The GI Kaleidoscope 2012 was held in
Alexandria MN on October 12th-14th at the
Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center.
There were over 200 attendees. We
enjoyed beautiful fall weather.
Our Friday evening event sponsored by
Cook Medical & US Endoscopy was well
attended. Food and beverages were provided as
well as education offerings. Upper GI Bleeding Emergencies by Dr. Carr Locke, sponsored by Cook Medical (video presentation). Foreign Body/Food Bolus, by Peggy Fowler, BSN RNCGRN, sponsored by US Endoscopy.
Saturday speakers were: Dr. Michael
Epstein, “Helicobacter Pylori; Importance
of Appropriate Testing & Management”;
Beverly Paul, RN, “Stoma Therapy”; Dr.
Scott Keeley, “Ulcerative Colitis; A Review
and What’s New”; Dr. Paul Yakshe, “The
Fundamentals of ERCP; Dr. Billie Glade,
Bariatric Surgery”; Dr. Paul Yakshe,
“Advanced ERCP and Interventional
Endoscopy”; Dr. Gary Paulson, “Ph Moni-
toring”; Dr. Hernando Gonzalez, “EGD
Updates”.
GI KALEIDOSCOPE 2012 Held in Alexandria, Minnesota
MN SGNA NEWS
GI KALEIDOSCOPE 2012 Held
in Alexandria, MN
Meet your 2012 Board
Members & Fall Conference
Planning Committee.
Message from MnSGNA
President
Election of New Board
Members.
Board Member Retirement
MN SGNA
NEWSLETTER
December 2012
Page 1
Sharon Yorde
Fall Course
Coordinator
Sunday speakers were: Dr. John
Emblom, “Barrett’s Esophagus”; Dr. Aaron
Brosam, “Sedation for Gastrointestinal
Endoscopy”; Dr. Alexander Khoruts,
“Clostridium Difficile Infections and Treat-
ment Options”; Dr. Isaac Felemovicius,
“Colonoscopy “Tricks of the Trade”.
Nurses attending this conference had the
opportunity to earn 13.5 Contact Hours
(11.5 Hours were GI Specific).
Many vendors came to our
conference to show us the
latest GI products.
We want to say a special thank
you to the following vendors
who gave financially to support
this annual MnSGNA education-
al event: Surgical Repair Technologies, J&J Health Care Systems Inc., Max Med Inc., Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Janssen, Normed Inc. Sandhill Scientific – PHS West - G.I.Supply), Boston Scientific, Otsuka, Cook Medical, Medivators, ERBE, Cygnus, Ferring Pharma-ceutica, Custom Ultrasonics, ConMed, Olympus, US Endoscopy.
GI KALEIDOSCOPE 2012 (continued)
Page 2
Fall Conference 2012— Some of the Gift Basket & Prize Winners
Vendors
Thank you to the Endo Centers, Vendors, Arrow-
wood Conference Center & Carlos Creek
Winery for their generous prize donations.
Have you ever wondered
how these conferences
come together?
The MnSGNA Board
Members & Volunteer
Planning Committee mem-
bers get together monthly
starting early in the year to
begin the process.
If you would like to
become more involved,
contact any board
member by e-mail.
E-mail addresses can be
found on the website.
www.mnsgna.com or
www.mnsgna.org or
Facebook—MnSGNA
We can answer any
questions & would
welcome your involve-
ment. Becoming a
Planning Committee
Member is an easy way to
gently begin & is an
opportunity to make
friends with a great group
of GI nurses.
MnSGNA 2012 Fall Conference Board Members & Planning Committee
Debra Kjeldahl RN, BS, CGRN
Treasurer
North Memorial Medical Center
& Fairview Ambulatory Surgery
Endoscopy Center –Maple Grove
Eva Packowski RN
Director at Large
MNGI
Susan Clark RN, CGRN
Director at Large
Allina Mercy
Hospital
Georgia Schumacher LPN,
CGRN - Director at Large
University of Minnesota
Physicians
Sharon Yorde RN, BSN,CGRN
President-Elect
Fall Course Coordinator
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital
Mindy Nelson, RN Carol Ponsolle, RN Jean Schmitz, RN
Kathleen Arnell RN, CGRN
Secretary
Hennepin County Medical
Center
Planning Committee:
Theresa Hollarmann, RN Carrie Johnson, RN Jean Nelson, RN
Lynn Mueller, RN, BSN
Past-President
North Memorial Medical
Center
Jill Bendiske-Minor RN,BA,CGRN
President
North Memorial Medical
Center
Page 3
Free One Year
Renewal SGNA
Membership:
Nancy Richards
MNGI
Free Tuition
Fall
Conference:
Pat Holman
North
Free Tuition
Fall
Conference :
Sharon Filler
Mankato
SGNA Annual
Course 2013
$1000 Tuition
Reimbursement:
Sarah Ludwig MNGII
Free New
SGNA
Membership:
Terry Meister
Regions Hospital
2012
MnSGNA
Member Fall
Conference
Prize
Winners
One of the great benefits of MnSGNA Membership is
eligibility for prizes such as these won by members
at our fall conference. If you have thought about
joining go to the SGNA website for details.
www.sgna.org/MemberCenter/HowtoJoin.aspx
Thank you to all the MnSGNA Board & Planning Committee members for their
hard work behind the scenes. A special thank-you goes to the Alexandria
area nurses who were a great help with the conference.
GI KALEIDOSCOPE 2012 - “All work & no play is not good for the soul.”
Page 4
On Saturday evening many attendees enjoyed an evening of wine tasting with hors d’oeuvres, tour of the winery and live music at the Carlos Creek Winery. Buses transported those attending for the short ride to and from the
winery to the Arrowwood Resort. It was a beautiful fall evening!
Later on Saturday evening attendees had the opportunity to join in for a bonfire with s’mores,
on the deck of Arrowwood Resort.
Newly Elected
MnSGNA Board
Members
For 2013
Eva Paczkowski RN
President-Elect MNGI
Laura Danner RN
Director at Large North Memorial
Medical Center
Page 5
Upcoming Events
Carl Schmidt RN, BSN, MPH
Director at Large Park Nicollet Clinic
We are updating
our website:
mnsgna.com or
mnsgna.org
If you are unable to
access the website,
you may contact us
with your questions
through our
Facebook site:
MnSGNA or E-mail us at:
The speakers provid-
ed a wide variety of
topics. Some of it was
new and some was a
review, which helped
to keep me from going
into information
overload. Thank you to
all who attended.
I want to wish
you a very joyous
Holiday season. May
you have a healthy &
prosperous new year.
Jill Bendiske-Minor
President MnSGNA
WOW!! I cannot
believe that 2012 is
already coming to an
end.
I want to take this
time to thank the
MnSGNA Board
Members for every-
thing they do to make
MnSGNA such a great
Regional group.
Message from MN
SGNA President
Jill Bendiske-Minor
Please join us for the 2013 Twin
Cities Get Your Rear in Gear 5K
Run/Walk.
Date: Sunday, April 21
Registration: 7 a.m.
Opening Ceremony: 8 a.m.
Kids Fun Run: 8:30 a.m.
5K Timed Run: 9 a.m.
5k Walk: 9:05 a.m.
Closing Ceremony: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Southdale Center,
Edina
www.getyourrearingear.com
Location: Harriet Island
Date: June 9, 2013
Check-in and Festival Start: 4:00 PM
Walk Start: 5:00 PM
www.cctakesteps.org
Special thanks to our
retiring board members
who have each put in
many years of service.
Lynn just
completed
three years in
the President
roles as well as
other roles in
years past.
Georgia has
served in the
director role for
many years.
She organized the
vendors at many
fall conferences.
Best wishes
to both of you!!
You will be missed!
Lynn
Mueller
Georgia
Schumacher
A very special
thank you goes to
Georgia Schumacher
and Lynn Mueller
as they leave the
MnSGNA Board and a
big welcome to new
Board members
Laura Danner and
Carl Schmidt.
The Fall Conference
was attended by more
then 220 people in
Alexandria, MN. I think
everyone will agree
that the setting was a
perfect place to enjoy
a beautiful fall
weekend.
Save the Date MnSGNA Fall Conference 2013
October 11-13th Minneapolis Marriott Northwest
(Formerly Northland Inn)