2012-2013 CCI Board of Directors

Officers

President
Pamela D. Gorgone, MS, RN, CNOR, CPN
Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
Email: pgorgone@cc-institute.org

President-Elect and CRNFA Test Development Liaison
Joyce Cox, MSN, CNP, CNOR, CRNFA, OCN
Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH
Email:jcox@cc-institute.org

Secretary/Treasurer and Public Member
Michael Villaire, MSLM
Institute for Healthcare Advancement, La Habra, CA
Email:mvillaire@cc-institute.org

Directors

Nancy Ann Di Cicco, MSN, RN, CNOR
UMass Memorial Health Center, Worcester, MA
Email: ndicicco@cc-institute.org

Frances Skupski, BSN, MBA, CNOR
St. Joseph Mercy Oalkand, Pontiac, MI
Email: fskupski@cc-institute.org

Julia Thompson, PhD, RN, APRN, CIP, CNOR
Harris County Hospital District, Houston, TX
Email: jthompson@cc-institute.org

Theodore (Ted) Walker, MSN, RN, A-CNS, BC, CNOR, CPPS
Air Force Medical Operations Agency, San Antonio, TX
Email: twalker@cc-institute.org

Karen Y. White Edwards, BSN, MBA, RN, CNOR
East Houston Regional Medical Center, Houston, TX
Email: kedwards@cc-institute.org

Dawn M. Yost, BSN, RN, RDH, CNOR
West Virginia University Hospital, Morgantown, WV
Email: dyost@cc-institute.org

Board Bios

Joyce Cox, MSN, RN, CNOR, CRNFA, CNP, serves as the President-Elect of the Board of Directors and as the CRNFA Test Development and currently works as a Oncology Nurse Navigator at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, OH. Previously Joyce worked for 5 years as a CRNFA for an OB/Gyn group as a contracted employee and she also was employed by a general surgery practice, Steven D. Cox, MD, Inc. as a CRNFA and Adult Nurse Practitioner. Prior to that, she was employed for 14 years with a general surgery group, Lancaster Surgical Associates, where she worked as a CNOR and CRNFA. She has 25 years of experience and has been a CNOR for 15 years and a CRNFA for 13 years. Her CCI experience includes serving on the following CCI committees: Item Writer's, Item Reviewer's, Test Specifications, Form Review, Cut Score, CRNFA Logical Job Analysis Committee and the Master's Prepared Focus Group.

Nancy Di Cicco, MSN, RN, CNOR, serves as the Perioperative Educator at UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, Massachusetts overseeing about 230 employees on 2 separate campuses for the past 13 years. She has over 35 years of Perioperative Nursing experience in every role within the operating room arena. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society and a very active member of the Worcester County AORN and served in every office and on many committees as well as representing the chapter as a Congress Delegate. As a CCI Champion she promotes certification. Her CCI experience includes service on the Item Review and Job Analysis committees thus having a good understanding of the goals and the mission of CCI.

Pamela Gorgone, MS, RN, CNOR, CPN currently serves CCI as the President of the Board of Directors. She is the Nurse Educator for Perioperative Programs at Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her BSN from the University of Connecticut and her Masters in Nursing Administration from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Gamma Epsilon Chapter. In addition to her education role her involvement includes: Magnet Champion, membership on the hospital-wide Professional Advancement Committee, the hospital Nursing Legislative Action Group and the Hospital Ethics Advisory Committee. Pam is active in the Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Executives as a member of the Government Affairs Committee and maintains memberships in AORN and ANA. Pam is a retired Army Officer having served 22 years in the Reserves. She has been a perioperative nurse for 26 years and has maintained her CNOR since 1990. She recently became a Certified Pediatric Nurse. Her CCI experience includes serving as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors member and Liaison for the Test Item Review Committee and as a CCI Champion.

Frances Skupski, BSN, MBA, CNOR, has over 35 years of nursing experience and almost 30 years in the Perioperative nursing. She has served as the Perioperative Educator at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, Pontiac Mi for over 10 years, fostering the ongoing education of 75 Perioperative staff and liaisons with other surgical and interventional departments in the staff development process. A strong perioperative patient safety advocate she was responsible for fostering the adoption of the "Time Out" process and was part of the team that designed the the Surgical Safety Checklist for Trinity Health. She has continually revised, refined and taught a Perioperative Course annually. She received the Joy of Nursing Educator Award in 2002 and a second Joy of Nursing nomination in 2012 . Frances is a retired Navy Nurse Corp Commander and has previously held roles as the Assistant Director of Nursing, Perioperative Services and Department Head of the Main OR, at the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, and has held positions as Clinical Leader and Staff RN in the Operating Room at other Naval Hospitals. She retired from the National Naval Medical Center, in 2000. Her awards include 2 Navy Achievement Medals, a Navy Commendation Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal, and the Shea Arentzen Senior Nurse of the year award for the United States Navy Nurse Corps. Frances has been active in local AORN chapters (AORN of Metro Detroit and AORN of Greater Washington D.C.) holding positions as treasurer, secretary, communications, and educational planner. She has participated on volunteer committees with both AORN (National) and CCI. She has been certified since 2001.

Julia A. Thompson, PhD, RN, APRN, CNOR, CIP, is currently the Administrative Director of Research & Sponsored Programs for the Harris County Hospital District in Houston, Texas. She has been a CNOR since 1990 and has over 25 years experience in Perioperative nursing. Dr. Thompson has published and presented topics addressing recruitment and retention in perioperative nursing, including the effects of the work environment as well as human research subjects’ protection. She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, AORN, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), and ANA. Dr. Thompson was honored as one of 20 Outstanding Nurses in Houston by TNA in 2010. She also received a bronze medal from the Good Samaritan Foundation of Texas in 2011 for Excellence in Nursing. Her CCI experience includes service on the APRN Task Force (2009 – 2010) and APRN Job Analysis Task Force (2011).

Michael Villaire, MSLM, serves on the CCI Board as the Public Member and Secretary-Treasurer. Michael is Chief Operating Officer for the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA), a nonprofit healthcare public charity whose mission is to empower people to better health. Among his responsibilities, Michael leads IHA’s health literacy initiatives. He produces its annual continuing education conference, serves as a lead consultant in health literacy, and oversees the “What To Do for Health” self help health book series, all written at a 3rd to 5th grade reading level. He is co-author of the textbook, Health Literacy in Primary Care: A Clinician’s Guide and the easy-to-read book, What To Do When Your Child is Heavy. Michael is adjunct faculty at Brandman University, where he teaches an online master’s course in health literacy. His background includes 20 years as managing editor for various peer-reviewed medical and nursing journals. He earned bachelor degrees in English and Communications from Western Michigan University, and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from the University of La Verne.

Karen Y. White-Edwards, MBA, RN, CNOR, HST, is a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Finance Committee with CCI. She is currently the Director of Perioperative Services at East Houston Regional Medical Center (HCA) in Houston, Texas. Karen has over 27 years of nursing experiences in which 21 of those years are in the Perioperative nursing. She worked 10 years in cardiovascular surgery (CV), one year as a nurse manager in CV surgery, 3 years as a Director in the Ambulatory Specialty, and 7 years as a Director of Perioperative surgery. She has a certification in Health Science from Texas Education as a teacher. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Gamma Lambda Chapter, ANA, TCORN, AORN GH chapter, and AORN, where she served in 2008 as a member and Chair of the Nominating Committee. Karen has been a CNOR since 2004. Her CCI experience includes serving on the following committees: Item Writer’s, Item Reviewer’s, and Job Analysis.

Theodore (Ted) Walker, MSN, RN, A-CNS, BC, CNOR, CPPS serves as a Lt Col in the USAF and is currently assigned to Air Force Medical Operations Agency in San Antonio, TX. He is the Air Force Fellow for Patient Safety, working closely with all aspects of perioperative nursing. His focus is in the development of collegial teams and believes that through the strong bonds of trust and teamwork in all levels of the perioperative patient’s care, we are able to preserve the safety of our patients. He is a Certified Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist, having graduated from the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences as a Perioperative Clinical Nurse Specialist. Prior to this, Ted has held positions as Staff Nurse Operating Room, Operations Officer Operating Room, and Instructor/Course Supervisor Nursing Service Management (NSM)/NSM –Air Reserve Component. Having served on active duty for over 20 years, he looks forward to continuing this service and giving our Airmen, Sailors, and Soldiers the best perioperative care in the world.

Dawn Yost, BSN, RN, RDH, CNOR, is a perioperative nurse clinician at West Virginia University Hospitals in Morgantown, WV. She has two bachelor of science degrees in health related fields, one in dental hygiene and the other in nursing. She has spent 32 years in healthcare and 25 years in perioperative nursing. She obtained her CNOR in 1990. Dawn is active professionally in both health fields and maintains state licensure in both fields. Her memberships in professional organizations include the Association of perioperative Nurses (AORN); American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) and National Dental Assisting Association (NDAA). She also is an active member and serves on many state and local professional association boards. She holds membership in her national honor societies in nursing, Alpha Rho Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and in dental hygiene, Alpha Xi Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha. Dawn has traveled extensively to Africa, Nepal, Myanmar, Honduras, Ecuador and Peru with Interplast, Inc on medical mission. In 2010, Dawn received the first annual Award for Nursing Excellence from Barco's Nightingales Foundation for volunteer work with Interplast. Her past CCI experience includes President-Elect of the Board of Directors, CNOR Test Development, Item Review and Cut Score Committee, and she has served as a liaison and champion for many years.