Virginia Council of

NURSE PRACTITIONERS

🗓️ April 5, 2025 Meeting Recap
We had a fantastic and productive gathering at Lincoln Road Coffee Shop in Norton, VA! ☕ Big shoutout to everyone who joined us for the latest updates on membership, budgeting, and our awesome Nurse Honor Guard. 🩵 The SW-VCNP basket won the most money for the VCNP Scholarship—go Southwest!! 🙌🎉

🔔 Upcoming Events & Meetings:

📍SWVA Nurse Honor Guard Memorial Service

🕊️ Honoring Carmen Banks

🗓️ May 3, 2025 – Time: TBA 

📍 Location: TBA

📍Next Chapter Meeting

🗓️ May 3, 2025 | 🕤 9:30 AM

📌 Topics: Nurse Honor Guard, Chapter Updates, Narcan Training (MRC)

📍 Location: The Girl and The Raven, Abindon, VA  380 E Main St, Abingdon, VA 24210

📍June Meeting
🗓️ June 8, 2025 | 🕤 9:30 AM
📌 Education on Novo Nordisk (Jerrie Doss)
📍 Location: Johnston Memorial Hospital (Room TBA)

💙 Outreach in Action

📦 Food drive for Norton Homeless Shelter – Date: TBD

💊 Drug Takeback: 4/26/25, 9:45 AM–4 PM @ Food City BSG

🎗️ Relay for Life – Sept 6, Leeman Field, Pennington Gap (6–10 PM)

👉 $1 “Links of Love” honoring those affected by cancer

💪 Together, we’re making a meaningful impact across our region. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication!

 SWVCNP Next Meeting Reminder! 

 When: April 5, 2025, at 9:30 A.M.
 Where: Lincoln Road Coffee Lounge, 36 Park Ave NW, Norton, VA 24273

We look forward to seeing and hearing from all Nurse Honor Guard members!

We invite all Nurse Practitioner students to come to our upcoming meeting! 

What: Dr. Jennifer Hammons will present information on the free and charitable St. Mary's Faith Pharmacy.

 Community Initiative 
This April, we are organizing an event to support the homeless population in Norton, VA with nonperishable food donations. We kindly ask all members to bring at least one nonperishable item to contribute. Every little bit helps! 

Let’s come together to make a difference! See you there! 

#SWVANurseHonorGuard #CommunitySupport #GiveBack #NortonVA #NursePractitioners #swvcnp

📅 Meeting Recap: March 1, 2025
Members of SW-VCNP and the SWVA Nurse Honor Guard gathered at the Girl and the Raven in Abingdon, Virginia, for a productive session! We discussed the SWVA Nurse Honor Guard, chose a raffle winner, legislative updates, treasurer reports, and preparations for the 2025 conference. Our group also constructed a basket for the 2025 VCNP Conference with an Appalachian Adventure theme. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed and attended! 💙

📍 Next Meeting:
When: April 5, 2025, at 9:30 A.M.
Where: Lincoln Road Coffee Lounge, 36 Park Ave NW, Norton, VA 24273. We look forward to seeing you there! ☕

#SWVAVCNP #SWVANurseHonorGuard #SWVCNP #2025VCNPConference

We had a fantastic meeting at The Girl and the Raven in Abingdon, VA, on February 1, 2025! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our monthly meeting!  

Pat Meinen, from Medical Reserve Corps came to enlighten everyone on their services and to announce the Annual Conference presented by NETN, SWVA, and Sullivan County MRC Units.  The conference is on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at Northeast State Community College, 2425 TN-75, Blountville, TN 37617, from 8 am to 5 pm. They will be covering a Sheltering Exercise, CPR Certification, Communications, Networking, Mental Health and Disasters, and much more! So SAVE THE DATE!!

Southwest Virginia Nurse Honor Guard-Christine Mullins presented an update on progress with the website, social media, membership (n=37), counties covered, ongoing raffle ticket sales for the EKO Stethoscope, and future plans.  The raffle will be drawn at the next SWVCNP regional meeting on March 1, 2025.

County Champions were established to disseminate services regionally.  The County Champions are responsible for arrangements with the funeral home, family members, and the honor guard members. Several members volunteered for this effort.  

The southwest region is creating a basket to raffle off at the VCNP Conference.  The theme is Rustic, Appalachian Adventures.  Each member is going to purchase items up to $25 for the basket and we will work on it together at the next meeting SWVCNP Regional Meeting on March 1, 2025.



There was a robust discussion on calendar events for this year and things our group was interested in hosting/participating in, i.e., REVIVE Training, conferences, museum of trees, parades, trunk or treats, and drug takebacks.  Coetta Neece has started a calendar to add events to for our region. We also discussed hosting meetings outside of Abingdon--alternating sites for more participation.  



Our next meeting: March 1, 2025 at The Girl and the Raven, 380 E. Main Street, Abingdon, Virginia, 9:30 AM. We hope to see all our members at the next meeting!!



We forgot to get a group photo, however, we did get a few pictures to share!  Many thanks to Tauna Gulley, Southwest Region President, for leading our group meeting and for all the members who showed up for networking!

Change of Plans 🫣
Good evening SWVCNP members!  The next meeting will be 🥁
Date: February 1, 2025 at the 
Location: Girl and the Raven!!
Time: 9:30 AM  
Address: 380 East Main Street, Abingdon, VA 24210

Thank you for voting on the venue and date for our next meeting! Due to cost/scheduling, we changed the venue.  Please add this to your calendar! We cannot wait to see you there! 👩‍⚕️

The Southwest Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners has conducted a SWVA Nurse Honor Guard tribute at Gilliam's Funeral Home in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. On 1/1/2025, Drs. Christine Mullins and Rebecca Garrett conducted the heartfelt tribute.

Mullins said. "Conducting the Honor Guard tribute is one of the most honorable and memorable ceremonies I have ever participated in. There are honor guards for the military, masons, police, and firefighters. Now nurses can also be honored in southwest Virginia with recognition of their profound service and impact throughout their careers."

The SWVA Nurse Honor Guard has established a website, donated by The Health Wagon. The website allows volunteers to share their contact information, and the Guard has recruited 31 volunteers representing nine counties in Virginia. The website provides information on conducting the ceremony, the supplies needed and how to obtain them, the Mission, Values, FAQ, Testimonials, a Media Gallery, and Contact Information.

The Southwest Region--VCNP is also selling raffle tickets for $5 each for an Eko brand electronic stethoscope (valued at $400) to help fund SWVA Honor Guard endeavors. The group has also created a Facebook page and private chat for members to communicate. The council's next steps are to acquire more honor guard capes, caps, triangles, lanterns, and service announcements for funeral homes to spread the word to families throughout the region.

Start your morning in style at the historic Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, VA! 🌟 Enjoy a delightful breakfast at 9 AM, followed by an engaging presentation on Cushing's by our special guest speaker. Don't miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and celebrate the season together! See you there! 🍳✨

🏥 From November 19-20, we represented Southwest VA at the Rural Health Conference at the SWVA Higher Education Building in Abingdon. We connected with key leaders, including Gini Weisz (Roanoke Region), Denise Daly Konrad (Virginia Health Care Foundation), and Robin Collins (Frontier Health).

🎉 Congratulations to Robin for winning the Blood Pressure Cuff Raffle!

Thank you to everyone who helped us make an impact this month! 💙

The SW Region-Virginia Council of Practitioners is establishing a regional Nurse Honor Guard in the area and is seeking interested nurses to participate. The SWVA Nurse Honor Guard will offer dignified tributes to deceased nurses by reciting the Nightingale Tribute and presenting condolences to their families. We also plan to engage in community events to promote our service.

We invite LPNs, LVNs, nursing students, RNs, and APRNs to join this meaningful initiative. Interested in collaborating? Please submit your information through the provided website so we can connect with you. Let’s honor the legacy of nursing together! 🌟

https://swvanursehonorguard.powerappsportals.com/Volunteer/

We had an amazing time at the Head for the Hills CME Conference at Breaks Interstate Park! 🩺🍂 The stunning views and engaging sessions made it a memorable event. Thank you to everyone who joined us for learning, networking, and fun in the great outdoors! 🌟