reopened to the public on June 15, 2020 by appointment only. We are operat- ing with only essential staff present in the building, so we request that any business with the board that requires face-to-face contact be scheduled by appointment only. Anyone visiting the agency is required to wear a mask, have their temperature checked, and answer questions regarding recent illness or presence of COVID-19 symptoms. Finally, LSBN had its first face-to-face board meeting on June 18, 2020, with so- cial distancing and mitigation strategies in place. Major business included the fol- lowing actions. NCLEX-RN scores for first quarter 2020 were presented for the 26 pre-licensure programs, and ranged from 82.61 percent to 100 percent first time pass rates. The overall first-time pass rate for Louisiana currently stands at 95.05 percent. The University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Step III site visit report for full approval of the graduate nursing educa- tion degree program in Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner was accepted, and the programwas granted full approval. North- western State University’s request to add a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anes- thesia program was approved. Approval for graduate clinical experiences in Lou- isiana was granted to Herzing Universi- ty for their FNP program, to Midwestern University for their CRNA program, to Au- burn University for their primary care NP program, and to United States University for their FNP program. Loyola University was approved to initiate Step 1 to establish a baccalaureate of science in nursing pro- gram. Finally, LSBN’s 2019 Annual Report including the Nursing Education Capacity Report was accepted. The governor has appointed two new board members to replace Dr. Jackie Hill and Susan Saunders, both of whom re- signed from the board at the end of 2019. Dr. Wendi Palermo was appointed to com- plete Dr. Hill’s unexpired term. Dr. Wendi Palermo is the executive director of nurs- ing and healthcare initiatives for the La. Community and Technical College System (LCTCS). She has over 15 years of full- time experience in higher education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. In ad- dition to her full-time position, she serves as adjunct faculty in both doctoral and master programs at Northwestern State University. Dr. Fredrick L. Pinkney has been appointed as a consumer member to complete Susan Saunders’ unexpired term. Dr. Pinkney is a certified career educator with experience as a classroom teacher and central office administrator. Specializ- ing in working with minority populations from under-resourced environments and developing instructional methods for edu- catingAfricanAmerican males PK-16, he is credited with securing and implementing a $4.3 million alternative school initiative that currently serves over 400 students in Shreveport, Louisiana. Listening to Governor Edwards’ weekly press conference on June 24, 2020, I was disappointed to hear that our movement in to phase 2 has resulted in increased incidence of COVID-19 cases, especially in public health regions 4, 5, and 6 (Thi- bodaux, Lafayette, and Lake Charles). Young people 18–35 are now increasingly presenting with positive tests, and hos- pitalizations are increasing. My disap- pointment was tempered, however, with our governor’s wise response to maintain phase 2 into August, and not be pressured to move to phase 3. I am increasingly at peace knowing our state is led by such a wise and seasoned leader. In closing, I think we all need to find some reason to smile and laugh, so I leave you with the humor of Dave Barry: “My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished two bags ofM&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.” I invite each of you to find a reason to laugh loudly with someone you love. I promise you’ll feel better. n Wendi Palermo, MD Fredrick L. Pinkney, MD