The new CSAO Provincial Executive has come together for one meeting in November. Just prior to the meeting, I was contacted by Michelle Bellefeuille (Theta Chapter Representative) who regretfully resigned from this position. We all wish Michelle the very best and hope that in the future she will consider involvement with CSAO again. The Theta Chapter then appointed Jeffrey Phelps to the Provincial Executive as their Chapter Representative.
At the annual meeting in September there were concerns raised regarding communication from the executive and transparency of our organization. I found this very disheartening when so much volunteer time and dedication is put in by all directors. The executive and your Chapter representative are here for all the members and are very passionate about the reprocessing profession and strive to meet the needs of our members. We started our first meeting as a new group discussing ways we can engage members more and share information with everyone. We are all available and open to hearing from members and welcome any questions anyone may have. We use the quarterly e-newsletters as a means to communicate regularly with members. In an effort to improve communication to all members, making you more aware of activities of the executive, I will be summarizing the topics on the agenda and including it in my Presidents report each e-newsletter. I will not comment in great detail on each Director's report as they each submit their own report. Here is the first summary:
CSAO Provincial Executive met on November 8 & 9, 2012. In attendance were Cindy Cole, Lorna Coutoulas, Nancy Aelick, Shelley McGee, Darlene Keast, Alan Scott, Jeff Phelps, Denise Bosnjak, Louis Konstan and Chris Collins. Regrets were sent by Trevor Lee.
Nancy Aelick will be representing CSAO on the CSA Standards Reprocessing Committee. We value this relationship we have with CSA and are honored to have representation at this national level of Reprocessing expertise.
Education: This topic continues to be a large part of our meeting for discussion. Offering Reprocessing Education to our members as well as those entering the profession is a main focus for CSAO. Recent years have shown an increase in the number of other organizations also developing reprocessing educational material. Many ideas are shared on improving our course delivery and remaining competitive in this ever increasing market meeting the needs of our students as well as prospective employers.
The CSAO textbook will be looking at a second edition as there are now a few areas that need to be expanded as well as new text being added. The current exams are also being reviewed and revised.
Communication: Challenge with e-newsletter reaching members when the e-mail address bounces back undeliverable. Undeliverable address will be forwarded to the Chapter Representative to try and reach the member for correct address. Enquiry with the webmaster to set up both membership and conference registration on the website for the coming year.
World Forum for Hospital Sterile Supply: The WFHSS meet yearly at an annual conference in the fall. Information was too late coming for attendance at this year's conference. All agreed that it should be the President who would attend this representing CSAO and Canada among all the International delegates. This will allow us to network with the other groups around the world. It was suggested that the CSAO look to the future to host this. This is a much larger planning event so a conference planner would need to be considered.
Canada Not For Profit Act: The Government of Canada has made changes to its Not For Profit Act. A not-for-profit corporation must make the transition to the new act by October 17, 2014. It is also stated in the guidance document: "Not for profit corporations are encouraged to seek professional advice if they have any concerns." A lawyer will be contacted to review our documents and constitution to ensure we have everything in order to comply with these changes.
Strategic Planning: Many opportunities and ideas have been presented for CSAO in moving forward. All agreed that the organization would benefit from a strategic planning session to assist us in revising the vision and mission statement along with setting clear goals and objectives over a five-year period. With this assistance we can make a plan for bringing CSAO up to the next level, whatever that may be. This will take some time and planning. Work will begin on finding a facilitator to assist with this project.
Central Service Week: There was discussion regarding the dates. These are the future dates to be posted on the website: October 13-19, 2013, and October 12-18, 2014. Discussed having a theme each year, which could be in line with the conference theme. Posters will be changed to MDR week.
Submission for constitutional changes will be highlighted on the website. Any changes must be in to the office by March. This will be the time to make amendments to comply with the Not for Profit Act if necessary.
Canadian Society of Association Executives: This organization was recommended to us and is for professionals working in the not for profit industry. The website has great information on it and all Directors can benefit from reviewing the content.
ORNAO: An e-mail from ORNAO requesting the executive to discuss the possibility of partnering with them for future conferences. It was stated that the 2014 conference would not be feasible due to the timeline. There was discussion and it was agreed upon to engage in conversations with ORNAO to explore how this would work for both organizations.
2013 Annual Conference: Many great ideas were shared on themes for the next conference as well as potential speakers. Other topics discussed were: exhibitor agreements, speaker agreement, delegate registration, hotel contract, entertainment and the silent auction.
The next meeting will be held in January via Ontario Telemedicine Network.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year with much love, health and happiness for 2013!
Sincerely,
Cindy Cole