Michigan Chapter, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

17/09/2026

🩵 Sepsis can affect any child, and it may not always be obvious.

More than 75,000 U.S. children develop severe sepsis each year.

👨‍👩‍👧 For families and caregivers: You know your child. Watch for a child who is getting sicker quickly, has trouble breathing, seems unusually sleepy, confused or irritable, has extreme discomfort, or simply seems very different from their usual self. If something does not feel right, seek care and tell the healthcare team what has changed.

🩺 For pediatric providers: Children can compensate before deteriorating. Look beyond a single vital sign and consider perfusion, mental status, respiratory effort, urine output, response to treatment, and overall trajectory.

Keep asking: Is this child getting better as expected? If not, reassess and escalate when indicated.

⏱️ Early recognition and timely treatment matter. This month and on, know the signs.

For families and clinicians, the CDC offers pediatric sepsis education and recognition resources here:

https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/php/toolkit/index.html

15/09/2026

✨️As kids go back to school and the routine of the school year gets into full swing, our chapter wants to remind you of our ongoing philanthropy program

🧸The Emergency Foster Care Placement Kits are still being created and sent to multiple counties in hopes of helping foster kids during one of the roughest nights.
🪥Kits contain much needed items such as toothbrush and toothpaste, pajamas, formula for infants, diapers, and more. The goal is to give the foster child and new foster parents one less thing to stress over in a late night drop off.

Please consider sharing and donating to keep our program going.

https://app.betterunite.com/napnap-supportfostercarekitsinmichigan

11/09/2026

September is Su***de Prevention Month, and knowing where to turn can make a difference.

For Michigan children, teens, families, and clinicians, support is available before a crisis reaches its worst point.

💙 Call or text 988 for su***de, mental health, or substance use crisis support

💙 Connect with your local Community Mental Health program for services in your area

💙 Dial 2-1-1 for help finding Michigan community resources

💙 Use OK2SAY for concerns involving student safety

For pediatric clinicians, prevention also starts in everyday care: screen, ask directly, assess safety, know your referral pathways, and follow up.

Save this post. Share it with a family, colleague, school, or community partner who may need it.

If there is an immediate safety emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

***dePreventionMonth

10/09/2026

04/09/2026

📢 Calling all mentors or someone looking to step into the roll!
We are looking for at least 10 mentors for our program 😀

What does being a mentor entail? 🤔
We ask that you commit to meeting with the mentee once per month for a year - virtually, in person, or over the phone. You decide with your mentee what works best. Meetings are driven by the mentee, and guides/topics/conversations starters will be shared to get things going!

Never mentored before🤷‍♀️, no problem!👩‍🏫
We have a role and responsibility document we will share with both the mentor and mentee. We have a google drive folder with resources for both mentors and mentees. We will have quarterly large group meetings for everyone to share experiences, resources, ideas.

Whats next?! 🧐
Fill out the interest survey, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWBdzzxSNpgNiP6MiL4hcM3tyRZvjSgzIBZW0-Eay5Gt0kSg/viewform (Click here!!) We will send a more detailed survey to both mentors and mentees to understand clinical background, interests, and experiences of the individuals. Our student/early career group will then review and manually match our mentors and mentees.

Thank you for considering and helping to make this program a success.

03/09/2026

🔥 Labor Day may be the unofficial end of summer, but Michigan campfire season is definitely not over.

From holiday weekends to football tailgates, camping trips, bonfires, and cool fall evenings, a few simple habits can keep the fire where it belongs.

🔥 Keep children and pets a safe distance from the fire and actively supervise young children.
🔥 Keep fires contained in a designated pit or ring.
🔥 Have water nearby before lighting the fire.
🔥 Never use gasoline or another flammable liquid to start or strengthen a fire.
🔥 Never leave flames or hot coals unattended, even for a minute.
🔥 When you are finished: douse with water, stir the ashes, and douse again. If it is still hot, it is not out.

Older children and teens can learn fire safety too. Model safe choices and make fire-building and extinguishing an adult-supervised activity.

🩺 If a burn occurs: Cool the area with clean, cool water, not ice. Seek medical evaluation for significant, deep, extensive, or concerning burns.

Before your next Michigan campfire, check current conditions and fire-safety guidance from the Michigan DNR through the link in this post.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/education/safety-info/fire

Have a safe Labor Day weekend and a healthy start to fall. 🍂

01/09/2026

🌩️ Power out? Generator on? Keep carbon monoxide OUT.

Severe storms and power outages often mean more generator use, which can also increase the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

CO cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. A few simple steps can protect children and families:

🔹 Run portable generators outside and at least 20 feet away from homes, doors, windows, garages, tents, campers, and other enclosed spaces.
🔹 Never use a generator in a garage, basement, porch, carport, or shed, even with doors or windows open.
🔹 Keep working CO detectors on every level of the home and near sleeping areas.
🔹 Never use grills, camp stoves, or other fuel-burning equipment indoors for cooking or heat.

If a CO alarm sounds or you suspect exposure, get everyone into fresh air immediately and call 911.

Pediatric providers: A quick question about power outages, generators, and other fuel-burning equipment can identify an exposure that families may not recognize.

Learn more from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services through the resource link in this post.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/safety-injury-prev/environmental-health/Topics/carbonmonoxide

31/08/2026

🌟 Calling all mentors and those interested in becoming a mentor!🌟

Great careers are shaped by great mentors.

The NAPNAP Michigan Chapter is excited to launch our new Mentorship Program, connecting experienced Pediatric Nurse Practitioners with NP students and recent graduates (within their first three years of practice) for a rewarding year-long mentoring experience.

Whether you're looking to share your knowledge or grow your confidence, this program is designed to foster:
💙 Support
🧭 Direction
🎯 Goal Setting
🤝 Guidance
💡 Advice
💪 Motivation
🏆 Confidence

Together, let's strengthen our profession—one meaningful connection at a time. Visit this link to SIGN UP today!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWBdzzxSNpgNiP6MiL4hcM3tyRZvjSgzIBZW0-Eay5Gt0kSg/viewform?usp=header

28/08/2026

Congratulations to all of our 2026 award winners!
✨️Our Preceptor of the Year went to Keri Gisele
✨️Our Advocate of the Year went to Maria Aguilar
✨️Our Founders Award went to Andrea Kline Tilford
✨️Our Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year went to Michelle Dokas

🎉🎉

28/08/2026

👀 It's been a week already since our state conference. Check out our snap shots from throughout the day, pictures taken by our members as the explored the different talks and vendors.

We hope everyone enjoy the conference! Please don't forget to take your survey sent via email and claim those CEs 📚