FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/December 15, 1997 CONTACT: Sara Foer [202/651-7023];
Joan Meehan [202/651-7020];
MEDIA ADVISORYArgene Carswell Named as ANA Interim Executive DirectorWashington, D.C. -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors has announced that Argene Carswell, JD, RN, has been appointed Interim Executive Director beginning January 1, 1998, when Executive Director Geri Marullo, MSN, RN, returns to her home in Hawaii to pursue new career opportunities. "It is with deep regret and gratitude that the Board accepts Geri's decision, yet we are fortunate to be able to tap the expertise and talents of Argene Carswell, who is uniquely qualified to ensure a seamless transition and to move forward with the bold agenda ANA has designed for 1998 and beyond," said ANA President Beverly L. Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. "Argene's wide range of experience as a clinician, in labor-management relations, and in association management makes her an ideal choice to lead the association during this time when our members look to ANA to ensure a better future for all nurses." "ANA has recently launched a number of initiatives that have tremendous potential to improve the lives of nurses and their patients," said Carswell. "I'm proud to have been part of the team that laid the groundwork for these initiatives, and I'm excited and ready to move forward in my new role to make them a reality for our members," said Carswell. Carswell has served as the ANA Deputy Executive Director for Leadership Services, Subsidiaries, and Support Services since January 1997. Prior to that, Carswell served as ANA's Acting Director for Human Resources. From 1992 to 1993, she was a professional staff member in ANA's Labor and Workplace Advocacy department, after which she served as the Deputy Executive Director for the California Nurses Association (CNA). Following her departure from CNA, she managed her own consulting firm, Carswell and Associates. In addition, she has directed the employee and labor relations of a university-based medical center, and worked with a law firm focusing on the representation of public and private sector professional and technical employees and their bargaining units, including those of registered nurses (RNs). In her clinical career, Carswell worked as a staff nurse in the areas of neurology and neurosurgery, maternal-child health and public health. She also served as director of quality assurance and JCAHO compliance for a community hospital and directed staff development in long-term care and university-based ambulatory care settings. She possesses a J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, MI, and a B.S.N. from Oakland University College of Nursing in Rochester, MI. Marullo, who has held the top staff position for both ANA and the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) since January 1995, will provide consultation to the association during its transition to new leadership. In addition to accepting a new position in Hawaii as the President and CEO of Child and Family Services of Hawaii, Inc., a $20 million, 500-employee not-for-profit agency, Marullo will complete her Doctorate in Public Health at the University of Hawaii. During Marullo's tenure, the association achieved several major policy and political initiatives, including Medicare reimbursement for advanced practice registered nurses, unprecedented funding for the Nurse Education Act, and the ANA-PAC raised more than $1 million to support nursing friendly congressional candidates. As a result of these and a host of other lobbying successes, ANA was ranked among the top 100 powerful associations by Washington insiders polled by Fortune Magazine (Dec. 8, 1997). The work Marullo started and oversaw will continue under Carswell's watch. As noted, the ANA Board of Directors approved an aggressive plan to strengthen the federation and to move the organization forward into the next millennium. At its year-end board meeting December 11-12, the members approved multi-million dollar increases in funding for core programs focused on improving the present and future work lives of RNs. In addition to focusing on workplace advocacy and a national labor agenda, the ANA Board approved significant resources dedicated to: 1) membership partnerships; 2) quality initiatives; 3) Nursing's Blueprint for Action in a changing health care environment; and, 4) its federal legislative program. "Ultimately, the successes of ANA and the state nurses associations will be reflected locally, nurse by nurse, patient by patient, in the outcomes of individual lives," Malone said. "ANA is only as strong as its members and as the membership grows, so, too, will nursing's strength." The ANA Board of Directors is committed to an expeditious search to permanently fill the position. A search process will be implemented in order to identify appropriate candidates for consideration by the ANA board. The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.6 million Registered Nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the work place, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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