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          The inspiration for an American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) chapter in the Seattle area was born out of an idea from the King County Nurses Association Nurse Legal Consultant Special Interest Group in 1996. Kathy Crump was very instrumental in starting a chapter in the Seattle area. The behind the scenes work was extensive — yet Kathy Crump persevered and forged ahead with the vision of starting a chapter.

          At the first meeting held January 17th 1996, six registered nurses attended and five of the six joined to become the founding members of the Puget Sound chapter of AALNC. The officers elected at the first meeting were: President, Cindy Melton; President elect, Kathy Crump; and Secretary Treasurer, Jocelyn Moore.

          The group initially met immediately following the quarterly King County Nurses Association meetings with approximately 8-10 nurses in attendance. The group then branched out to a separate meeting room in the Good Shepherd Center but later moved again to the Ballinger Park Club house in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The attending nurses were treated to dinner along with a speaker for the meeting.

          In 2001 the chapter moved back to the Good Shepherd Center and held their meetings on the ground floor in the Wallingford Senior Center. The meals were now catered and the chapter members in attendance had the benefit of a reduced price for the meal and meeting.

          It was at this time  an email list was set up. To date the chapter had communicated with members by snail mail. At that point in time the members  on a quarterly basis received an “Upcoming Events Bulletin" by email.

          In 2002 the chapter began meeting 6 times per year, beginning with the first meeting the 3^rd Tuesday of January and continuing every other month through out the year. The membership had reached 18 members. At each meeting there were 15 to 20 in attendance with the number made up of members and guests. For the November chapter meeting the chapter board served a full course Turkey dinner to the members and guest at the meeting.

During this year a genuine interest was growing in Legal Nurse Consulting. And at some meetings there were more guests than members in attendance.

          In 2003 the chapter initiated a 2 part program featuring 2 speakers on different but related topics. Meeting attendance had grown to between  approximately 25 people with many still guests seeking information on starting a legal nurse consulting business. During the networking period before the start of the meetings the guests were asking many questions of the members.

          At this time the email list exceeded 120. The chapter continued to grow and this year the board begins to plan for a one day educational conference for the fall of 2004.

          At the beginning of 2004 the conference plans were well underway with the date October 22, 2004 set. The original site was the Shoreline Community Center but was changed to the Edmonds Floral Community Center in Edmonds, WA. The conference title was: “The Medical Legal Puzzle; The Legal Nurse Consultant Puts the Pieces Together”. The conference was a success featuring 7 speakers and with 106 in attendance.

The Puget Sound Chapter Website, www.aalncseattle.org was published in 2004. Chapter meetings and other applicable chapter information were available on the website.

          In 2005 the chapter membership reached 50 members with meeting attendance averaging 30. Dinners with the meeting were cancelled but desserts were still offered with coffee and tea. Scholarships to the national AALNC conference in Chicago were available to the members who had attended the 2004 chapter fall conference.  In the spring of 2006 our membership reached 57. Guests continue to attend the meeting and express interest in Legal Nurse Consulting. 

The chapter board began to plan for the fall conference in 2006. The date was September 15, at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle. The conference  was well attended with  ~100 people. The next chapter conference is scheduled for the fall of 2008.

Present and Past Presidents

2008 Melissa Irons

2007 Deborah Swenson

2006 Marsha Keppler

2005 Amanda Carmier Cichanski

2004 Jan Aken

*2003 Jan Aken * due to illness President-elect Jan Aken served as president

2002 Marie Wendle

2001 Bronwen O’Neill

2000 Heidi Scott

1999 Kathy Crump

1998 Cindy Melton