The North Carolina Association of Occupational Health Nurses hosted a multi-day conference from April 17-19, 2024, in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. The conference offered up to 12.0 contact hours approved by the North Carolina Nurses Association and was attended by more than 50 nurses. The chapter utilized a needs assessment to determine the topics of interest for the conference, which revealed there was a large increase of new occupational health nurses in the state chapter, whose interests aligned with educational offerings discussing worker’s compensation, return to work strategies, safety and injury prevention, and other topics. The conference evaluations showed that 100% of attendees self-reported an increase in current evidence-based occupational health nursing practice knowledge after attending the conference.
During their one-day fall conference, the chapter partnered with Martha’s Mission Cupboard, an emergency food bank providing food to an average of 300 to 350 families monthly, serving Carteret County in coastal North Carolina to collect and supply almost 500 items for contribution. Earlier in the year, during their three-day spring conference, the chapter collected cash donations to support disaster-relief efforts lead by the American Red Cross.