UA College of Nursing, Pima Co. Health Dept. Hold Bioterrorism Forum for Nurses

CONFERENCE: NURSING AND BIOTERRORISM: SERVING OUR COMMUNITY - WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE BE?

DATE/TIME: SATURDAY, OCT. 19, 8 A.M. TO 4:15 P.M.

(Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Robin Sidel, member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal team that reported on the events of Sept. 11

PLACE: Westward Look Resort, 245 E. Ina Road

COST: $25 per person

REGISTRATION: UA Office of Continuing Medical Education, (520) 626-5221

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Although the conference is for registered nurses, not the general public, the news media is invited to attend/cover the event.

Sept. 19, 2002
From: George Humphrey, (520) 626-7255
The University of Arizona College of Nursing and the Pima County Health Department are joining forces to offer the first comprehensive conference on bioterrorism and public health preparedness for registered nurses.

Scheduled Saturday, Oct. 19, 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., at the Westward Look Resort, 245 E. Ina Road, Nurses and Bioterrorism: Serving Our Community - What will Your Role Be? is designed for nurses from all health care and educational settings. As the largest group of health care professionals in Pima County, registered nurses play a significant role in planning and caring for our citizens in the event of disaster or bioterrorism. The conference is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (to the Pima County Health Department) and the National Institutes of Health (to the UA College of Nursing Center on Injury Mechanisms and Related Responses). The conference will feature local experts on bioterrorism and public health preparedness, as well as a keynote address by Wall Street Journal reporter Robin Sidel.

"Our goal for the conference is to bring together nurses from throughout Pima County to learn current information about community preparation for disasters and bioterrorism and to highlight the importance of their roles in our local health care organizations," said Gerri Lamb, PhD, Associate Dean at the UA College of Nursing and one of the conference organizers. Elizabeth M. MacNeill, MD, Chief Medical Officer for the Pima County Health Department, said, "Nurses will be critical for our community to adequately respond to a bioterrorist event. This conference also provides an opportunity for public health to strengthen our working relationships with our community nurses."

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