Chapter Members Provide COVID Vaccinations During the Artic Apocalypse
By Melissa C. Lockhart, PhD, APRN, GNP-BC
The Gulf Coast Chapter of GAPNA is large, covering the area from Dallas to the Mexico border (Harlingen) and over to San Antonio. Texas has 28 million residents and, as of 2019, had over 26,000 APRN’s practicing in the state, up from 10,000 a decade ago.
Our chapter is busy coming to terms with the pandemic and trying to provide meaningful virtual meetings for GAPNA members.
Meetings from March to December 2020 were held in video conferencing, and Gulf Coast will continue through 2021 with all meetings scheduled via Zoom through 2021. The February 18, 2021 meeting was canceled due to the Artic Apocalypse.
Virtual meetings restarted April 15, 2021 with a Legislative Update of the State of Texas Nurse Practitioner Legislation. All chapters are invited to our monthly meetings.
UTMB House Call NPs. GAPNA members are a hearty group, with planned COVID vaccinations to home bound frail patients scheduled, they did not let the Artic Apocalypse stop them.
In addition to bringing the COVID vaccines, they brought smiles, muffins, and hot coffee. The freeze was so bad, 75% of all homes were without power for almost 3 days.
Tammie Michaels, DNP, Jennifer Young, AGNP, Zach Carson, AGNP, and Rebecca Den Herder, AGNP, carried on during the severe weather event. Their story touched so many the Weather Channel and multiple national and local TV stations picked up the story. Read about it.
Andrea Wirt, MSN, GNP, and Melissa C. Lockhart, PhD, GNP, presented an abstract to the Public Health Symposium in April at UTMB: “Community Partnership Provides Respite for Geriatric Patients.” Andrea and Melissa received a $40,000 Presidents Cabinet Award from UTMB to initiate the 2-year project.
Maureen Beck, DNP, GNP-BC, RN, is one busy lady. She is now President Elect of the Gulf Coast GAPNA Chapter and will take office in July 2021. Maureen submitted two abstracts to GAPNA for the 2021 Annual Conference. Dr. Beck presented on April 6 to the Duke Alumni (“Healthy Aging”) and on May 15 to TexMed (“COVID 19 Managing COVID-19 Protocols”).
Myla Magno, DNP, APRN, GNP-BC, GS-C, stays active in our chapter. She is Past President and pursuing a Psychiatric Mental Health NP degree. Myla was chosen as one of the five outstanding NPs in Texas. This recognition is testament to her hard work. She is a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing and recently completed her article “Falls in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments.”
Texas Gulf Coast is proud of the talented geriatric nurse practitioners as they continue their research, education, and clinical pursuits to advocate for the health and wellness of older Texans.
Melissa C. Lockhart, PhD, APRN, GNP-BC
Chapter President
mlockhart0196@gmail.com
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