The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) has issued a call for poster abstracts for the 2011 Environmental Health Conference, October 7, 2011, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at Wilkes University. Nurses, administrators, educators, dieticians, students and researchers are encouraged to electronically submit their poster abstract no later than September 9, 2011. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary submissions are encouraged.

Submission Guidelines

Notice to Health Care Providers — Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli O104 (STEC O104:H4) Infections in U.S. Travelers Returning from Germany.

Official health advisory from the CDC

The Pennsylvania Department of Health will soon begin verifying medical credentials (if applicable) and conducting criminal history record checks on individuals with active accounts in the Statewide Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Pennsylvania (SERVPA). When you registered in SERVPA, you authorized the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to research and copy records, including professional, employment, and judicial records.

If you prefer that the credential verification and/or criminal history record check is not conducted, please go into your profile on the SERVPA system, click on the Settings tab, and change your Account Status to “inactive.” Inactive volunteers cannot participate in disaster response through SERVPA.

If you have any questions, please contact your Unit Administrator. Thank you.

HARRISBURG | The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) unveiled its “Long White Line Campaign” in a live, State Capitol roll out event this week. The morning press conference in the rotunda was attended by leading members of the state House and Senate who honored the group for being the state’s “leading voice for professional nurses.” The centerpiece of the campaign is a web-released video short titled, “The Long White Line,” which chronicles the storied history of nursing in what PSNA’s President Patrick Kenny called a “pocket-sized movie” format. The video can be viewed at www.PANurses.org.

According to the organization’s CEO, Betsy M. Snook, the campaign targets, “a rising generation of professional nurses.” Adding, “It’s our hope that they see their service as something larger than themselves. They’re part of a truly remarkable story, and protectors of a great legacy.”

The event was broadcast statewide on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN).