News
by Dr. Penelope Gorsuch, Dr. Lynn Gallagher-Ford, Dr. Sheila Cox-Sullivan and Dr. Colleen Walsh-Irwin
Note from Pat Ford-Roegner, former CEO of the American Academy of Nursing:
By Drs. Jacqueline Hoying and Inga Zadvinskis
By Timiya S. Nolan, PhD, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, Joshua J. Joseph, MD, MPH, and Darrell M. Gray II, MD, MPH
By the year 2045, those identifying as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) will no longer be the minority of the U.S. population (U. S. Department of Commerce Economics Statistics Administration, 2017). BIPOC, specifically Black or African American people, also face higher rates of morbidity and mortality than non-Hispanic White people related to chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
by Pat Ford-Roegner
Lurking right behind the COVID-19 pandemic is another major killer: the seemingly unstoppable incidences of violence by Americans on one another. Most recently, we witnessed senseless shootings in areas including Atlanta, Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kenosha, WI and Orange County, CA. Major cities are experiencing a steep rise in gun violence. My hometown of Philadelphia reels daily from violence. Innocent children are frequent victims.
The events themselves are horrific, but only part of the story.
by Kathy D. Wright
One year ago this month, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The pandemic impacted all of us on a personal level, whether it was coping with illness, mourning the loss of family and/or friends or managing the stressors of balancing work with home life and children.
Advocate, connector, advisor, liaison, promotor, navigator, public health and outreach worker. These are common titles for Community Health Workers (CHW), members of the health care team serving as trusted community members to improve access to care and healthcare outcomes. CHWs focus on factors that influence health such as access to healthy food, employment, housing and environmental safety so they can work to remove barriers and help those they serve achieve optimal health.
by Pat Ford-Roegner
As the country turns the page to a new administration, the chaos that has defined this political cycle has unfortunately extended to pockets of our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the first orders of business for the new administration is the strategy around the fair and equitable distribution of the various vaccines available to us. Not an easy task!
by Wendy Bowles, Margaret Graham and Portia Zaire
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed both the importance of and deficiencies in our healthcare system, including our primary care infrastructure. And beyond a shadow of a doubt, it has spotlighted the need for registered nurses to play a larger role in serving patients in primary care settings.