Pediatric Critical Care Conference to be held on South Padre Island

June 25, 2004 – A Pediatric Critical Care Conference, featuring nationally-known speakers from Chicago and Baltimore, will be held for Valley nurses and other health professionals Thursday and Friday, September 16-17, 2004 on South Padre Island at the Bahia Mar.

The conference is for staff nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse managers, nurse educators, transport nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics. The workshop is especially recommended for those who work in a pediatric ICU, a general pediatric unit, an adult/mixed ICU, an emergency trauma unit, a cardiovascular / cardiology unit or office, or with an EMS unit.

Scott DeBoer, RN, MSN, CEN, CCRN, CFRN, flight nurse for Classic Lifeguard and the University of Chicago Hospitals, will be the speaker for the first day of the conference (Sept. 16). Scott has appeared on the series Trauma Center and in 1995 made his acting debut when he was used on several episodes of the hit television show E.R. as the flight nurse opposite Anthony Edwards and George Clooney.

Topics for the first day of the conference will include Emergency Care of Crashing Kids; Coding Kids: What They Don’t Teach You in ACLS/PALS; Working and Wheezing; How Long Can You Hold Your Breath? … Near-Drowning; Ipecac, Lavage, and Teaching Them A Lesson: Toxicology; and When in Doubt ... Knock 'Em Out: Pedis Pain Management/Sedation.

Patricia Moloney-Harmon RN, MSN, CCNS, CCRN, FAAN, Advanced Practice Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist for Children's Services at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, will be the speaker for the second day (Sept. 17). Patricia is co-editor of the textbooks, Critical Care Nursing of Infants and Children and Nursing Care of the Pediatric Trauma Patient.

Topics for the second day will include Navigating the Neurological System; When Kids Hurt: Pediatric Issues in Multi-system Trauma; Child Abuse; Pediatric Trauma Case Studies (Head, Thoracic and Abdominal); Nutritional and Fluid Management; The Infection Unto Death: Pediatric Sepsis; and A Whole New World: A Vision for Pediatric Critical Care Nursing.

A limited block of hotel rooms is being held for those interested in attending and their guests. These hotel rooms are available at a special rate of $70 per night (single or double occupancy). Interested persons are advised to make their reservations early before the block of hotel rooms is released on Aug. 16, 2004. Rooms may sell out before this date. For those individuals wishing to extend their stay after the conference and enjoy some of the sights at the Island, the same room rates will apply if booked at the same time of the conference.

The tuition for the two-day conference is $190 for both days or $95 for one day. Tuition includes the two-day conference, program syllabus, continental breakfast, breaks, lunch, and certificate of attendance. To register, please contact Jeannie Dudson-Brown, RN, Clinical Educator, at (956) 389-5294. Jeannie can help interested persons with general information and also to register by phone or by mail, with credit card payment available. For more information on the conference, including the schedule and a biography of the speakers, please click here. For more information on other community outreach offerings and educational training classes offered by Valley Baptist Health System, please click here.