Keynote Speaker

ANA President REBECCA M. PATTON, MSN, RN, CNOR

Rebecca M. Patton MSN, RN, CNOR, of Lakewood, Ohio was elected to serve a two-year term as president of the American Nurses Association in June 2006. ANA is the nation’s leading professional nursing organization representing the major health policy, practice, and workplace issues of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States.

A nurse since 1980, Patton has extensive inpatient and outpatient experience and has been responsible for the start up, and ongoing operations of ambulatory medical centers, and of an inpatient acute and a skilled nursing facility. Currently she is the Director of Perioperative Services for EMH Regional Healthcare System in Elyria, Ohio. Previously she has served as Director of Nursing, Director of Surgical Services and Director of Ambulatory Operations for hospitals in the University Hospitals Health System. She also has been a clinical instructor at the Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. A member of the Editorial Board of OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, she has written chapters for books on medical-surgical nursing and for nursing journals. She has also written for popular publications including an article on “What You Must Know Before You go to the Hospital” for Redbook Magazine.

Patton has a Bachelors of Science in nursing from Kent State University and a Masters of Nursing from Case Western Reserve University. She has held numerous ANA positions including treasurer (1998-2002), Board of Directors member (1994-1998), and delegate to the ANA House of Delegates (2003-2005). In addition, she has served in several Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) positions, including ONA first vice president (1990-1992), ONA delegate (2005-2006), ONA finance committee member (2003-2005), and on an Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses task force on competencies (1999-2000).

She received the “Community Involved Political Action Award” from the Sigma Theta Tau, Delta Xi Chapter at Kent State University in 2000 and the “Dorothy E. Cornelius Leadership Congress Award” from the Ohio Nurses Association in 1999.

 

Plenary Speaker

ROBERT J. KEPSHIRE, RN, MS, MA

Bob Kepshire has been active in his profession serving on national and regional committees, workgroups, and boards. Bob also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Men in Nursing, a bi-monthly journal published by Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.

Bob is a seasoned emergency services administrator who has an outstanding track record of mentoring emergency services teams to achieve excellence in providing patient-centered emergency care. Bob has over thirty years of emergency and patient care services background serving as a Fire Fighter, Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic, Deputy Coroner, Staff Nurse, Flight Nurse, Nursing Supervisor, EMS Coordinator, Nurse Manager, Project Specialist and Service Line Director. Bob is currently the Director – Emergency & Community Services for the University Health Care System in Augusta, Georgia. His administrative areas of responsibility include a large urban Emergency Department, a free-standing Urgent Care Center, Occupational Medicine Clinic, Mobile Mammography Program, and Breast Health/Oncology Education Center. These departments account for over 100,000 annual patient visits. He also serves as the liaison to the community-based primary health clinics in Augusta.

Bob holds four degrees from Purdue University; Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture, Associate in Applied Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing. He also holds a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Saint Leo University.