Winter 2010 - Becker College

By Tammy Griffi n-Kumpey
Photo by Edd Cote
“Nursing
is very different from 1987 fl ashforward
to 2010. The type of patient that
you see in the hospital is different, the way they
are treated is very different, and technology is very
different,” says Ann Brown ’87, faculty member
in Becker’s nursing program. Brown, who has
dedicated more than 20 years to providing nursing
care to patients, especially to those who are
medically underserved, predicts that we will begin
to see a shift from acute care in hospital settings
to community-based care.
It’s hard to ignore the U.S. health-care crisis.
The national debate on health-care reform has
risen hot-and-heavy to the top of the critical-issues
8 BECKERbridges WINTER 2010
Beyond
pile. Not only has President Barack Obama made
reform of the U.S. health-care industry his top
domestic priority, this past November, the U.S.
House of Representatives approved a health-care
reform bill backing what is said to be the biggest
health-policy change in four decades. Active debate
about health-care reform in the United States
concerns questions of a right to health care, access,
fairness, effi ciency, cost and quality.
Preventative medicine
Alumna Ann Brown is passionate about the patients
for whom she has cared over the years, and she uses
this passion to provoke nurses in Becker’s RN-to-BSN
program to look beyond the science and technology.
“Clearly if you look at anything in politics
now that has to do with health care, it’s all touting
preventative medicine,” says Brown, who teaches
a community-based practicum course in the
RN-to-BSN program designed to help practicing
nurses understand the underlying social factors
responsible for some of the critical health issues in
the United States.
According to the American Hospital Association,
the United States spends more per capita on
health care than any other country. Despite the
level of spending, it’s estimated that 15 percent of
the population — roughly 46 million Americans
— are uninsured, and a sizeable additional portion
of the population is “underinsured,” or less than
fully insured for medical costs they might incur.