National Association of Licensed Practical Nurses chooses Buffalo for national convention

Four-day event will headquarter at M Hotel on Walden at Galleria Drive Oct. 11-14

A party and vendor market in celebration of WNY “health care heroes” will be on tap to lead-off the national convention of licensed practical nurses when it brings its chapter members to Buffalo this October.

This will be the first time for this gathering in Western New York of U.S., members, which will convene on the 75th anniversary of the national chapter’s founding.

“We are so excited to be the host organization that brings together, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses and health care workers from all corners of the U.S.,” New York State Chapter President Renee Likong said “What’s more, we happen to be doing this on the 75th anniversary of the founding of our national organization by Lillian Custer, in 1948!”

The kickoff party to the convention is set for Wednesday, Oct. 11. Organizers said the entire ballroom and access hallways will be filled with exhibits, food sampling, beverage tasting, shopping, apparel, jewelry makers, crafters, and entertainment aimed at the health care industry. It will be called “Nurses’ Night – Celebrating ALL our Healthcare Heroes” and will go from 5-9 p.m.

Likong said, “We sponsored this event in Buffalo in 2019 at Shea’s Seneca, so I contacted the people that ran this one and asked if they could recreate their very successful event again to be the start of our convention, and they jumped right in! They had put a hold on the event from 2020 till now due to the pandemic, but are eager to go all-out for us on Oct. 11. It will be even bigger and better this year!”

The four-day convention will provide continuing education credits, national motivational speaker Tiffiney L. Hall, a guest appearance by Eileen Gunther (who promoted safe staffing ratio for New York) and an excursion to Niagara Falls. LPNs who are interested in attending the conference may register at nalpn.org.

Topics for the Thursday-Saturday portion of the convention will include talks on Alzheimer’s, diabetes, drug addiction, opioids, mental health, first aid, Narcan applications, and domestic abuse. Other topics will be added.

Tickets for the “Nurses’ Night – Celebrating All Healthcare Heroes” event will be available for $9.50. a link for purchase is up on www.NursesNightofCelebration.com.

The event is open to all health care workers, from doctors to nurses to caregivers, first responders to facilities people, and their friends.