Nurses will gather in Casper today through Saturday to discuss strategies for retaining nurses and keeping patient care quality high.

The two major issues will highlight the fifth annual Wyoming Nurses Summit and Wyoming Nurses Association Convention, according to Toni Decklever, lobbyist for the nursing association. They are two separate events that over the years have been combined into one weekend for convenience.

The University of Wyoming Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing sponsors the summit, while the nursing association sponsors the convention. The three-day event takes place at Ramada Riverside Plaza.

"Retention is huge," Decklever said. "It's the reason we have a nursing shortage. It's not because we can't get people to become nurses."

She said hospitals have a lot of nurses with less than five years of experience because older nurses are leaving. Some are unsatisfied with the work environment and the 12-hour shifts become more difficult as a nurse ages, Decklever said.

One of the convention's speakers is from Colorado, and she will speak about the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence and how it was created.

Decklever said Wyoming received a grant to create a similar nursing center where nurses can find data, suggestions or strategies about a variety of topics.

Tobi Lyon, executive director of the association, said nurses from each of the association's 17 districts will report on what's going on in their part of the state. Approximately 100 of the association's 350 members will be present at the meetings, Lyon said.

During the summit, Decklever will present some ideas on legislative issues the association could pursue, including a statewide ban on smoking in public place, changing the nursing scholarship program and studying school nurses.

Another speaker is a woman from Pathways to Excellence, which Decklever said is a accrediting body for smaller hospitals that may not have the money or resources for other accreditation such as the Magnet Recognition Program.

"It's about how you can make your place better," Decklever said about the conference. "Happy nurses make happy patients."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com