Questions from a member:
Can you share with me what would be a negative impact to the communities in which we practiced by merging the districts? I’m all for cohesiveness within our nursing community but that seems to create one very large district. Additionally it seems that we’re making provisions to modify the board and it’s committees. Is this a representation of the needs of the community or budget guidelines? Overall it seems like a restructuring of the board and it’s districts and I’m just curious as to what the outcomes of this looks like.
Answers from D9 officers:
Thank you for this question! Let us start by responding to your larger question about the composition of the Board and Committee structures. For many years, District 9 has had a Northern Subdistrict that has operated on behalf of the TNA District 9 members living in The Woodlands/Kingwood/Humble area with monthly meetings. This allowed a membership meeting to occur outside of the meetings held closer to the center of Houston so that nurses who lived in the north/northeast Houston area could attend meetings and receive CE opportunities that would be difficult if the only option they could attend was nearer to downtown Houston. Our state organization has watched this development and encouraged District 9 to consider expanding this model because it was working! At a Board retreat, your elected representatives considered how to engage our membership beyond the occasional face-to-face meeting. We sent a survey to members and the responses were captured in three main ideas: 1) our membership wanted access to CE events, 2) our membership wanted opportunities for mentoring and development as staff nurses and nurse leaders, and 3) our membership wanted to connect with each other in meaningful ways.
Based on this survey and our continuing efforts to raise awareness of TNA District 9, we have seen unprecedented growth. In just 2 years, we have grown our membership from about 1500 to over 1800 nurses in the greater Houston area. This raised questions for the Board about our current Bylaws and District structure. The Bylaws revisions you are voting on are to address those concerns by several actions:
1. We will remove committees that no longer serve the District and its functions
2. Provide flexibility for the Board to establish committees and project groups that allow members to get involved in meaningful ways
3. Structure our district so that nurses who live in our widely diverse area can become involved with other TNA District 9 members near their home or work
The budget is in good shape, yet these changes do not impact the budget in any material way. No more money is being spent to enact these changes. Our work as your Board is voluntary and unpaid. We are moving our office from its current location in Rice Village to the Arena Towers at the corner of Interstate 59/69 and Fondren. This move will cut our lease expense by half! We will use this savings to create a CE event next May that is citywide in scope and provides a means for our membership to come together, learn, and share with each other. We believe this move is both fiscally responsible and positions us well for many years to come.
Now to speak about our merger with District 6. Though older than ourselves (I hope that you have heard that TNA District 9 turns 100 years old this September!), District 6 did not have some of the infrastructure that District 9 has accumulated over the years. This, coupled with limited resources, brought the District 6 leaders and members to rescind their bylaws and to merge with District 9. One of the subdistricts that we intend to support is a Galveston/Southeast Subdistrict. Our work is just beginning in this environment to continue to voice of the former District 6 members as new members of District 9. Your vote on our Bylaws revisions makes this a reality! We believe that this will strengthen TNA District 9 and provide many opportunities for membership engagement as we move into our mutual future. Other subdistricts being formed include: Katy/Northwest, Central, Sugar Land/Southwest, and Woodlands/Humble/Northeast. Meetings will be held in each of the subdistricts as we develop a core group of nurses who will support the meeting with their attendance.
Your initial question asks whether there is a negative impact for the communities in which TNA District 9 nurses practice. We do not anticipate negative impact and will continually evaluate our structure and dialog with our membership as developments occur. I hope that you will become involved with TNA District 9 and bring to life what you envision for our shared future!
Again, thank you for this question and let us know if this response creates additional questions or concerns.
Regards,
Cheryl M. Lindy, PhD, RN-BC, NEA-BC
President, TNA District 9
Lisa Boss, PhD, RN, ACNS, CEN
President-Elect, TNA District 9
Robert Blake, RN-BC, MS, MBA, MDiv, NEA-BC
Past-President, TNA District 9
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