Dagmar Nelson Fund

Assistance is available to individuals in the legislative/regulatory/legal area. This type of assistance provided by the AANA may include, but is not limited to:

1. Consultative services from AANA professional staff and resource materials.

2. Amicus curiae participation in legal, legislative and rulemaking proceedings.

3. Financial assistance in the form of a loan.

4. Legal advice by and/or consultation with AANA legal counsel.

The AANA Board of Directors will only evaluate complete formal written requests for financial assistance. A complete formal written request shall be submitted to the AANA Finance Committee. This request should include the following information:

1. A statement of the problem.

2. A detailed explanation of all measures applicant has taken to date to solve the problem.

3. A general overview of applicant’s plan to solve the problem and the expected outcome.

4. The potential impact on the profession of nurse anesthesia nationwide.

5. The amount of financial assistance requested.

6. How the money will be spent.

7. Type of legal action considered or taken, jurisdiction to be filed in, and anticipated timeframe.

8. If the subject matter involves litigation, the applicant is required to submit all pleadings, plus a written evaluation from independent local counsel, both as to the subject matter and legal basis of the litigation and the probabilities of success. In addition, the applicant should state the anticipated cost of litigation (this includes, but is not necessarily limited to, projected fees, telephone expenses, travel expenses and the anticipated time and dates when funds will be needed).

9. Opinion of attorney that AANA financial support is not champertous (champerty is a bargain by a stranger with a party to a suit, by which such third person undertakes to carry on the litigation at his/her own cost and risk, in consideration of receiving, if successful, a part of the proceeds or subject sought to be recovered).

10. Whether the individual has received or applied for any other financial assistance regarding this matter and, if so, the amount received or applied for.

11. A copy of the individuals personal financial statement, including a calculation of his/her net worth.

12. Any other information requested by the AANA Board of Directors.

1. Personal and financial commitment to the challenge.

2. Collegial support for the challenge.

3. Personal and professional references.

4. Creditworthiness of the individual.

5. Ability to repay.

6. Initiative regarding attempted problem solving.

7. Commitment of attorneys involved.

8. Existence of readily marketable and assignable collateral sufficient to fully guarantee the loan amount.

9. In the absence of #8 above, the existence of sufficient co-signers.

If the AANA approves financial assistance for an applicant, the recipient of the assistance shall thereafter provide written quarterly status reports to the AANA Finance Department until the matter at issue is resolved.

If a loan request is approved, the AANA will specify conditions and terms for repayment. The following are provisions which are typically included in an AANA loan agreement:

1. A loan term of not more than 10 years.

2. Interest will be charged at the prime interest rate as published in the Wall Street Journal plus additional percentage points up to 3% based on credit review.

3. Annual repayment of accumulated interest.

4. Immediate acceleration of the loan upon favorable settlement of the issue at hand.

1. Upon receipt of a request for financial assistance from an individual, a panel consisting of the AANA Treasurer, a member of the AANA Finance staff, and legal counsel (if appropriate) shall conduct an administrative review of such request to determine compliance with all eligibility requirements and formulate an initial recommendation to be forwarded on to the AANA Finance Committee.

2. The Finance Committee (including AANA professional staff asneeded), will review the loan application and initial recommendation based on the following:

A. Impact of professional, legal, legislative or regulatory issues to the AANA.

B. The applicant’s ability to repay any loan granted.

C. Budgetary impact to the AANA (if any – loans should have little to no impact).

3. The Finance Committee will evaluate the application as expediently as is warranted by the situation and forward the results of its evaluation to the AANA Board of Directors who will make the final decision on the request within a month from receiving the recommendation from the Finance Committee.

1. The Finance Committee reserves the right to monitor the awarded loans and their repayment status.

2. Finance staff will include information about the Dagmar Nelson Fund in the Treasurer’s Report, including: the account balance, new loans awarded, and repayment status of existing loans.

3. Finance staff will maintain detailed information to document and record all transactions related to financial assistance (loans) granted to members. This would include:

• Board of Directors minutes that reflect loan approval to the qualified member;
• Dates and loan amounts as funds are withdrawn from the Fund; and
• Dates and amounts as loan repayments are made.