Letters to the Editor for Saturday, March 20, 2010

Arts in Central Virginia need support
Among its many qualities, Lynchburg is well along the road to establishing a reputation as a city with high-quality arts organizations of all types.

As we are seeing more and more often, when two or more of those organizations combine to produce an event, the results can be really spectacular.

This month and next, the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra will have the privilege of partnering in two such collaborations. March 26-28, several LSO musicians will share the stage with pianist Noemi Otto, soprano Nora Moore, the always-inventive musical trio Square Peg and most of the student body of the Virginia School of the Arts in the wholly original Dancing with Strings and Other Things, a magical fusion of music, dance, and theatrical production, produced by the Academy of Fine Arts, and all new for 2010.

And on April 25, musicians of the LSO will be on stage with choristers from Randolph College, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Court Street United Methodist Church and four fine vocal soloists under the baton of Randall Speer to perform one of music’s most hallowed works, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem.” And perhaps best of all, this performance at Randolph College’s Memorial Chapel will have no admission charge.

These are but two of the types of extra special events that are on the arts calendar all year long. Most importantly, every arts organization everywhere needs an audience. And with the sorts of collaborations that are happening all over the Lynchburg arts scene, we hope to see more people, in more audiences, more often. We all really need you to be there.
RICK PIESTER
Executive director
The Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra

Nursing care
Friday, the regional community honored the 324 board-certified Centra nurses on national Certified Nurses Day for their leadership, professionalism and commitment to excellence in patient care.

We encourage national board certification of all of our nurses. We know this higher level of specialization is a major contributor to Centra’s national awards for patient safety, quality and this month for the second time, Magnet, which is the nation’s highest designation for excellence in nursing. Centra also has been recognized by Forbes’ magazine as one of the Safest Hospitals in America, which is a tribute to our certified nurses and other staff members at Centra Lynchburg General and Virginia Baptist hospitals.

Across the country, board certification of nurses is playing an increasingly important role in ensuring high standards of care for patients and their loved ones, and we are delighted about 23 percent of Centra’s 1,280 practicing registered nurses who work in the hospitals are certified.

While an R.N., or registered nurse, license offers entry to general nursing practice, today’s nursing world also requires many nurses to have extensive post-secondary and continuing education and a strong personal commitment to excellence and caring for their patients. Certification is available in more than 85 nursing specialties including medical-surgical, pediatric, pain management, cardiac/vascular, oncology, hospice, case management, emergency nursing, operating room, post anesthesia care, wound care, leadership and critical care.
PATTI S. McCUE, Sc.D., R.N.
Centra senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer
CAROLYN JACQUES, R.N.
Centra vice president of nursing