Join us for an interactive session with Christine Pontus, associate director of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, who will discuss the conditions our healthcare professionals are facing in these unprecedented times. We will talk about PPE for medical personnel, their access to testing, work conditions in hospitals, child-care facilities for nurses and hospital staff, and steps our communities can take to best support healthcare professionals at this time.
SPEAKER BIO:
CHRISTINE PONTUS, MS, RN, COHN-S/CCM
Christine Pontus is a board certified Occupational Health Nurse and is an Associate Director of Health & Safety within the division of Nursing for the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Chris has worked as a staff nurse in the hospital, a certified occupational health nurse and a certified case manager in the manufacturing environment.
She is currently involved in identifying and analyzing research, policy and current trends in the field of Occupational Health and Safety as it impacts nurses. As an educator and Nurse Planner, she is responsible for planning, developing and presenting approved educational programs for registered nurses as well as working to prevent injury and disease among them.
She is directly involved with injured nurses helping them through the Workers Compensation System and testifying on their behalf. She represents the Massachusetts Nurse Association working in collaboration with diverse organizations and professionals both on a national and international basis.
DR. KEVIN KAVANAGH is founder and Board Chairman of Health Watch USA, a non-profit patient advocacy and healthcare policy research organization. Health Watch USAsm is a member of the National Quality Forum and has been designated as a “Community Leader” for Value-Driven Healthcare by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has published over 20 peer reviewed manuscripts on healthcare policy and/or research integrity problems, many of which deal with deficiencies in reporting systems and in controlling hospital acquired infections and drug resistant organisms. In addition, he has published letters in peer reviewed journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association and New England of Medicine. Dr. Kavanagh is also a frequent contributor to the Lexington Herald Leader on Healthcare Issues and over the last six years a recurrent guest on the Jack Pattie Radio Show on health policy issues.
Dr. Kavanagh has been an Associate Editor for the Journal of Patient Safety since July 2014. He has served on the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program Technical Expert Panel (TEP) from 2014 to 2019; the AHRQ Standing Working Group for Quality Indicators for 2016 to 2017; the AHRQ Health Care Effectiveness and Outcomes Research (HEOR) Study Section, and he has also serves on the National Quality Forum’s Consensus Standards Approval Committee (CSAC) (May 9, 2018-Sep. 30, 2018, Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2020).
One tap mobile +19294362866,,608272441# US (New York) +13126266799,,608272441# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US +1 301 715 8592 US +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 608 272 441 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abS6knyY8e
