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How will you celebrate?

Show your pride, promote your profession. Let your community know how passionate you are about your chosen career.

Share your stories with all of us. What celebratory ideas have you enjoyed in the past? What fun events did you plan? Have you shared your wisdom, experience and knowledge through educational gatherings and public outreach campaigns?

Check out the article from the GI staff at Lakeside Memorial Hospital. Their loss inspired them to promote colorectal cancer screening and to celebrate their team efforts, one colonoscopy at a time, reaching thousands of people each year. 

 

The endoscopy team at Newark Community Hospital held an open house. Hospital employees toured the facility during a festive celebration. The staff shared information about diseases, procedures and equipment.  It seems not many people know "what we really do down there" in Endo.  The event was a great opportunity to show off our knowledge, passion and commitment to the field of Gastroenterology.    

Welcome to Western New York SGNA Region 41 web site. Currently being developed, this site provides members an opportunity to communicate with the regional board, submit information and articles to share with other members of the region and the internet community. 

Western New York SGNA was formed in 1978 by a group of dedicated nurses and associates. I would love to post a photo here of those members.  I will get the rest of the history posted here as well.

The national organization, the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, SGNA

  Great Strides have been made in the field of Gastroenterology, especially the focus on patient safety and comfort.

Through the promotional efforts of awareness campaigns, the stigma associated with colon cancer and changes in bowel habits is being neutralized. But there is still much to be done, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer cause of death in the United States. 

The disease appears most often in people over 50 years old. Screening can find colorectal cancer early, and help prevent colorectal cancer by finding and removing polyps. This is so basic to the members of our profession. 

March is National Colorectal Cancer Screening Awareness Month. Promote your profession, protect your community. Colorectal Cancer is Preventable, Treatable, Beatable. 

Lakeside Health System’s Ambulatory and Endoscopy team celebrated national GI Week which focuses on disorders and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. This team, comprised of nurses, techs and a much respected gastroenterologist, are dedicated to the early detection of colorectal cancer. During this week we recognize all the professionals who work diligently every day fighting this prevalent form of cancer.

The celebration began on a bittersweet note as the team was presented with Endoscopy scrubs and sweatshirts in honor of a member of their team who passed away from colon cancer last year.

Tuesday the staff started their day with breakfast and an in-service on “Airway Management in the Consciously Sedated Patient.”

Wednesday was such a busy day with a full day of GI procedures that the staffs planned celebratory activity was not to be. The staff didn’t mind one bit, though, because they were doing what they love. They handle over 2,000 gastrointestinal cases each year at Lakeside.

On Thursday the team partnered with the American Cancer Society to provide an informational display in the main lobby with volunteers on hand to answer questions. Anyone stopping for information was provided with several pieces of printed information and FiberOne cereal samples. Several visitors and employees visited the table and asked great questions.

The week ended with a cake decorated as a colon and a team photo. The team has since commented that while the food and activities were great, their greatest pleasure during the week was sharing information and increasing awareness of this cancer. Many of them felt that if even one person scheduled a colonoscopy because of their efforts, it was well worth the work.

Before the celebration week had even ended the team was already making plans to have a bigger and better event next year.