LEADERSHIP UPDATE

President

Dr. Eileen Meyer, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC

Dear Members,

It is with great honor that I address you as the newly appointed President of the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama. I am humbled by the trust you have placed in me to lead our distinguished professional association. As we embark on this journey together, my commitment is to foster an environment that promotes continuous growth and decreases barriers to practice.

I am eager to work closely with each of you, listening to your insights and ideas, to ensure our collective voice resonates strongly within our profession. I look forwards to navigating the challenges ahead, exploring potential opportunities, and continuing to expand our footprint within our state. Working together, I am excited about the possibilities ahead in serving you and our shared professional goals.

I would like to welcome our newly elected officials and say thank you, not only to those who have departed their position, but to those still remaining in their position. Your dedication and new perspectives will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of our organization. I have full confidence in your abilities to advance our practice forwards.

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

President-Elect

I chose to serve as an elected member of NPAA because I’m passionate about advancing our profession. I have been an NP for 13 years and have seen first hand the struggles NPs face due to barriers to practice. I served as Member-at-Large from 2021-2023 and helped to form the first Full Practice Authority Committee dedicated to moving forward NP practice in Alabama. It was a privilege to be elected again to continue our efforts.

In 2024, I will be dedicated to keeping our momentum going in removing barriers to practice. I will work with the President, the committees, and our regional groups to help grow our membership to better represent NPs in Alabama, to engage with our members to support advocacy and education, and work with Legislators to increase awareness for NP issues and help eliminate needless obstacles that impede patient access to care through NP practice.

Dr. Adam Kinsaul, DNP, ACNP-BC, RNFA

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Vice President of Policy

Dr. Lisa Pair, DNP, WHNP-BC

NPAA is the advocacy voice for NPAA practice in AL. Our mission is to increase access to healthcare for the citizens of AL. At our recent annual conference, many of you expressed an interest with advocacy work. In addition to the FPA Committee, I also chair the legislative committee. This committee actively watches bills during the legislative session that are filed that may interfere with our practice. Other aspects of the committee include managing our IT platform and sports physicians.

We have a robust FPA committee so I am in search of members who would like to participate on our legislative committee.

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Vice President of Community Affairs

I hope this letter finds you well and in the spirit of the upcoming Holidays. On behalf of the NPAA, I extend a heartfelt appreciation for your participation in our annual conference held in Montgomery on

November 10-11th. We received a warm welcome from the Mayor, the Immediate Past President, incoming President and new officers. We had 216 attendees and over 50 vendors. Your presence and

engagement contributed significantly to the success of the event.

This year we introduced a 2 day conference, multiple social events, broader speaker bureau, recognized 2 CRNPs inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame and the living legend award to Dr Susan Appel. We strive to learn from our experiences so I encourage you to complete the post conference survey to as your input will shape future conferences. Please be on the lookout in January for a “save the date” for the 2024 annual conference.

I am honored to continue serving as Vice President of Community Affairs and urge you to be on the lookout for a host of activities in the upcoming year. If you are interested in joining the committee, please reach out to me personally at vpcommunity@npalliancealabama.org

Jo Shuford-Guice, MSN, FNP-BC

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Vice President of Membership

Sharon Bargainer, MSN, FNP-BC

I am truly excited to serve in my role of VP of Membership of NPAA in the growth of our organization this upcoming year. I am committed to ongoing professionalism, education, and leadership among the nursing profession giving back to upcoming nurses and to serve patients in our community.

My plan for 2024 is obtaining a goal of increasing membership within the NPAA organization. Strategies to reach this goal includes:

• Formulate a membership committee to include membership recruiters.
• Contact and encourage lapsed members to renew membership
• Work with VP of Community Affairs and Member at Large executive members to market and promote new members
• Involve more stakeholders to support and assist with marketing the NPAA organization, promoting membership.

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Member At Large

Greetings NPAA family! I am your member at large for this great organization. I am a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner. In my role as the member at large, I have been tasked with leading the marketing committee. I look forward to working with our members in promoting and further advancing our profession. As the marketing committee chair, I plan to work on marketing strategies to recruit more of our state’s nurse practitioners to join NPAA.

Our organization is only stronger when we have the numbers to support our initiatives. Secondly, I plan to collaborate with my fellow executive board members to ensure that the residents of Alabama know who nurse practitioners are, and the value we bring to healthcare.

I chose to serve because I truly believe that nurse practitioners make a difference and that we each should be involved in advocating for our great profession.

Dr. Hiboombe "BJ" Haamankuli, DNP, ACNP-BC

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Treasurer

Dr. Laura Debiasi, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC 

As treasurer, I work to ensure appropriate stewardship and accountability for NPAA's accounts. As the state's representative organization for nurse practitioners, it is essential that we maintain the highest level of integrity, which includes how we budget our finances and account for expenditures.

I chose to participate in NPAA to serve the organization that represents all of us as nurse practitioners. Being able to give back and simultaneously learn more about this great organization has been a blessing. Serving with NPs from across the state is another reason I chose to serve, because together we can do more!

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Secretary

I have been a proud member of NPAA for many years and look forwards to taking a more “hands on” approach in this position within our organization. I will serve as the official correspondence of the calendar and publish notices of meetings. My goal is to continue to provide support to our organization, promote NPAA and build relationships across the state.

Dr. Jennifer Wilson, DNP, FNP-BC

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Full Practice Authority Committee Chair

Dr. Whitnee Brown, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

The Full Practice Authority committee is dedicated to making your voices heard. We know that nurses have strong voices and we are encouraging you to use them. As a committee we will continue with our goals of mobilizing and educating nurse practitioners. Our mission this legislative sessions to ensure our NPs and policymakers have a clear understanding our of scope of practice and the legislative and regulatory barriers that impact our practice.” We are continuing to recruit members who are strong in these categories: social media, creative event organizing, student volunteers and communications.

We need you! Sign up today!

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

NPAA PAC Chair

The NPAA PAC continues to actively work to improve health care for all Alabamians and to move NP practice forward in Alabama. The important role of a political action committee (PAC) in an organization is often underestimated, but this critical component of our political affairs activities cannot be overlooked. We need your support!

Visit www.npalliancealabama.org and click NPAA PAC under Advocacy

Dr. Brandy Young, DNP, FNP-BC

LEADERSHIP UPDATE

Immediate Past President