Our thoughts are with our members and their families, friends and colleagues who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene. Looking for assistance, or want to support individuals and communities needing help? See below, and contact vcnp@vcnp.net if you know of other organizations to add to this list.
CURRENT PRESIDENT:
Jennifer Hubbard-Davis, MSHS, MSN, FNP-C
As the president of the Richmond Region VCNP, Jennifer leads over 290 members in the largest region in the State of Virginia with a dynamic team (all-inclusive of team members below). Her goal for the region is to increase awareness and membership of VCNP. Jennifer, currently employed with United Healthcare, brings to the table over 30 years of extensive experience in various healthcare settings, making her a seasoned leader in the field. She also serves the community in different capacities to promote wellness for the community.
PRESIDENT-ELECT:
Seleste Upshaw, MSN, FNP-C
Seleste is a family nurse practitioner that practices in a primary care setting at Capital Area Health Network. She has been serving as the president-Elect for the Richmond Region VCNP since 2024. This role is responsible for arranging sponsored dinners and supporting the current president.
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT:
Erica Davis, DNP, APRN, FNP-C
Erica Williams is a dedicated Family Nurse Practitioner with over 15 years of nursing experience and a diverse educational background. She earned her Associate of Nursing degree from Virginia State University, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Old Dominion University. Erica also holds a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Simmons College. Throughout her career, Erica has demonstrated strong leadership, serving as President of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners (VCNP) from 2023-2024 and currently serving as Immediate Past President. She is passionate about providing excellent patient care and currently works in surgical services at the VA Hospital, where she supports the healthcare needs of veterans.
SECRETARY:
Wendy Williams, MSN, FNP-C
Wendy is the Secretary for the Richmond Region VCNP. As Secretary, this position is part of the Executive Board and is a voting member. This position is responsible for organizing and taking minutes at the Executive Board meetings that occur quarterly. In addition this role is always helping out with other projects as needed, such as the Pharmacology Symposium.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR:
Chantika Ashe, DNP, FNP-C
Chantika has been an active member of VCNP since 2016, initially joining as a NP student. She graduated in 2018 with her MSN-FNP and earned her Doctorate in 2020. She is currently the Membership Chair for the Richmond Region since 2024, assisting with membership, recruitment, and retention.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR:
Crystal Allen, AGACNP-BC
Crystal is a Neurosurgery Nurse Practitioner who is passionate about caring for the geriatric population. She previously served as President for VCNP before taking on the awards and nominations role.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR:
William Sachau, MS, ANP-C
Bill Sachau, MS, ANP-C works in cardiology at the Central Virginia VA Medical CENTER in Richmond. his current areas of practice are congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and heart arrhythmias. He has been a VCNP RVA chapter member for the past 7 years and he has served as the Education Committee Co-Chair for almost 2 years.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR:
Kelly Szerenyi, MSN, FNP-C
Kelly Szerenyi graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2013. She started her career in primary care but transitioned to hospital medicine. She also retired from the Army Reserves with 22 years of service. After retiring, she missed the comradery of the military. Therefore, she moved from the community to the Veterans Affairs (VA) where she worked with Veterans as a Nurse Practitioner in Lung Cancer Screening. She continues to work at the VA but has transitioned back to inpatient medicine serving veterans when they have an acute illness. At the VA, she has served as a co-educator for the Nurse Practitioners and is now the Lead of over 130 Nurse Practitioners. She also has served on the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners for over four years as the co-educator of the Richmond Region. In her spare time, she started a non-profit, sharing non-traditional music to those in need.
PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR:
Candice Parkins, MSN, WHNP-BC
An active member of the VCNP since 2020, I have been serving on the Public Relations Committee of the Richmond Region since 2023. Professionally I practice in the areas of gyencology, family planning, sexual health, and obstetrics. I hope to see the richmond region engage its members meaningfully and continue to encourage the advancement of NP practice.
PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR:
Sabine Daudier, MSN, FNP-BC
Family nurse Practitioner specializing in Palliative Medicine at Bon Secours, Mercy Health. Serving as the Public Relations Co-Chair for the Richmond Region since 2024.
AWARD AND NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR:
Tanya Satterwhite, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Dr. Tanya J. Satterwhite is a dual certified family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience. She completed her bachelor and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. She matriculated at Old Dominion University where she received her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2015. In 2022, Dr. Satterwhite completed a post master’s program in psychiatric mental health nursing at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Satterwhite has worked as a nurse since graduating from high school, first as a licensed practical nurse. She often jokes, “nursing is the only job I’ve ever had; it’s the only thing I know how to do!” She has worked in various settings to include cardiology, primary care, hospice care, college health, and behavioral health. Dr. Satterwhite has served as president of the Central Virginia Chapter of the Virginia Nurses Association and as state chair of the Nominations and Awards Committee of VCNP. Active in her community, she is a board member of Babybuns for Life Network and volunteers with the Crater Health District Medical Reserve Corp as well as many other organizations. Dr. Satterwhite is a member of the Petersburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She enjoys reading, shopping, traveling and spending time with her husband, Russell, their 2 children, Kyndell and Noah, and grandpup, Simba.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Chrystal Doyle, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Chrystal Doyle is a dual board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health and Family nurse practitioner with a MS from Virginia Commonwealth University and Post-Masters Certificate from Frontier Nursing University. Her areas of interest include eating disorders, hormonal mood disorders, and integrative psychiatry. She currently works in private practice and as clinical faculty.
Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on Avian Influenza.
This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.
Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on adverse events in children following exposure to THC and CBD containing products.
This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.
The talk at Renatos was regarding PCSK9 inhibitors like Repatha and Praluent. these meds pull cholesterol (LDL) from the bloodstream and can lower LDL by 50-60%.
The VCNP reminds us that we are all perfectly positioned and created to be involved in political leadership for the betterment of all. Please consider getting involved in committees, local government, school boards, and beyond to influence healthcare and national leadership in a positive way. Visit Healing-Politics.org to learn more.
Our next meeting 5/9/24 is at 6 Bears and a Goat: Recognizing signs of human trafficking.
Submitted 4/13/24 JPSF
Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on an increase in Meningococcal Disease for Virginia.
This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.
The 2023 Session of the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1147 and House Bill 1426 which authorize the Board of Medicine to select a continuing education (CE) topic of up to 2 hours in satisfaction of the CE requirement for the renewal of a license. At its October 19, 2023 meeting, the full Board of Medicine thoroughly discussed this new law. It was noted that if the Board chose to implement the law, the first topic would be Human Trafficking. The Board voted to require 1 hour of CE in Human Trafficking for all licensees for the 2024-2025 renewal cycles. The only exception to this requirement is surgical technologists, who are certified not licensed. The Board has the responsibility of notifying its licensees of this requirement prior to January 1 of the next renewal cycle. Please consider this and the recent email to be your notification. Upon your renewal, you will need to attest to the fact that you obtained 1 hour of CE in Human Trafficking. There is excellent online information at no cost on the website of The Polaris Project. Go to https://polarisproject.org/. Select Human Trafficking from the menu at the top of the homepage. It provides information about “Understanding Human Trafficking”, “Recognizing Human Trafficking”, “Myths, Facts and Statistics”, “Policy & Legislation”, “Resources and Reports”. You can keep clicking through the modules to accumulate an hour of CE. Under “Recognizing Human Trafficking”, you will find “Human Trafficking Training” that has 6 modules. Polaris is a recommendation, but you may utilize another reputable site that provides high-quality content. A Colorado physician that has maintained his Virginia license complied with the requirement within hours of getting the recent notification. His comment was, “I just want to say that the Human Trafficking module was the most unforgettable training experience I have ever been mandated to complete by a state medical board.
May 9 will feature a guest speaker on human trafficking and this meeting will be open to ALL NPs. It will be held at 6 Bears and a Goat off of Rt 17 north.
Video and poster for the upcoming VCNP conference was discussed.
The conference basket from our region is a “Balance Basket”- and has yoga and exercise items as well as sweet treats and cute sayings and signage regarding health. So cute! Thanks to Rachel for assembling it and thanks to Nicole for bringing it to the conference!
It is time to think about a legislative meet and greet again. In the past, this has been held at the Moss clinic and well attended by our legislators, senators and local mayor. We hope to get the word out to ALL NPs and CRNAs who would benefit from attending and letting the legislators knowing what our key points and challenges are in this healthcare climate. Ashley, our new Government Relations rep is willing to take this on and will be supported by those who organized it in the past.
HB 971 passed the house and the senate. Waiting for Governor Younkin to sign for it to pass.
A state level VCNP member wants to be admitted to our FB page. She is from Commonwealth PR and is asking to be involved in case our FB administrator officers leave suddenly. We have 3 administrators of our page. We started our page to be able to get information out to our regional members. No support is needed at this time, but we can contact her if needed in the future.
Submitted 3/9/24 JPSF
Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on Mpox, Measles, and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Updates for Virginia.
This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.
Speaker on Genetic testing at Renato’s restaurant.
Consider an unsponsored meeting in May with Michelle Trampe of Central Virginia Justice Association on human trafficking. Check cost of venues considering this will be unsponsored.
Nicole and Carrie will be attending the VCNP conference possibly with Hishani and Angela.
Tiffany gave treasurers report.
Nicole gave member report, we have 51 members.
Government relations rep Ashley reported the HB to have NPs solely under the BON was heard today. Autonomous practice switching permanently to a 2 year requirement.
Next meeting will be at Brock’s with Dr Farmakis of Nephrology Associates.
submitted 2/10/24 JPSF