Realtors Attend Conference
BERLIN – Representatives from the Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR) recently traveled to San Diego, Calif. to participate in the annual National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2015 Conference & Expo.
CAR President Linda Moran, Incoming President Don Bailey and Executive Vice President Page Browning represented the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland at the national conference. Over 20,000 real estate professionals from across the country attended the three-day event, which offers information sessions and professional development workshops to gain education and insights into residential and commercial real estate markets, home buying and selling trends, commercial market growth, economic forecasts, and public policy and regulatory concerns.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Be Here. It’s Your Time to Shine,” and the focus was on shaping the industry’s future and solving the issues holding back a full restoration of real estate markets.
“The full recovery of the real estate industry is vital to this country’s economic growth,” Moran said. “So it’s very important for industry experts to gather and not only take in all the great information offered at the conference, but also bring with them what’s happening in their local markets and offer that to the overall restoration strategy.”
Speakers and guest panelists through the week included NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who presented his 2016 residential and commercial market and economic forecasts; Charlie Cook, political analyst and publisher of “The Cook Political Report;” Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae; Jim Costello, senior vice president at Real Capital Analytics; and senior staff from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Aviation Administration and Moody’s Analytics.
Attendees also had the opportunity to explore the newest technologies and innovations for more than 400 exhibitors during the trade expo.
CAR contributed an Eastern Shore Gift Basket to an online auction conducted during the conference that benefited the REALTORS® Relief Foundation, which is currently assisting those suffering in the wake of wildfires in Washington, Idaho and California. The gift basket contained a gift certificate for the Crabcake Factory, a Fisher’s Popcorn Maryland tin, Candy Kitchen Salt Water Taffy, Old Bay and other Maryland products. The winning bid was $110.
Two Nurses Earn Docorate Degrees
BERLIN – In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a set of eight recommendations regarding the education of nurses in the U.S., made in large part to address the increasingly complex nature of healthcare and improve the level of care coordination provided to patients to help them better navigate the healthcare world.
Althea Foreman and Lisa Bayles
Atlantic General Hospital took those recommendations – among them to increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent and double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020 – and ran with them.
“It has been well documented through research that the level of nursing education in a healthcare organization is directly proportionate to quality of care and patient satisfaction with that care,” said Colleen Wareing, vice president of patient care services at Atlantic General Hospital. “The higher the percentage of nurses with an advanced level of education, the lower the incidence of mortality and potentially avoidable complications.”
Two Atlantic General Hospital nurses earned their Doctorate in Nursing Practice this year.
Lisa Bayles was awarded a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Wilmington University in May. Her doctorate study was titled “Implementation of Readiness to Change and Self-Efficacy: Impact on a Nonsurgical Weight Loss Program.” She has been serving as a nurse practitioner, specializing in women’s health, in Worcester County for over 20 years. Her focus is in gynecological services for adolescents, adults and geriatric patients. She pursued her nursing education at Salisbury University and received her medical practice training in Salisbury. She is board certified in women’s health and family medicine. A trained colposcopist, Lisa is a member of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology.
Althea Foreman was awarded a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Wilmington University in May. She received her BSN from Wilmington College and her Master’s Degree from Liberty University as a Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CCNS). The focus of her Doctorate capstone was Emergency Department Recidivism as it Relates to Health Literacy. Althea has been an ER nurse for 27 years, employed at AGH since 1997 and the Emergency Department Nurse Manager for the last five years.