Cindy Cole - President

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 President Report

CSAO has been very busy this year. This is an election year, and we will have an upcoming election to vote for your CSAO Vice President. Denise Bosnjak and Louis Konstant have both been nominated for Vice President. Ballots have been sent out, so please take a moment to review everything and return your completed ballot by mail, fax or email by April 30, 2014. There is also an election in Theta for their Chapter Representative on the Board of Directors. Candidates are Jeffrey Phelps and Tammy Bennardo. Theta members will receive the ballots for this election, so again please take the time to review and return your completed ballot. This is very exciting that we have this interest and enthusiasm in the work we are doing for all Medical Device Reprocessing Technicians in the province of Ontario. Chapter level executive positions have also been nominated and acclaimed. A full list of your new CSAO Board of Directors, each Chapter Executive and the outcome of these above mentioned elections will be updated on the website in May. All of our elected members who volunteer their own personal time into making CSAO what it is and assisting in our vision for growth have done wonderful work for the Association and your Chapter. I thank each and everyone who steps forward in these roles to support the work of Medical Device Reprocessing Technicians across the province. We couldn't do all this without you!

Update on CSAO Strategy 2014: The Next Three Years

CSAO Strategy 2014: The Next Three Years was approved by the Board of Directors in January and circulated to all members in February. The theme of the plan is: MEMBER VALUE. Four initiatives from the plan are highlighted here with an update of the work in progress:

Education: We interviewed four candidates for the position of editor for our textbook and workbook. We are pleased to announce that Joanne Lee will be working on this project as editor with us. Our goal is to have it edited and written as a factual scientific healthcare textbook based on Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Medical Device Reprocessing standards of practice. This will ensure that the CSAO textbook/workbook is relevant and, with proper marketing, CSAO has an opportunity to make it the textbook of preference for many educational programs around the country.

Recognition: An Advisory Board is being formed. We are interviewing senior administration professionals to learn more about the way in which MDR is thought of and how we can best contribute to patient safety and positive patient outcomes. In regards to communication, we are planning to build greater awareness of the profession and recognition for the important work done by MDRTs.

Positioning: The board has met to review what the Association stands for and how it can be positioned to make the largest contribution to members and the profession. Members will get a chance to comment on this a little closer to the AGM / conference.

Membership: A new membership year is fast approaching and we will be launching a membership drive very shortly. Stay tuned!

Moving forward with this strategic plan involves input from all members. There was a notice for those interested in the Recognition and Positioning to reply to Directors of Communication Louis Konstant and/or Luanne Sutherland. We did receive feedback from a few members but would like to hear from more. If you have ideas or thoughts on how CSAO can improve in this regard (or any of the mentioned initiatives) please do consider offering your assistance. This plan is for the members and to benefit all MDRTs finding value in membership. We want to hear from you!

The CSAO Board has met on two occasions this year. January 16 & 17 as well as March 27 & 28, 2014. Summary of the meetings:

• Strategic Plan was approved, along with a draft Communication Plan and Advisory Board Charter.
• Election Process was reviewed and updated as this is an election year for Chapter Executive Positions, Chapter Representative on the Board of Directors as well as CSAO Vice President.
• Professional Partnerships were reviewed and discussed. Offer extended from Operating Room Nurses Association of Ontario (ORNAO) to have a complimentary exhibit booth at their upcoming provincial conference in April in London, Ontario. Agreement this is a great opportunity for us to promote our textbook as well as our Medical Device Reprocessing educational programs.
• Board of Director Meeting Structure discussed along with alternate means of meeting. There are many points to consider along with varying opinions. No decision made to change anything at this time.
• CSAO annual magazine production timelines were discussed and reviewed. This will be mailed out in June 2014.
• 2014 Annual Conference theme changed to: Taking it to the Top: People, Process and Peak Performance. The conference will also highlight the fact that this is the 45-year anniversary of CSAO. All speakers are confirmed and agenda complete. Details of conference reviewed and planned. Exhibitor and Delegate registrations reviewed and approved. Exhibitor letter has been sent out to all our partners. Award criteria reviewed and call for award nominations for J & J Award of Excellence can be found on the website. The deadline for this submission is June 1, 2014.

The next Board of Director meeting will be in early June 2014.

I look forward to working on our three-year Strategic Plan with all Board of Directors, Chapter Executive and interested members. Together we can make this happen!