National Nurse

F Is For Fat

Once again, there is ominous news that underscores the need for a National Nurse to lead prevention efforts. Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have released the sixth annual edition of the report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009. The report contains rankings of state obesity rates, reviews federal and state government policies aimed at reducing or preventing obesity, and provides recommendations for addressing obesity within health reform.

Basically, the report finds that in the past year adult obesity rates increased in 23 states while no state saw a decrease. In addition, the percentage of obese and overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states. These statistics definitely present more rationale for establishing a National Nurse to lead prevention. This is because nurses incorporate interventions geared towards wellness into their plan of care and have proven siuccess in delivering health promotion every single day. The trust Americans have in nurses will also be useful as our nation tries to develop strategies to combat this costly epidemic.

“Reversing the childhood obesity epidemic is a critical ingredient for delivering a healthier population and making health reform work,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., RWJF president and CEO. “If we can prevent the current generation of young people from developing the serious and costly chronic conditions related to obesity, we can not only improve health and quality of life, but we can also save billions of dollars and make our health care systems more efficient and sustainable.”

Key recommendations in the report for addressing obesity within health reform are closely aligned with the concept of National Nurse activities for prevention and include:

*Ensuring every adult and child has access to coverage for preventive medical services, including nutrition and obesity counseling and screening for obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes;

*Increasing the number of programs available in communities, schools, and childcare settings that help make nutritious foods more affordable and accessible and provide safe and healthy places for people to engage in physical activity; and

*Reducing Medicare expenditures by promoting proven programs that improve nutrition and increase physical activity among adults ages 55 to 64.

With leadership provided by an Office of the National Nurse, many nurses, including students and retirees, will advocate locally for such programs and services. Many will volunteer to assist with screening and counseling for improved nutrition, or advocate for safer environments to increase physical activity, and support delivery of evidence based interventions in their local communities. Nurses are already positioned in every community and can begin efforts to address the continuing needs.

“Our health care costs have grown along with our waistlines,” said Jeff Levi, Ph.D.,executive director of TFAH. “The obesity epidemic is a big contributor to the skyrocketing health care costs in the United States. How are we going to compete with the rest of the world if our economy and workforce are weighed down by bad health?” Surely having a National Nurse for prevention is a good start and should be a key part of any national strategy.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 12:43 AM 0 comments

Monday, June 29, 2009

Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners Endorses Office of the National Nurse

Thank you to the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners for their recent endorsement for the Office of the National Nurse initiative.

June 4, 2009

RE: Office of the National Nurse (ONN) Endorsement

Dear Ms. Mills,

The Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners (PCNP) is pleased to support your efforts and endorse the Office of National Nurse. PCNP represents the interest of over 6,800 nurse practitioners (NP) throughout Pennsylvania. Our organization is committed to improving access to care and removing barriers to practice for advance practice nurses. The NP profession takes pride in its expertise and focus in the areas of health promotion and disease prevention, By directing our legislative initiatives on issues that advance the cause of safe, quality patient care, we strongly believe our contributions will have a positive impact on the health and wellness of our state and country. We believe and strive to support that our health care system should serve everyone and utilize nurses to the full extent of their education and clinical expertise.

PCNP supports the concept of creating an Office of the National Nurse and feels this position will further support the mission of PCNP. We believe that elevating the Chief Nurse Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service to full-time status and renaming this position as the National Nurse is a way to promote the visibility of nurses in the national health care debate and give nurses another voice at the federal policy table.

Thank you for all of your efforts and we wish you continued success with your initiative.

Sincerely,

Patricia Schwabenbauer, MSN, CRNP
PCNP President

Susan Schrand, MSN, CRNP
Executive Director

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 2:52 AM 0 comments

Monday, June 22, 2009

United State of Nursing

Thank you to ADVANCE reporter Shelby Evans for her accurate synopsis of the Office of the National Nurse initiative. Evans' article the "United State of Nursing" describes the vision for a National Nurse in these paragraphs:

"The mission for the proposed office is to establish symbolic national leadership by elevating the current USPHS post (Chief Nurse Officer) to a level of high visibility to the nursing profession and the public, to complement the work of the U.S. Surgeon General, to promote involvement in the MRC to improve the health and safety of the community, and to incorporate proven evidence-based public health education in implementing prevention strategies.

The importance of the prestige implicit in the concept of a national nurse is part of the reason the campaign seeks to grow the office from the current USPHS chief nursing officer role. The position already is aligned to work directly with the office of the Surgeon General and is reputable among public health nursing leadership."

To read the story in its entirety click here.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 9:22 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Journal of Nursing Law Publishes ONN Manuscript

Volume 13, Number 1, 2009 of Journal of Nursing Law includes a manuscript, "The Office of the National Nurse", written by NNNO President Teri Mills MS, RN, CNE and Secretary Alisa Schneider MSN, RN. An abstract is now available on line accompanied by instructions on how to order the full text electronic version.

Editor in Chief Suzanne Edgett Collins, RN, MPH, JD, PhD and Assistant Editor Diane Kjervik, JD, MSN, RN, FAAN eloquently write in their editorial, "Mills and Schneider, as founders of the movement to establish an Office of the National Nurse, address the challenging crises that our national health system faces and promote the establishment of the an Office of the National Nurse. They argue that the Office of the National Nurse is a fundamental, necessary change in the traditional thinking about professional nursing's role in health promotion and disease prevention on a national level."

Collins, C. & Kjervik, D. (2009). In a time of challenge and change, nurse attorneys provide leadership (Part II). Journal of Nursing Law. Volume 13, (1), pp 3.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 2:03 AM 0 comments

Monday, June 08, 2009

New Poll Finds Disease Prevention is Top Priority for Americans in Health Reform

The following press release provides more evidence as to why we need an Office of the National Nurse. The public supports prevention and is willing to pay for it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 8, 2009

New Poll Finds Disease Prevention is Top Priority for Americans in Health Reform

Media Contacts: Liz Richardson 202-223-9870 x 21 or lrichardson@tfah.org or Laura Segal 202-223-9870 x 27 or lsegal@tfah.org

Washington, D. C. – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a new public opinion survey today which finds that Americans rank prevention as the most important health care reform priority, and overwhelmingly support increasing funding for prevention programs to reduce disease and keep people healthy.

In the poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies, 70 percent of Americans ranked investing in prevention between an eight and 10 on a scale of zero to ten, where zero means not at all an important health care priority and 10 means very important. Forty-six percent rated prevention as a 10 out of 10. Overall, prevention was rated higher than all other proposals, including providing tax credits to small businesses and prohibiting health insurers from denying coverage based on health status.

“This survey underscores what I have been saying from the outset: If we pass comprehensive health reform that extends coverage but does nothing to reform our broken system by emphasizing prevention and public health, then we will have failed. And we do not intend to fail,” said Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). “We know that prevention and wellness efforts are a key to reducing costs within a reformed health care system. And they will be a centerpiece of the reform effort underway on Capitol Hill.”

“This report shows that the American people believe prevention and wellness are the cornerstones of a high performing health care system. And they’re right,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont). “Today, we spend nearly $800 billion on health problems that are directly linked to lifestyle and poor health habits each year—about one third of our total health care spending. Simply put, that’s too much. Reforming our system to focus on prevention will drive down costs and produce better health outcomes. That’s why it is so important that we pass comprehensive health care reform this year.”

“This poll gives hard evidence that Americans know what works and are ready for government to invest in their health,” said Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). “They’re looking to government to reform the system so that everyone is covered, and prevention and wellness come first. I agree with the majority of Americans that these are cost-effective solutions that will improve quality of life, prevent disease, and most important save lives.”

“For too long, health care has focused on treating people after they become sick instead of trying to help them stay healthy in the first place,” said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH. “This poll shows the American public strongly believes it’s time we shift from a sick care system to a true health care system that stresses disease prevention.”

“Our country will never contain health care costs until we place a higher priority on public health and prevention programs, said Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX), Co-Chair of the Congressional Study Group on Public Health. “An investment of just $10 per person per year in proven community-based programs could save this country more than $16 billion annually within five years. And, this new poll shows that a majority of Americans not only recognize the importance of prevention, but support spending a greater percentage of our health care dollars on prevention rather than on treating people after they become sick.”

“Any health reform effort must make a serious commitment to prevention and wellness. Not only does the science say we need to target disease before it strikes, but the American people are saying it too – loud and clear,” said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Care Task Force. “Prevention is America’s top health reform priority because it will not only lower disease rates across the population, eliminate health disparities and better ensure equality, it also saves us precious health care dollars as we prevent disease and not just treat it.”

More than three-quarters of Americans (76 percent) support increasing funding for prevention programs that provide people with information and resources and creating policies that help people make healthier choices. Investing in prevention is popular across the political spectrum, with 86 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Republicans, and 70 percent of Independents supporting investing more in prevention.

“This poll shows that Americans from coast to coast and across the political spectrum are overwhelmingly in favor of investing in disease prevention,” said Al Quinlan, President of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. “More than three-quarters of Americans believe the country should invest more in keeping people healthier, and by a nearly four-to-one ratio, they support putting more emphasis on preventing disease rather than treating people after they become sick.”

“We know that strategic investments in disease prevention programs in communities can result in a big payoff in a short time -- reducing health care costs, increasing the productivity of the nation’s workforce, and helping people lead healthier lives,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A. president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

While Americans believe that prevention will save money (77 percent agree with the statement that “prevention will save us money”), they strongly support prevention regardless of its impact on costs. Rather, they point clearly to keeping people healthy as the best reason to invest in prevention, with 72 percent agreeing with the statement that “investing in prevention is worth it even if it doesn’t save us money, because it will prevent disease and save lives.” Additionally, 57 percent agree more with the statement “we should invest in prevention to keep people healthier and improve quality of life” than the statement “we should invest in prevention to lower health care costs” (21 percent).

“We gave Americans a list of proposals being considered to reform health care, and investing in prevention trumped them all,” said Bill McInturff, Partner and Co-Founder of Public Opinion Strategies. “It’s clear that Americans see the value of prevention for reducing disease, improving quality of life, and lowering health care costs.”

“Spiraling health care costs and poor outcomes will only get worse in the absence of employer action and intervention,” said Robert J. Gould, Ph.D., president for Partnership for Prevention. “Through Partnership for Prevention’s Leading by Example initiative, we’re seeing a growing number of corporations support healthy behaviors through worksite-based programs. One of our members – Dow Chemical Co. – reports that its workplace wellness program saved the company more than 9,000 absentee days last year and contributed value equal to seven cents per share of company stock. Smart businesses pay for prevention, because prevention pays.”

Americans believe the nation needs to put more emphasis on prevention (59 percent) rather than thinking there needs to be more emphasis on treatment (15 percent), by nearly a four to one ratio. This represents a significant shift toward prevention over the last two decades -- in 1987, only 45 thought there should be greater emphasis on prevention.

The poll, which reflects the responses from 1,014 registered voters, was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies from May 7 to 12, 2009, and is available at http://healthyamericans.org. The margin of error was +/- 3.1 percent.

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. http://healthyamericans.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. Helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need—the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 1:40 PM 0 comments

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Attention Graduate and Undergraduate Nursing Students and Faculty of SON

Pictured is the front and back page of a tri-fold brochure. You are welcome to make copies to distribute to others.

The National Nursing Network Organization continues to hear from graduate and undergraduate nursing students who are studying the ONN initiative and wish to obtain more information. We have recently had conversations by phone, email, and through Facebook with students attending George Washington University, George Mason University, University of Pennsylvania, and UC Irvine. Nurse educators and students from coast to coast believe that the ONN initiative is proactive, timely, sensible, and cost effective with benefits that could be far reaching for the nation.

Many are requesting that we explore the possibility of putting on a teleconference during the summer and/or fall that students and others could participate in without having the expense or burden of travel.

We have discussed this with those who work in the ITV at Portland Community College and they are enthusiastic about providing this opportunity. ITV is a state of the art educational videoconferencing system integrating several technologies and using equipment that is easy to operate.

• Turning on the system simply requires use of a remote control unit to activate a projector. The host has constant, live, visuals of every site.
• Pushing a button activates microphones in front of the participants. Participants at the sites see the presenter, other participants, electronic notes, graphics, videos, and other selected images on a large screen.

Alisa and Teri presented to nursing students from Santa Barbara City College (CA), Mt. Wachusett Community College (MA), and Portland Community College (OR) two years ago and this was very well received.

Please teri@nationalnurse.info if you are interested in participating in an ITV teleconference about the ONN initiative and we will put plans into motion to make this happen.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 4:05 AM 0 comments

Friday, May 29, 2009

To Better Inform You-The Office of the National Nurse Initiative

The NNNO Board of Directors has recently heard from many nurses and interested stake holders who are just learning about the Office of the National Nurse Initiative. We encourage everyone to read the article, Nurses and The Public Say It's Time for Change that was published in Medscape Nurses last July. There is also a Frequently Asked Question link on our Home Page.

Here is a brief explanation of the Office of the National Nurse Initiative:

The National Nursing Network Organization (NNNO) recognizes the current window of opportunity to strengthen the delivery of prevention education and highlight the nurse's role in our healthcare system. We are excited to hear leaders of the Public Health and Prevention subgroups for healthcare reform share this vision. The NNNO proposal for an Office of the National Nurse brings nurses to the forefront as the deliverers of the message of prevention to every American.

In a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation September 2007 newsletter, Susan B. Hassmiller, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Senior Program Officer, states, “ Nurses have a pivotal role to play in promoting preventive care since they spend more time with patients than any other health care professional. By educating and counseling patients about the importance of simple preventive measures, nurses can have a significant impact on improving health and extending lives. The health care system needs to empower and encourage nurses for them to be effectively engaged in this role.”

 The ONN initiative is focused on strengthening the work of existing groups such as the Office of the Surgeon General, the American Public Health Association, Medical Reserve Corps and community agencies through a more robust and modernized nursing leadership presence. Nurses are well positioned to provide this much needed change as they are 2.9 million strong, the most trusted of all health professionals, span all cultures, and are accomplished health educators.

The tenets of the National Nurse proposal are as follows:  

1. The Office, led by the National Nurse, is a federal position within an established health care agency. We are recommending that the Chief Nurse Officer of the USPHS head the Office of the National Nurse, as this is a position that currently exists and is funded, but needs to be modernized with job responsibilities shifted to primarily focus on the national and local delivery of wellness, health promotion, and illness prevention education to all Americans.

2. Enhanced community systems utilizing nurses and other healthcare providers as volunteer educators. Volunteers mobilized under the guidance of the USPHS through existing systems such as the Medical Reserve Corps would focus on delivering health promotion information in their communities. Education activities would focus on strengthening current successful practices with the goal of improving health outcomes by teaching and promoting healthier living. These efforts would also seek to reduce health disparities, which is consistent with the Surgeon General's priorities and Healthy People 2020 goals.

The original legislation to establish the National Nurse that was introduced by Rep. Lois Capps (CA-23) in the 109th Congress amassed the bi-partisan support of 42 co-sponsors. The complete list of endorsers with a link to HR 4903, the National Nurse Act of 2006, can be found at http://nationalnurse.blogspot.com. Revised future legislation will ask that Congress elevate the CNO position to full time and bestow the title National Nurse to provide the necessary visibility, prominence and legitimate power to focus the country's attention on prevention.

Supporters are committed to having an Office of the National Nurse to meet the following goals:

• Establish national leadership for prevention by elevating and strengthening the Chief Nurse Officer of the USPHS to make this existing position more visible to the nursing profession and the public.
• Enhance the collaborative relationship with the U.S. Surgeon General's office.
• Promote nurse involvement in the Medical Reserve Corps to improve the public health and safety of the community.
• Strengthen the use of evidence-based successful prevention strategies at the community level.
• Become a prominent recognized national symbol of professional nursing to enhance recruitment and support policies that strengthen nursing education and practice.

 
As the National Nursing Network Organization board members continue to connect with different nursing organizations and stakeholders, they receive positive feedback from those who are just now learning about this grassroots nursing effort to promote prevention in healthcare. Many state and national organizations have already endorsed this proposal and it has been written about in numerous publications and presented at several state and national conferences/conventions.

Visit http://nationalnurse.org/endorsements.shtml for endorsing organizations. Resolutions urging Congress to enact legislation for an Office of the National Nurse have unanimously passed in the New York State Assembly and the Massachusetts, Oregon, and Vermont State Legislatures.

To learn more and to receive newsletter updates about this exciting grassroots nursing movement, please email teri@nationalnurse.info

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 11:59 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Take Action and Support the Office of the National Nurse Initiative

The NNNO Board of Directors has heard from dozens of nurses and nursing students who have asked for materials that they can use to educate others about the ONN initiative.

Thanks to graduating nursing students Christopher Deal, Lisseth Ortega, and Coral Sohn for designing the pictured tri-fold pamphlet about the Office of the National Nurse initiative. Click on each side to enlarge and read it. Please email teri@nationalnurse.info and we will email this to you in a word document that you can reproduce and distribute to others.