IQ PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE BY TONYA HEIM

The Mission of the Association for Vascular Access is to advance the global practice of Vascular Access through awareness, advocacy, and education to improve outcomes.

I have previously shared with you that the AVA Board of Directors reviewed, discussed, and revised our Mission Statement at our January Board retreat. I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about what it means and what your Board of Directors is doing to carry out this new mission,

“…advance the global practice of Vascular Access…”

Our Association has members from several countries, and we felt that it was important to place that global reach front and center in our Mission statement. I know that many of our members speak internationally to help advance the global practice of Vascular Access. AVA was represented at the joint CVAA/WaCOVA Conference by Chellie DeVries and Mickey Hawes. AVA will be represented at the VI Argentine Congress of Infusion Therapy and Patient Safety by Board Member Karen Laforet. In 2022, President Tonja Stephens was our representative at this congress. Karen will be speaking about the challenges of vascular access in burn patients, which is certainly a universal challenge. This international outreach is an important part of what we do at AVA.

“…through awareness,…”

AVA uses several channels of communication to spread the word about who we are and what we do. At the last board meeting, Tonya Hutchison, COO, shared engagement information with us that our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn numbers have all increased significantly. Thank you to Blake Hotchkiss for his great work in driving those increases. Our Facebook video minutes watched increased from 966 to over 1800, and reactions to AVA posts increased by 550%. Instagram saw a 300% increase in reactions to AVA posts, and LinkedIn unique visitors and page views doubled.

AVA continues to work hard to keep our website up to date and communicate through email blasts as well as those social media channels. We certainly hope that each of you will help us spread the word by sharing those posts, emails, etc., with your colleagues and contacts. You never know when the knowledge you shared was just the thing that your colleague needed. You play a significant role in helping us carry out this part of our mission, and I want to thank you for doing so.

“…advocacy…”

What does advocacy mean to you? According to Webster’s Dictionary, advocacy is the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal. Though it seems to be a contemporary concept, this word was first used in the 14th century. Advocacy can take many forms. Speaking up for the dignity of an IV drug user who requires vascular access to treat their endocarditis. Supporting best practices for vessel conservation through input into policies and procedures, training co-workers, and obtaining your certification. For the AVA Board, advocacy efforts have included submitting comments to federal agencies for regulatory changes, and developing and publicizing position statements. Another action currently underway is the study we are participating in regarding Equity. Surveys are being sent to patients and clinicians on this important issue. Please participate if asked.

“…and education…”

AVA has certainly seen increased participation in our educational offerings. Year over year, from 2022 to 2023, CE certificates issued went from 844 to 1426. Attendance at our educational offerings increased from 1208 to 2489, and Academy Course orders increased from 143 to 389. We have recently kicked off the new IV League learning sessions every other Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm ET. These short sessions give attendees the opportunity to chat with the speaker about questions and challenges. They are designed to be accessible and appropriate for students as well, so please encourage any students you work with to register for this great series.

The AVA Scientific Meeting will be held October 14-17 in Portland, Oregon. The Scientific Meeting has been identified as one of the greatest strengths of our organization. If you haven’t registered yet, it is not too late. The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful area of the US, and the conference is lining up to be another great one. See you there!

“…to improve outcomes.”

This is the bottom line, for sure. Improving outcomes was my personal focus for the entire 51 years of my career, and I am sure that is your focus as well.

Our Vision statement is A World of Safe Vascular Access. I know that there is much work to be done to achieve this vision. Each of you knows of situations where vascular access was not safe, and I know it gets you fired up. There is so much work to be done. Use that fire you feel to increase awareness, advocate for patients, and educate those you work with. You are all ROCKSTARS, and I feel so privileged to work with this incredible organization.

Thank you for all you do.