Lidia Garner, President MAR WOCN

Welcome to MARWOCN.org, the website of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Society. We are one of the 11 regions located throughout the United States and we come together as a nursing specialty that focuses on the care of individuals with wounds, ostomies and incontinence. The Mid-Atlantic Region encompasses Virginia , Maryland , the District of Columbia, and Delaware.

Within this web space, it is our intent to share with you who we are, what we do, and to impart a sense of our rich nursing history to you. We have an established tradition within our region of dedication and commitment to quality care. As a region, this is a time of change for us all as we meet the challenges of the future. We will be presenting our 2009 conference in Marriott Westfields Washington Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia (outside Washington, DC) this October 23 & 24, 2009. We will be holding a golf tournament at 1 p.m. on October 22, 2009 at Penderbrook Golf Course. We pride ourselves on hosting the “premier” educational event of the season in this area and once again, we’ve assembled a list of international and local speakers who will address topics on wounds, ostomies and continence. Our program has been planned to appeal to not only our regional members but to other health care specialists such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists, as well as urology, dermatology, home care, long term care, rehab and hospice nurses.

Our region enjoys a membership of nearly 200 WOC/ET nurses and other health care professionals from Delaware, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. We are committed to excellence in Nursing and WOCN nursing care and will work to educate and promote the organizational goals as set forth in the by-laws.

I would ask that each of us think about how we relate to this organization, the way that it functions for each of us, and for the individuals we take care of. How can this organization be meaningful to us in our everyday practice? If you are a person with a wound, ostomy or incontinence, we encourage you to seek out a WOC Nurse. You have a right to the specialized care that we can offer to you.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns or issues that you feel strongly about. Thank you once again for your commitment to helping those in need with wound/ostomy/continence issue.

Respectfully,

Lidia Garner MS RN CWCN COCN