Region 1 (Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren)
Karen Kinsley MSN RN OCN, Region 1 President 2024-2025
Happenings:
General Business meeting 1/18/2025 at the Romano Conference Center at Newton Medical Center.
Education and Business meeting 3/22/2025 the presentation of Nursing Ethics: Bracing our Moral Agency by Elizabeth Bertolini, RN, MMH, HEC-C, CHPN, Clinical Nurse Ethicist at the Romano Conference Center at Newton Medical Center.
Saturday April 12, 2025 Food Pantry Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Caring Kitchen, St. Mary’s School, 159 Liberty Street, Hackettstown, NJ Saturdays, 8:30 am – 12 pm
Ongoing collections for Wardrobe of Hope-Women’s Clothing Boutique; St. Jude Church in Warren County, the Food Pantry, & Homeless Shelter Birth Haven, Newton, NJ — nonprofit caring for homeless pregnant women.
May 26, 2025 157th Memorial Day Parade-American Legion Post 164 in Hackettstown, NJ | 9:30 am
Region 1 has the following Open Positions (Election dates – 11/1-11/30/2025)
Term of office: 1/1/2026-12/31/2027
- President-Elect
- Vice-President for Membership
- Vice-President for Fundraising
- Vice-President to the Congress on Policy
- Sussex County Coordinator
- Morris County Coordinator
- Nominations Committee (2)
Social Media Presence: Find us at NJSNARegion1 on Facebook, Instagram & X (Twitter)
Fundraising: Florence Nightingale card sale continues. Please contact lakrause@optonline.net for more information.
Region 2 (Bergen & Hudson)
Margaret Hopkins, BSN, RN, CCRN, HBN-BC, NJSNA Region 2 President
Our May meeting featured a presentation by Legal Nurse Consultant, Daniel Elmowitz, MS, BSN, RN, PCCN. Dan spoke to the group about how nurses can protect themselves while charting. This met our goal of exploring topics of interest to staff nurses and newer nurses. We will use our July meeting to discuss potential changes to our bylaws.
Region 2 represented for the third time at Glen Rock’s Pride Day event. If any members have local events where they would like nurse representation, please email Maggie Hopkins, Region 2 president, at julejess@gmail.com.
Congratulations to Mary Jane Genuino for being selected to present a poster at the AACN’s 2025 Access, Connection, and Engagement Symposium. Also congratulations to Serpouhi Vartivarian and Maggie Hopkins for their podium presentations at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Research Day. We are always happy to celebrate accomplishments.
Region 3 (Essex, Union Counties)
Elsie A. Rivera, DNP, APN, FNP-C, NJSNA Region 3 President-Elect
Region 3 welcomes Summer with exciting news. We congratulate the 2025 C.A.R.E.S. Award Nominees: Administration, Laura Geron; Education, Pamela Parson-Williams; and Support, Varsha Singh. Their service and nursing excellence serve as an inspiration for all of us. We are proud of Dr. Lois Greene, for whom, in addition to all her accolades, we can add author to her list of accomplishments. Her book “Beyond the Spectrum Navigating Autism into Adulthood” is now available. Maxine Amanua-Frimpong was reappointed as the Graduate Nursing Student Academy Advocacy Leader at NYU representing New Jersey as she pursues her MSN.
The Nurses’ Week Social was held on May 8, 2025, at the Statehouse Tavern in Mountainside, NJ. Dr. Lois Greene presented and led a discussion on Autism Awareness. Thank you to everyone who joined us for an evening of fun and networking as we celebrated our profession, resilience, and accomplishments. We also congratulate all the new graduate nurses for their achievements.
Our Annual Membership Meeting was held via Zoom on April 24, 2025. Your attendance and participation made it a success. Membership meetings for 2025 are held quarterly from 6-7:30 pm. Visit the Region 3 site https://njsna.org/regional-site/region-3 for more information on the locations.
We currently have vacancies for the following board positions: VP of Membership and VP of Communications. Email us if you are interested and would like more information on any of these positions.
If you have any news you would like to share with Region 3, please send the information to njsnar3@gmail.com. Stay connected on social media for events and announcements, and please access our What’s App; we value your input and participation. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Region 4 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, Bucks)
Ginnette Watkins-Keller DNP, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, NJSNA Region 4 President
The year is passing quickly. As we approach summer, our NJSNA board and members have been active throughout the spring. We have members celebrating nurses at the annual Institute for Nursing (IFN) gala and others advocating for us in Washington, D.C.
Board Leadership
Have you considered ways to give back to your profession? We are seeking a dynamic nurse who is interested in joining our board leadership. There is an opening for the Vice President of Communications. If you enjoy social media and want to help promote the message of the New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA), we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to our Region 4 President, Ginnette Watkins-Keller, at bobgin66@aol.com if you are interested.
NJSNA Region 4 Happenings
The board and NJSNA Region 4 members attended the IFN C.A.R.E.S. Award for Nursing Excellence Gala on April 10, 2025, at the Pines Manor in Edison. This event is conducted yearly to honor our amazing nurses throughout the state of New Jersey. It was an exciting night for all who attended. See below for the members who attended and enjoyed the night.
Our membership committee, led by VP of Membership Bernadette Alexander and members-at-large Cornelia Gilpin (Middlesex), Megan Chan (Somerset), Nora Krick (Hunterdon), and Lisa Camacho (Mercer/Bucks), is reaching out to the NJSNA Region 4 membership with a brief survey. The survey includes the following questions: What made you decide to join NJSNA? What matters to you in a professional organization? How can our subchapter provide value to you? By completing the survey and submitting your name and address, you can enter to win a $25 gift card. We look forward to hearing from our members!
Our Somerset Member-at-Large, Megan Chan, visited Washington, DC in March 2025, along with other nurses from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to speak with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. Megan, along with other nurses, was advocating for America’s nursing and health care needs. The congressional requests are for supporting the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs in fiscal year 2026, co-sponsoring and passing the PRECEPT Nurses Act, and joining the Congressional Nursing Caucus. We are so proud of Megan and all of the nurses who are advocating for us!
We are so lucky to have outstanding and talented nurses in our region. If you have any news you would like to share, please contact Ginnette Watkins-Keller at bobgin66@aol.com so it can be placed in the next NJ Nurse.
Lastly, in NJSNA Region 4 happenings, for those who are interested in becoming involved in community activities, we continue to have our Trenton Area Soup Kitchen hygiene community project, if you are interested in doing a valuable but low-effort project, we are collecting adult and child hygiene packs; contact Ginnette Watkins-Keller at bobgin66@aol.com for more details.
Monthly Meetings
Our monthly meetings continue to occur on the second Thursday of the month at 7 pm via Zoom. If you are interested in attending, please contact njsnaregion444@gmail.com or Ginnette Watkins-Keller at bobgin66@aol.com to receive a Zoom link for the meeting.
Are You Interested in Joining?
If you are interested in joining Region 4, contact our president, Ginnette Watkins-Keller, at bobgin66@aol.com for more information. We look forward to meeting you at an upcoming meeting.
Warm regards,
Ginnette Watkins-Keller DNP, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, NJSNA Region 4 President
Region 5 (Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem)
Warmer weather is finally here, and Region 5 RNs have had a great Spring! The C.A.R.E.S Awards Gala was held on April 10, 2025, at the Pines Manor, Edison, NJ. This award celebrates excellence in nursing by recognizing nurses who have been chosen by their peers as outstanding in their Clinical, Administrative, Research, and Educational roles, and those who Support excellence in nursing.
Region 5 had real reason to celebrate as two nurses from our region were recognized at the C.A.R.E.S. Awards! Sara Barry RN was nominated for her Clinical Practice and Barbara McCormick RN was nominated for Education. We were thrilled to celebrate that Sara Barry won the C.A.R.E.S Award in Clinical Practice and Barbara McCormick received Honorable Mention for Education. Barbara is a true driving force in the nursing profession and continually advocates for our Region 5 RNs. Congratulations to Barbara, Sara, and all the C.A.R.E.S Award nominees!!
If you have any ideas of different events that you would like to see Region 5 at, please reach out and let us know!
Region 5—we want to hear from you! Please consider becoming involved in NJSNA! Please send all email correspondence to NJSNARegion5@gmail.com. We monitor this email and send all correspondence through this site.
The Board meets the third Tuesday of the month, via Zoom, at 6:30pm. Please reach out to us if you would like to be included in the email distribution list, including the Zoom link, for the meetings.
Follow us on Facebook — New Jersey State Nurses Association Region 5 — and Instagram — @NJSNARegion5 — for updates
Region 6 News (Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean)
Kathleen Mullen, DNP, MA, RNC-MNN, CNE, Region 6 VP Communications
The Annual Meeting of Region 6 was on Tuesday June 3 at 6pm at the Captain’s Inn in Lacey Township in Ocean County. An informative professional development session, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nursing: From Education through Practice” was presented by Laurie Huryk, MSN, RN, NI-BC, Shannon Martin, DNP, NI-BC, CCDS, CDIP, and Kathy Mullen DNP, MA, RNC-MMN, CNE.
The Beulah Eglantine Miller Scholarships were presented to winners during the meeting. Every year, Region 6 awards scholarships to a prelicensure entry level student (AAS, ADN or BSN), an RN to BSN student, an MSN student, and a doctoral student. Check the Region 6 microsite for details on the next application website.
The Region 6 Board of Directors continues to meet monthly to organize Region activities and plan events for the coming year. In particular, the Board would like to reach out to RNs in Atlantic, and Cape May counties: join NJSNA and come to our Region 6 meetings to network with colleagues and attend our virtual and in-person events! Use the Region 6 microsite to find out about all the Region’s upcoming events. How to connect? Click on your county on the NJ map on the NJSNA home page or bookmark: https://njsna.org/regional-site/region-6/. Tell us about the content you’d like to see on the microsite: email Kathy Mullen, Secretary, at kmmullen@comcast.net. If you’d like to become a member of Region 6, or if you are a member but have not received email blasts about recent Region 6 meetings, contact VP Membership Helen Heinmets at hheinmets@brookdalecc.edu.
Call for Nominations: It’s never too early to think about taking on a leadership role in the Region. Contact Jackie Arnone, Chair of Nominations, at jackiea412@aol.com to learn more about the many Region 6 leadership positions. At the end of 2025, the term of office will expire for the positions of Treasurer, Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Education and Scholarship, Chair of Atlantic County, and Chair of Monmouth County. There are always opportunities to participate in Region 6 committees. Supporting Region 6 by joining a committee is a great way to learn more about leadership in Region 6.
