TRIO Schedules Fall '08 Conference in St. Louis
September 25th through 27th, 2008

J. T. Rhodes, President of TRIO National, is proud and excited to announce the scheduling of a joint convention to be held by the International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS) and Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO). This convention will be held from September 25, 2008 to September 27, 2008 at the Millennium Hotel in Saint Louis, Missouri.

     The ITNS is the premier transplant nurses organization in the United States and Europe. The transplant nurses who are members have completed the rigorous educational requirements required by the ITNS in order to proudly display the designation “CCTC” (Certified Clinical Transplant Coordinator) beside their names. The ITNS is expecting over 300 transplant nurses from around the United States, Canada and Europe to attend the convention in 2008.

     TRIO members will have the opportunity to attend any of the workshops presented by the ITNS and, in turn, the ITNS members can attend any of our workshop presentations. Our TRIO organization is planning many interesting and informative sessions at our convention, which will be of great interest to the transplant recipient, those waiting for a transplant along with their family members.

     Some of the sessions being considered as viable subjects that affect the transplant recipient include: advances in immunosuppressant medications; changes in Medicare coverage; aftercare of the transplanted patient; changes being discussed by OPTN/UNOS regarding the allocation of organs to the aging population; effective ways to communicate with your local, state and national elected officials to promote issues important to transplant recipients and people waiting for a transplant; current and new trends in transplantation such as therapy to reduce antibody levels, DCD (Donation After Cardiac Death), Presumed Consent, and financial incentives to donor families to pay for burial expenses of the donor.

     TRIO National welcomes any additional session topics from its members to be considered for inclusion in the convention program. Please e-mail your session ideas to Ron Taubman at taubmanappr@dslextreme.com. Our guest presenters at this convention will be a cross section of the clinical and surgical medical profession as well as representatives of the government and private sector.

     We are attempting to make the cost of attending our convention as reasonable as possible for 2008. In the coming months, we will be informing all our members of the fees to attend this conference.  The conference fee will include continental breakfasts, speaker lunches, all of the conference seminars and hopefully, the joint banquet, which will be held on Friday night, September 27, 2008. We have reserved a block of hotel rooms at the Millennium Hotel at a low convention rate for TRIO members and their families of $139.00 a night; the exact room rate that the ITNS members are receiving.

     The meeting location of St. Louis, Missouri is an excellent choice due to the mild weather conditions during the later part of September.  St. Louis besides being a center of commerce has many excellent entertainment attractions for the entire family. St. Louis is an airport hub center thereby providing many reasonably priced airlines flights from any location within the United States.     

     Please join us in St. Louis in September, 2008 and meet many different transplant recipients, people waiting for a transplant and their family members from around the United States.

     If you have any questions, please contact Sylvia Leach, Managing Services Director of TRIO National at 1-800-TRIO-386 or sleach@trioweb.org.

Mark your calendars and make reservations now!
This should prove to be an exciting opportunity to join with fellow TRIO members from around the country to renew old friendships and make new ones.  Everyone is invited to come out and join us for this event.

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