IV Clinical Services Manager Named an Unsung Heroine
Elizabeth "Beth" T. Mena, RN, was recently named an Unsung Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women for her work as IV clinical services manager at VNA Care Network & Hospice.
"Our Unsung Heroines are women who don't make the news, but make the difference in
their communities, businesses, or volunteer endeavors," said Linda Brantely, Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women executive director.
Mena was selected for making a difference as a nurse, educator, and advocate. She oversees VNA Care Network & Hospice's infusion therapy services provided to patients in their own homes.
A certified IV nurse through the Intravenous Nurses Society, Mena is also a certified chemotherapy and biotherapy instructor through the Oncology Nurses Society (ONS). She teaches ONS chemotherapy classes to VNA Care Network & Hospice's nurses, and her teaching and mentoring have expanded to the health care community.
Mena was responsible for the voluntary recall of an infusion pump. While making supervisory visits with staff caring for IV patients, she noticed a trend of problems with a particular portable infusion pump that had the potential to cause serious complications. She voiced her concerns to the manufacturer and Food and Drug Administration. The outcome of her advocacy for safe home infusion pumps was a voluntary recall of this pump by the manufacturer. It is no longer used in the home health industry.
Mena is one of 287 women being honored from throughout Massachusetts during a ceremony at the State House in Boston on May 14. Mena represents the Town of Grafton.
Posted: May 6, 2008