President’s Message

Abstract

As we close out another unprecedented year of a global pandemic and say goodbye to 2021, I am tremendously grateful and humbled for the support of my peers, friends, and family. Although 2021 was another year of restrictions and some turmoil personally, professionally, and politically, there is still so much to be grateful for.I am grateful for my colleagues in various health care settings and disciplines around the globe. All deserve to be recognized for sacrifices and hard work in their communities. I am amazed at what we have achieved as vascular access specialists and our continued commitment to patient safety in the last year and, specifically, through the ups and downs during the global pandemic.As I finish up my term as AVA President, I am impressed and proud of what our association has achieved this year under extraordinary circumstances. I celebrate these achievements with you because, like in health care, our success is because of a team effort.In brief; for more detailed info, please go to the AVA website at www.avainfo.org.And finally for 2021, I want to acknowledge the work and commitment of outgoing board members. They have graciously and tirelessly volunteered their time for many years on the board: Presidential Advisor: Lori Kaczmarek, MSN, RN, VABC™Secretary: Russell Nassof, JDDirector-at-Large: Monte Harvill, MDFirst and foremost, I hope we will be able to have a face-toface AVASM22 in Minneapolis from September 30 to October 3, 2022, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. (Premeeting sessions will be September 29). Stay tuned for the Call for Abstracts and detailed info on registration and accommodations.As I move into the Presidential Advisor role, I am honored to pass the baton to incoming President Tonja Stevens, RN, BSN, VA-BC™, who will no doubt successfully lead the board and association with her strong will and determination.Welcome to the rest of the members on the 2022 AVA Board of Directors: President-Elect: Tonya Heim, MHA, MSN, RN, NEABCSecretary: Michelle DeVries, MPH, CIC, VA-BC™Treasurer: Jon Bell, RN, MSN, VA-BC™Directors-At-Large:There is a lot of work to be done, and I know this group will be able to achieve great things.I want to give a special shout-out to the AVA Foundation (AVAF) and the Vascular Access Certification Corporation (VACC). These 2 partner organizations are very important as AVA strives to stay the course toward our AVA missionto lead health care by protecting patients and providers to improve lives with a vision of a world with safe vascular access.I am excited for the ongoing and future collaboration with AVAF President Amy Bardin-Spencer, EdD, MSc, RRT, VABC™, and incoming VACC President Leigh Ann Bowe Geddes, MSN, VA-BC™.Both leaders are longtime AVA members and are well known and highly respected in our specialty. I am confident we will benefit from their work to bridge gaps between our organizations and move forward as a dynamic team.We can’t deny that we have been challenged the last year or 2 like we have never been before with polarization and division that impact our daily life within our communities. But with this, I have come to appreciate even more the expertise and knowledge within our association and the open dialogue and discourse within our global network. It is our responsibility to promote and participate in the development and publication of experiences that ultimately lead to evidence-based practice, even when it means challenging the status quo as we strive to synthesize knowledge and information and make it relevant to our practice and lives. I am biased! Biased toward the belief that AVA can play a significant role in providing evidence-based, best practice, and improved education for clinicians and for patients.I will close out with a repeat and emphasis on my call to action to you, the AVA members and specialists in vascular access, from my very first message as president at the start of my term:Stay involved and let us know what AVA can do to improve and how to provide the best education, communication, and information.We can only improve, strengthen, and expand with the involvement of key stakeholders such as yourselves and, of course, all our industry partners.My first message was written in a time of uncertainty, and I assumed we would be long past the challenges of the pandemic. AVA is still a strong association today, in spite of the ongoing challenges and uncertain times. We are an association with members who are resilient, passionate, and nimble from all over the world. I write this as an international from Vancouver, Canada - I am a proud AVA member and thankful for the opportunity to lead as president this past year.Keep safe, well and healthy and SEE YOU ALL SOON!