AAWC News

‘Tis the season to give thanks

The AAWC is grateful to its members, board members, volunteers, organizational partners, corporate sponsors, and staff for a prosperous 2015.

As a year in review, the AAWC has:

• Presented the first AAWC Clinical Practice Track at SAWC Spring 2015. The track was an astounding success — 4 of the top 6 rated SAWC Spring sessions were AAWC sessions
• Planned the second AAWC Clinical Practice Track for SAWC Spring 2016 in Atlanta, GA, April 13 – 17, 2016
• Continued work as the host association, with the Wound Healing Society (WHS) as co-host, to develop new clinical endpoints for consideration by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016. This is referred to as the Wound-care Experts/FDA – Clinical Endpoints Project (WEF-CEP)
• Addressed several health care public policy concerns with various agencies and entities and included important information to members in the Alerts section of the AAWC website
• Provided opportunities and funding for members to volunteer overseas to teach wound care through the AAWC Global Volunteers Program
• Awarded grants for education and travel through the Annual Scholarship Program
• Created 2 new patient education brochures: a revised version of ABC’s of Wound Care and Debridement: Clean Up to Heal Up
• Launched a state-of-the-art AAWC Career Center for wound care professionals and employers
• Redesigned the AAWC website and developed a mobile version for smartphones and tablets
• Expanded the AAWC Speakers Bureau
• Advanced the Educate for the Generalist (ETG) program, which includes a special ETG section on the AAWC website.
• Plans continue in the new year to:
  • Finalize the recommended endpoints for submission to the FDA via the WEF-CEP initiative
  • Alert members to health care public policy issues
  • Develop evidence-based wound infection and diabetic foot guidelines
  • Continue the international consolidation of clinical guidelines among societies
  • Produce additional educational brochure(s)
  • Provide periodic clinical practice pearls to help in your daily practice
  • More exciting initiatives will be announced soon.

Successful SAWC Fall events

SAWC Fall was held September 26–28 and was a great success for the Association. The AAWC Board of Directors discussed the progress of the 2014–2018 Strategic Plan that was created in fall 2013. The progress toward several goals was reviewed and recommendations for moving forward were determined.

AAWC President, Vickie R. Driver, MS, DPM, FACFAS reported AAWC’s membership continues to grow. Heather Hettrick, PT, PhD, CWS, CLT, CLWT provided a finance report, which noted a very strong total fund balance, and reiterated the importance of membership dues and donations in sustaining the AAWC. Board Members and Corporate Sponsors attended a quarterly AAWC Corporate Advisory Panel (CAP) meeting at SAWC Fall. The CAP allows for collaboration on mutual concerns and development of join projects related to education and public policy. CAP members are stakeholders with a common purpose: helping patients. The campaign for 2016 Corporate Sponsorship is underway. Please contact Karen Strauss at kstrauss@aawconline.org for information about sponsorship and inclusion in the CAP.

The AAWC’s SAWC Fall sessions were well attended; this included the AAWC Research Poster Grand Rounds, AAWC Global Volunteers, and AAWC Speaker Training. 

SAWC Nursing and Physician Scholarships, which provide 1 nurse and 1 physician 1 complimentary conference registration to each conference were awarded to Joan Junkin, MSN, APRN-CNS (nursing) and Virendra Parikh, MD (physician).

$20 for 20th anniversary challenge

Consider making a $20 donation to the Association. The donation can be applied to the program of your choice and/or donate in honor of a colleague, supervisor, mentor, friend, patient, or family member. Your honoree will be notified of your donation or it can be anonymous. To learn more, visit www.aawconline.org/donate.

About AAWC

AAWC is the largest not-for-profit membership organization in the United States dedicated to interprofessional wound healing and tissue preservation. AAWC’s mission is to advance the care of people with and at risk for wounds. The Association’s focus is on education, public policy, and the application of evidence-based wound care practice. AAWC offers membership and associated benefits to everyone involved in wound care, including clinicians and other healthcare professionals, patients, lay-caregivers, clinics/facilities, corporations, students, retirees, and advocates. Learn more about AAWC benefits, activities and programs, and/or join at www.aawconline.org.

This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.