Agenda

Wednesday, September 30

10:00 TO 10:20

Registration & Check-in

10:20 TO 10:30

Day 1 Welcome & Housekeeping

10:30 TO 11:30

Indigenous Awareness Workshop: Cross-Cultural Communication

Presented by Paul Asicksik, Jr., Cultural Programs Manager at the Alaska Native Heritage Center

11:30 TO 12:30

Stroke in 2026

Presented by Kevin Myrick, RN, BS, CPAHA, Founder of the Alaska Stroke Coalition

12:30 TO 1:30

Lunch

Lunch provided. Lunch & Learn Opportunity: Nursing Beyond Borders: Student Experiences in Community-Based Palliative Care in Thailand. Presented by Susan Meskis, DNP, MPH, RN, CLNC and UAA Nursing Students.

1:30 TO 2:30

Where Are We Now? Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and the Childhood Immunization Schedule in 2026

Presented by Kristin VanderEnde, PhD

2:30 TO 3:30

Closest to the Patient: A Practical Cardiovascular Prevention Toolkit for Nurses

Presented by Jacob Kelly, MD, MHS, FACC

3:30 TO 3:45

Break

Snack provided

3:45 TO 4:45

Rethinking PCOS: Understanding the Emerging Focus on PMOS

Presented by Angelia Trujillo, DNP, MS, WHNP-BC

4:45 TO 5:00

Wrap-up & Evaluations

Thursday, October 1

8:30 TO 9:00

Registration, Check-in & Breakfast

Breakfast provided

9:00 TO 9:15

Day 2 Welcome & Housekeeping

9:15 TO 10:15

Keynote: How Healthcare Professionals Can Lead Through a Period of Extraordinary Change in Healthcare

Presented by Vin Gupta, MD, MPA, MSt, National Medical Analyst and Public Health Expert
Live Virtual Presentation

10:15 TO 10:45

Elections & Why They Matter for Nurses

Presented by Joelle Hall, President of the Alaska AFL-CIO

10:45 TO 11:00

Break

11:00 TO 12:00

Addiction: Evidence-Based Treatment

Presented by Betty Anderson, MD

12:00 TO 1:00

Treatment of Colorectal Cancers

Presented by Joseph Peacott, RN and Terra Colegrove, RN and colon cancer patient

1:00 TO 2:00

Lunch

Lunch provided. Lunch & Learn Opportunity: Presentation by APU Nursing Students

2:00 TO 3:00

Safe Staffing Legislation in Alaska

Presented by the Alaska Coalition for Safe Nurse Staffing

3:00 TO 3:15

Break

Snack provided

3:15 TO 4:15

Palliative Care Across the Continuum: What Nurses Can Do

Presented by Reeve Geiger, FNP-C

4:15 TO 4:30

Wrap-up & Evaluations

Friday, October 2

8:30 TO 9:00

Registration, Check-in & Breakfast

Breakfast provided

9:00 TO 9:15

Day 3 Welcome & Housekeeping

9:15 TO 10:15

Frostbite & Hypothermia

Presented by Emily Junck, MD

10:15 to 10:30

Break

10:30 TO 11:30

Beyond the Bedside: Social Needs and Physical Inactivity Among Alaska's Older Adults

Presented by Britteny Howell, PhD, FAGHE, CPG, CDP and Nathan West, PhD

11:30 TO 12:30

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Practical Tools for Nursing Professionals in Alaska

Presented by Alexandria Preston, Provider Outreach Strategist at Alzheimer's Resource Alaska

12:30 TO 1:15

Lunch

Lunch provided to attendees staying for the AaNA General Assembly

1:15 TO 2:30

AaNA General Assembly

Join us at AaNA's annual membership meeting to meet our elected nurse leaders, review our organizational progress, and help set goals and priorities for 2027.

2:30 TO 2:45

Break

Snack provided

2:45 TO 4:00

AaNA General Assembly Continued

Join us at AaNA's annual membership meeting to meet our elected nurse leaders, review our organizational progress, and help set goals and priorities for 2027.

4:00 TO 4:15

Closing & Evaluations

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