Massachusetts Report on Nursing - December 2020

MASSACHUSETTS REPORT ON NURSING 

Quarterly Circulation 57,400 Volume 18 Number 4 November 2020 

The Official Publication of ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> • PO Box 285 • Milton, MA 02186 • 617.990.2856 • NEWSLETTER@ANAMASS.ORG 

In this issue: 

President’s message 2 

Clio’s corner 4 

Behind the Scenes 5 

Interviews 6 

Advocating for Expanded Scope of 

Practice in the Legislature 7 

Eliminating Disparities Through Social 

Justice, Education, and Scholarship 8 

Fostering Gender-Affirming Care 9 

Meet our New Directors 10 

Nursing Policy in Times of Uncertainty 

surviving, thriving on the edge 11 

2020 Scholarship Recipients 12 

Inspired by compassion 13 

American Academy of Nursing 14 

Editor’s column 17 

Who 

is 

this 

nurse? 

Commonwealth Conversations: 

Meeting with Governor Baker 

ANAMASS member reflections 

Julie Cronin: Moderator asked: 

“What have we learned.....?” 

Julie Cronin, DNP, RN, OCN, 

ANAMASS President 

It was a true pleasure having a candid conversation 

with <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Governor Charlie Baker on the 

afternoon of September 2nd. I was so pleased with the 

Governor’s thoughtful and comprehensive responses. 

His opening remarks regarding COVID-19 and the sincere 

gratitude he offered to nurses across the Commonwealth 

for their heroic efforts during the surge of the pandemic 

was heartfelt and touching. Governor Baker described 

front line nurses as “grounded and focused” and realized 

the “awesome responsibility” that was placed on them, 

recognizing the wonderful and special healthcare 

community that we in <strong>Massachusetts</strong> have. I personally 

functioned as the moderator and the direct questions to 

the Governor were asked by our ANAMASS members and 

front-line nurses Silda, Deniece, and Laura. 

I did, however, ask the closing question: “What have 

we as a Commonwealth learned from COVID-19, and 

what, if, anything would you (Governor Baker), or the 

Administration have done differently?” Governor Baker’s 

response was thorough and focused mostly on procuring 

personal protective equipment. Of course, if we could 

Advocating for Nurses: 

The Statehouse Roundup 

have ever predicted a global pandemic, stockpiling of PPE 

would have happened earlier on and more aggressively. 

But this was something no one could have predicted. 

His response when asked when he will stop buying PPE? 

“Maybe never.” It was unthinkable to ask healthcare 

workers to do their jobs safely and effectively without the 

proper protection. 

Governor Baker also commented on how infection 

control and long-term care were not always part of the 

conversations in the beginning and should have been. 

He noted that “traditional” public health needs to be a 

mainstay of our healthcare system, and there should be a 

stronger focus on population-based healthcare and social 

determinants of health. There are also some things we 

must view as positives and take forward into the future: 

gratitude and appreciation for nurses and healthcare 

workers, telehealth, expanded scope for advanced 

practice nurses, awareness of race and equity issues, 

and nurses influence on the Health Policy Commission. 

Per Governor Baker, we should not miss the opportunity 

to execute and follow through on these things. I couldn’t 

agree more. 

I sincerely hope anyone who was not able to view 

the “Commonwealth Conversations” session will go 

to ANAMASS.org and take the time to watch. It was 

a pleasure speaking with Governor Baker and we all 

Commonwealth Conversations continued on page 3 

CE Corner - Nursing Continuing 

Professional Development 18 

Bulletin board 19 

current resident or 

Presort Standard 

US Postage 

PAID 

Permit #14 

Princeton, MN 

55371 

Christine Schrauf, PhD, RN, MBA 

Emergency hazard health duty…workplace violence… 

scope of practice for advanced practice nurses… 

professional nursing practice… it’s been a busy legislative 

session for the ANAMASS Health Policy Committee. This 

article highlights the highest priority bills for action by 

the committee, but a full current accounting of this work 

can be found on the ANAMASS website by clicking on the 

“policy” tab at the top. 

Needless to say, complete consideration of 

issues brought to our legislature was interrupted 

by the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on inperson 

legislative sessions and the disastrous 

impact on the economy. However, work does 

continue at 24 Beacon Street in Boston and 

legislators continue to convene in virtual 

sessions. In fact, the session has been extended 

to 12/31/20, a very unusual occurrence. This 

accounting of where we are with our most 

important legislative work is written at the very 

end of September. 

ANAMASS’s effort to support legislation that 

adopts a zero-tolerance policy to workplace 

violence led to testimony supporting Senate Bill 

(SB) 2752, An Act requiring health care employers to 

develop and implement programs to prevent workplace 

violence. A compromise between House and Senate 

versions of similar bills, SB 2752 is now awaiting action by 

the Senate Ways and Means Committee. 

Important to nurses throughout the Commonwealth is 

representation on the MA Health Policy Commission, an 

independent state agency charged with the responsibility 

of developing policy to reduce health care cost growth 

and improve the quality of patient care. As the largest 

group of health care providers in the state, ANAMASS 

believes that one permanent member of the Commission 

should be a registered nurse offering the perspective of 

how to ensure quality care effectively and efficiently. To 

that end, ANAMASS worked with legislators to propose 

An Act relative to the governance of the Health Policy 

Commission (HB2664, SB701), proposing the above 

belief. Verbal and written testimony was presented to 

the Joint Health Care Financing Committee initially, and 

later to the Senate Ways and Means Committee where it 

currently awaits further action. 

Advocating for Nurses continued on page 2

2 • <strong>Massachusetts</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on Nursing November 2020 

president’s message 

Julie Cronin, DNP, RN, OCN 

Here we are in November 

– almost over the finish line 

of the year 2020. When I ask 

friends, families, colleagues, 

staff how they are feeling, 

the answers I receive are: 

“exhausted, busy, stressed, 

anxious.” Other sentiments 

I often hear: “I can’t wait for 

2020 to be over,” “we just 

need a vaccine,” or “things 

need to go back to the way 

they were.” I have had the 

same sentiments. 

Life is harried and stressful. This time of uncertainty is 

unsettling. It feels that we are racing towards a vaccine 

and a new year and hoping all will be better or wishing 

we could return to life as we knew it many months ago. 

There are so many aspects of life pre-COVID-19 that 

we all desperately want back. We are tormented by the 

brutality of what the virus has done to so many of our 

patients and families. However, I believe that there are 

many things in life that we cannot and should not return 

to. Perhaps the time for change is finally here, and there 

is no going back. 

In healthcare, we have realized that telehealth 

provides an enormous benefit to patients and that 

advanced practice nurses can and should work to the 

top of their licenses. Nurses and healthcare workers 

are finally receiving the recognition and gratitude they 

deserve. In parallel, the senseless murders of people of 

color has awakened us to the ongoing social injustices 

Advocating for Nurses...continued from page 1 

Since the COVID-19 epidemic required the critical role 

of nurses and other medical/public safety personnel, 

ANAMASS provided testimony in support of SB2602/ 

H4611, An Act relative to emergency hazard health duty. 

This bill would have categorized any time in a period of 

hospitalization, quarantine, or required self-quarantined 

measures as a result of being infected or coming into 

contact with someone who is infected with this virus as 

work-related, not requiring the employee to use personal 

time for these absences. Although reported favorably by 

three legislative committees, the bill was sent to study 

and did not succeed. 

With nurse staffing in acute care facilities still voiced 

as an issue for so many nurses in the Commonwealth, 

ANAMASS worked with legislators to propose HB1941/ 

SB1345, An Act establishing a commission on quality 

patient outcomes and professional nursing practice. 

This bill called for creation of a 17-member bipartisan 

Commission comprised of multiple stakeholders to 

review and make recommendations regarding best nurse 

staffing practices. These practices would be designed to 

improve the patient care environment, quality outcomes, 

and nurse satisfaction. Submission of this bill coincided 

with a proposed amendment to a Governor’s Budget 

Senate Amendment that sought commission of studies 

to study some of the same issues, but with a limited 

number of stakeholders and the end goal of determining 

specific mandated nurse to patient ratios. In the end, 

that have been happening for hundreds of years. This may 

finally help us all recognize the extreme changes that are 

needed to sustain a peaceful, loving and inclusive world 

for future generations. 

For these reasons, I say we can’t go back. We can take 

this time to assess what we will keep and what we will 

reject from our lives. We are making progress where it 

matters: in being truly empathetic; in how we treat one 

another on a human level; how we spend our time; how 

we stay connected to those we love when we can’t be 

physically close. In nursing, we are seeing the benefits to 

telehealth, expanded scope of practice, consideration and 

financial resources finally being allocated to long term 

care, and attention to social and health equity. We cannot 

go back on this progress. 

I personally don’t want to take things for granted; 

things like extra time with my daughter, collegiality with 

co-workers, deep appreciation for my family, and more 

time to spend on reflection. I need to take the time to 

appreciate the positives that have come out of these last 

few months. I would imagine others feel similarly. 

My pledge to you all is to do my best to be and stay 

positive. My hope is you will do the same. “Life is not 

waiting for the storm to pass; it is about learning how 

to dance in the rain.” i Let’s think about positive changes 

that are coming from these storms, and commit to 

moving forward, towards a more positive, healthier and 

happier future. 

Wishing you Happy Holidays and a very happy and 

healthy 2021. 

i 

Quote from Vivian Greene. Retrieved on 9/29/2020 from 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/769264. 

Vivian_Greene. 

this amendment was rejected and Bill HB1941/SB1345 

accompanied a study order. * 

Legislative and regulatory actions to move toward 

independence in advanced practice nursing have been 

significant this year as reflected in ANAMASS legislative 

agenda found on its website. On 3/26, the Department 

of Public Health responded to citizens’ needs by issuing 

an emergency order to allow prescriptive practice and 

temporary exemption from physician oversight for 

designated categories of advanced practice nurses. 

Success in this initiative and the increased successful use 

of telehealth during the pandemic resulted in the 6/25 

submission of Bills S2796 and H4888, both permanently 

expanding use of telehealth and the practice of 

advanced practice nursing. Since the language of 

these bills differ in some respects, the bills are now 

being considered by a conference committee with the 

goal of developing compromise language. ANAMASS is 

closely watching progress on this initiative and taking 

appropriate steps to influence its successful passage. 

Please review other actions to influence legislation 

on the ANAMASS website as described at the beginning 

of this article. Our association is grateful for all members 

who have worked tirelessly in the interest of nurses in 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> as well as the patients for whom they 

serve. Special thanks to our Executive Director, Cammie 

Townsend, and our lobbyists, Patricia Lynch and Ben Fiero 

for their expert work and guidance during this very busy 

legislative session. 

* N.B. Accompanying a study order indicates the Bill is 

dead. 

Hiring CNAs, LPNs, and RNs! 

Nurses are our nations heroes and our community needs you! 

- We’re a warm friendly nursing home seeking nursing 

staff 

- Generous sign-on bonuses: RN/LPN: $5,000, 

CNA: $2,000 

- Competitive salaries 

- Generous paid days off and much more! 

Apply at: 

https://westfield-gardens.com/careers# 

Or call/text for a rapid response: 717-803-2980 

37 Feeding Hills Road, Westfield, MA 01085 

Receiving this newsletter does not mean that you are an 

ANAMASS member. Please join ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> today and 

help promote the nursing profession. 

Board of Directors 

President 

Julie Cronin, DNP, RN, OCN 

President-Elect 

Lynne Hancock, MSN, RN, NE-BC 

Past-President: 

Donna Glynn, PhD, RN, ANP-BC 

Secretary: 

Janet Monagle, PhD, RN, CNE 

Treasurer: 

Christina Saraf, RN, MSN 

Directors 

Donna Begin, DNP, RN, NE-BC 

Myra F. Cacace, GNP-BC 

Chris Caulfield, MSN, RN, NP-C 

Casey Crawford, MA, BSN, RN (New Graduate Director) 

Nirva B. Lafontant, PhD, RN 

Silda Melo, BS, RN (New Graduate Director) 

Eilse Pierre-Louis, BSN, RN 

Janet E. Ross, MS, RN, PMHCNS 

Committee Chairs 

Awards and Living Legends Committee 

Maura Fitzgerald, RNC, MS 

Bylaws Committee 

Mary McKenzie, EdM, MS, RN 

Conference Planning Committee 

Cynthia LaSala, MS, RN 

Approver Unit 

Jeanne Q. Gibbs, MSN, RN (Chair Emeritus) 

Pamela Corey, MSN, EdD, RN, CHSE, Co-Chair 

Arlene Stoller MS, RN-BC, ACNS-BC, GCNS, CDP 

Health Policy Committee 

Arlene Swan-Mahony, DNP, MHA, BSN, RN 

Regina Mood BSN, RN, ACM-RN 

Christine Schrauf, PhD, RN, MB 

Membership Engagement 

Silda Melo, BS, RN 

Janet Ross, MS, RN, PMHCNS-BC 

MA <strong>Report</strong> on Nursing Committee 

Barbara Belanger, MSN, RN, CNOR, 

Inge B. Corless, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, Co-editor 

Gail B. Gall, PhD, RN, Co-editor 

Nominations Committee 

Donna Glynn, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, Chair 

~ ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Staff ~ 

Executive Director 

Cammie Townsend, DNP, MS/MBA, RN 

Office Administrator 

Lisa Presutti 

Nurse Peer Review Leader 

Judy L. Sheehan, MSN, RN-BC 

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<strong>Massachusetts</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on Nursing is published quarterly 

every March, June, September and December for ANA 

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member of the American Nurses Association.

November 2020 <strong>Massachusetts</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on Nursing • 3 

Commonwealth Conversations continued from page 1 

really appreciate his time and efforts throughout the pandemic to keep citizens of the 

Commonwealth safe and healthy. 

Governor Supports Full Practice Authority 

Silda Melo, BS, RN, CCM ANAMASS New Graduate Director 2019-2021 

ANAMASS Membership Engagement Committee Co-Chair 

Recently, I had the pleasure of participating in the American Nurses Association 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>’ Commonwealth Conversations with Governor Charlie Baker. As one of 

the panelists during this talk I represented direct care nurses in our Commonwealth and 

was able to participate in discussions regarding pandemic response, healthcare access, 

and health inequities. I was truly humbled by Governor Baker’s authentic, candid 

responses to our questions. 

There is currently a healthcare reform bill with language to allow Nurse Practitioners 

(NP) full practice authority pending in a House-Senate Conference Committee. During 

the height of Covid-19 Governor Baker acknowledged the need for increased access 

to care and included the removal of practice restrictions in his temporary executive 

orders. However, this is still only temporary. I asked Governor Baker what his 

administration is doing to help move along the healthcare bill that would allow NPs full 

practice authority permanently. 

Not knowing how he would respond was nerve wracking! The moments before 

his response felt like an eternity. Watching the video, I can see the moment I finished 

asking the question, I swallowed hard and forced a smile in an attempt to hide the 

nerves – I don’t think I hid them very well. 

Thankfully, Governor Baker agreed that lifting restrictions on practice authority for 

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses has had positive impacts on access to high quality, 

cost effective care. He assured us that he and his administration are doing all they can 

do to support this bill and shared his optimism in having this bill passed. Governor 

Baker also reminded us that the temporary executive order currently in place will “stay 

in effect until we believe the Covid issue is no longer a threat to the Commonwealth.” 

He recommended that the nurses of the Commonwealth leverage our local legislators, 

patients, and fellow board members to advocate for the passage of this healthcare 

reform bill through the House-Senate Conference Committee. 

It was truly an honor to be chosen as a panelist for this event. I am grateful to 

ANAMASS for the opportunity to represent my fellow nurses in our continued efforts to 

advocate for our profession, our patients, and our communities. 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Health Equity 

Laura Duff, RN, BSN, DNP Student, Clinical Nurse II, Beth Israel 

Deaconess Medical Center, ANA MASS Health Policy Committee Member 

During September’s Commonwealth Conversations with Governor Baker, I had the 

privilege of asking two questions that I believe are of utmost importance in relation to 

the pandemic. His answers were honest and heartfelt. I know I am not the only one 

who appreciated his sincerity and the fact that he took time out of his incredibly busy 

schedule to speak with us. 

First I asked about PPE supply levels and what the administration is doing to ensure 

adequate and equitable distribution to all healthcare workers. We know that this 

topic is on the minds of many staff nurses as we enter the fall and winter and fear of 

a second surge weighs heavily on everyone. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that 

state government has distributed, mostly without federal assistance, 35,000,000 

pieces of PPE. The majority of this equipment was directed towards those who would 

not otherwise have access. It was reassuring to learn that <strong>Massachusetts</strong> has invested 

in local companies that are now producing PPE. I appreciated Governor Baker’s 

acknowledgement that after this pandemic, he does not know if it is possible to ever 

feel like there is enough PPE and that he is committed to continuing purchasing and 

stockpiling PPE for the foreseeable future. 

I believe that my second question must be addressed in any responsible 

conversation about the pandemic. I asked Governor Baker what the Commonwealth is 

doing to address population health disparities, specifically calling out systemic racism 

and how it relates to COVID-19. It was interesting to hear about Governor Baker’s 

background in healthcare and his involvement in enacting universal healthcare in 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>, an important step towards healthcare equity. It was reassuring to know 

that the administration has made significant efforts in addressing food insecurity by 

ensuring that all people in <strong>Massachusetts</strong> (even undocumented individuals) have had 

access to adequate food. He also addressed the issue of access to Covid-19 testing and 

pointed out that the Stop the Spread program focuses on underserved communities. 

This effort also extends to housing those who need to quarantine but who do not 

have the space to adequately do so. It is wonderful that the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> contacttracing 

program is available in 26 languages! Governor Baker also pointed out that 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> was the first state to require, through executive order, documentation 

of gender, race, ethnicity, etc. with COVID testing to collect necessary data to continue 

to make meaningful change going forward. 

Long Term Care and Disparities 

Deniece V. Waruinge, RN, BSN, ANAMASS New Graduate Director 2018- 

2020, ANA National Practice Advisory Council 

It was a pleasure to discuss healthcare and in particular, nursing concerns with 

Governor Charlie Baker. His candid responses to some of the difficult questions 

asked by ANAMASS members showed his commitment to supporting our role in the 

community. Topics included racial disparities in healthcare, the impact of infection 

control on public health during the pandemic, and advanced practice autonomy. 

I had the privilege of asking a question related to the status of long-term care. 

Gov. Baker responded not only from a political perspective but also from personal 

experience demonstrating an understanding of the need to invest in long term care 

services in relation to public health. He was also honest in acknowledging that there 

is so much more work to be done in <strong>Massachusetts</strong> and that COVID had done a 

tremendous job of exposing our gaps in long term care and healthcare in general. He 

went on to acknowledge how difficult caring for the elderly during this pandemic has 

been on nurses and those in healthcare and that we need to find a way not only to 

improve long term care but also support our healthcare providers. 

In discussing systemic health disparities experienced by minority populations, 

Gov. Baker highlighted his involvement in advocating for the legislature that enacted 

universal healthcare in <strong>Massachusetts</strong>. He also discussed the distribution of resources 

aimed at supporting access for all as initiated by the Affordable Care Act. His advocacy 

is significant in propelling forward universal access to health care in MA and beyond. 

Overall, I appreciated Gov. Baker’s honesty in engaging with us on these pertinent 

issues and how we can continue to maintain these conversations. Gov. Baker reminded 

us to recognize and give ourselves credit for what we have accomplished. I look forward 

to future Commonwealth Conversations and also collaborations with our local officials 

on successful policy improvements. 

Certificate Program 

• CAGS: Psychiatric Mental Health 

See page 12


clio’s corner 

ANA’s first position on nursing education 

Mary Ellen Doona 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>’ nurses opened their December 1965 

issue of the American Journal of Nursing and found a six 

page article: American Nurses’ Association (ANA) First 

Position on Education for Nursing. That position was: 

Education for those who work in nursing should 

take place in institutions of learning within the 

general system of education [and specifically, the] 

minimum preparation for beginning professional 

nursing practice at the present time should be 

baccalaureate degree education in nursing. 

Some nurses were startled at ANA’s calling for 

baccalaureate education for entry into nursing practice 

because the National League for Nursing had been 

responsible for the accreditation process since 1949. 

ANA had a prior claim on nurses’ education. Objective 

two in its Article of Incorporation stated that ANA aimed 

“to elevate the standard of nursing education.” 1 In Part 

One of this article, we will review some of the history of 

the relationship of the ANA and the development of the 

educational requirements for Registered Nurses. 

Nurses established the ANA because hospitals and 

Medicine had taken over the emerging profession. Sophia 

F. Palmer, an 1878 graduate of the Boston Training School 

(the forerunner of <strong>Massachusetts</strong> General Hospital School 

of Nursing), provided advice to ANA’s Founding Mothers 

as they sought ways to recover nursing. She told them 

that the power of the nursing profession was dependent 

upon its ability to maintain the cooperation of individual 

nurses who had the ability to influence public opinion. 2 

She advocated forming Alumni Associations first. Twelve 

Alumni Associations were founded soon after and were 

invited to send delegates to the proceedings in 1896. 

ANA’s original name emphasizes their importance. ANA 

was originally called the Associated Alumnae of the 

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United States and Canada, a title it held until 1911 when 

the organization was renamed the American Nurses 

Association. 

Nursing history was a required course in a student’s 

curriculum. Accordingly, most <strong>Massachusetts</strong>’ nurses 

would have known of, and perhaps would have taken 

pride in Palmer’s stellar career in keeping nurses across 

the country together. Her pointed editorials in the 

American Journal of Nursing kept nurses informed and 

cheered them on as they gained laws to protect nursing 

education. The RN-Registered Nurse- after a nurse’s 

name from that time to this, signifies that history. 

By 1911 nurses were concerned that nursing was 

under the control of the hospital and the medical 

profession. Nursing had prospered and provided valuable 

service, but the gains they had made were subordinated 

to the needs of hospitals and medicine. By this time 

medical education had been restructured into a postbaccalaureate 

endeavor, and limited the number of its’ 

schools, and thereby the number of individuals admitted 

to the medical profession. Nurses wanted for nursing the 

restructuring that the Flexner <strong>Report</strong> had achieved for 

medicine. 

Philanthropists rejected nursing’s proposals possibly 

because the applicants were women. (Men were the 

power brokers in the early years of the twentieth 

century.) Women spent seven decades to gain the right 

to vote and decades more to be at the table where 

decisions were made. Nursing’s not being a university 

endeavor was probably as significant as its’ being a 

woman’s profession. Gertrude Weld Peabody, a member 

of Boston’s social elite, daughter of a Harvard professor 

and relative of a Boston doctor had no compunction 

about using her advantage for the benefit of public health 

nursing. That advantage was her family’s summertime 

connection with John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Following her 

note, he overrode the Rockefeller Foundation’s rejection. 

The Foundation then agreed that funding public health 

nursing fit into its goals. 

Nursing finally had its’ own Flexner-like report with a 

study formally known as Nursing and Nursing Education 

in the United States (1923) though commonly referred 

to as the Goldmark <strong>Report</strong> in honor of its investigator. 

Josephine Goldmark was the sister-in-law of Louis D. 

Brandeis and had collected much of the data for his 

Brandeis Brief in a 1908 Supreme Court case that decided 

long hours were detrimental to the health of women. 3 

The Goldmark study was governed by a committee of 

nineteen members including; ten physicians (two of 

whom were hospital superintendents) outnumbering the 

six nurses of which Mary Beard of the Boston Instructive 

Nursing students in class at McLean Hospital 

District Nursing Association (VNA) and Helen Wood then 

Acting Superintendent at MGH were members. The two 

lay members were Julia Lathrop of the Children’s Bureau 

and Mrs John Lowman. C. E. A. Winslow, a Professor of 

Public Health at Yale, chaired the study of 23 schools and 

2406 students. 

Goldmark reported among other things that the 

average hospital training school was not organized on 

a solid enough basis to be compared favorably with the 

standards required in other professions. There were 

too many students and too few of them were being 

adequately prepared. Often the health of the students 

was sacrificed to hospital service demands. Once Harvard 

declined implementing the study’s recommendations, 

the Rockefeller Foundation turned to Yale University 

and funded its School of Nursing to make the requisite 

changes. In 1934 its dean, Annie Goodrich, prophesized 

that in a decade, 1944, every school of nursing should 

definitely be associated with a college or university or be 

discontinued. 4 In Part two of this article, we will explore 

whether the optimism of Dean Goodrich was justified. 

1 Lynda Flanagan, (compiler). One Strong Voice: The Story of 

the American Nurses Foundation. (Kansas City: American 

Nurses Association, 1976),32. 

2 Flanagan, One Strong Voice, 30. 

3 Kalisch, Philip A. and Beatrice J. Kalisch. The Advance of 

American Nursing, 2nd edition. (Boston: Little, Brown and 

Company, 1986),313. 

4 Mary M. Roberts American Nursing: History and 

Interpretation, (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1959), 

515-516.


from the executive director 

Cammie Townsend, DNP, MS/MBA, RN 

I am six days past deadline, struggling with a blank 

screen, and have the latest email from my gentle editor 

“looking forward to reading your column” prompting me 

to google famous quotes in a effort to find inspiration and 

direction. 

“You ask me why I do not write something.... I think one's 

feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be 

distilled into actions and into actions which bring results.” 

― Florence Nightingale 

I’m all set, right? 

Just kidding. As 2020 is winding down and the Year of 

the Nurse and Midwife comes to a close, we should think 

about the actions ANAMASS has taken and the results 

we have had this year in particular. In our last issue of the 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on Nursing, I wrote an editorial 

on racism in nursing; on November 9th ANAMASS 

had a zoom webinar Addressing Racism in the Nursing 

Profession: Be the Change. Because I am writing this 

editorial before the program is held, I can only anticipate 

that the outcome will be that each attendee brings an 

actionable step to his/her nursing practice and additional 

steps will be identified. 

Obviously, COVID-19 has created a whole new reality 

and changed how we live our lives as well as practice. 

ANAMASS has invested in infrastructure, with an updated 

website and social media account management to 

improve our virtual presence and communications. 

As early as February 2020, your professional 

association was contacting Congress and asking for PPE 

for nurses and other front line health care professionals; 

increased staffing levels; telemedicine/telehealth 

resources; addressing supply chain issues for PPE; and 

addressing the financial impact on nurses displaced 

by COVID-19. ANAMASS followed up with Governor 

Baker at the state level to address PPE, staffing, and 

support for emergency hazard health duty. We continue 

to advocate for these issues in multiple ways. Please 

visit the COVID-19 page on www.anamass.org for 

more information. We continue to dialogue with the 

governor to raise issues of importance to the Association 

and profession. View Commonwealth Conversations: 

Governor Charlie Baker on youtube to learn more. 

Overall, ANAMASS presented verbal and/or written 

testimony twenty times this legislative session. This is 

the most active the health policy committee has been 

and they should be recognized for their hard work on 

researching and analyzing the bills we supported as 

part of 2019-2020 ANAMASS Legislative Agenda, writing 

testimony, and supporting speakers at the State House. 

With the strangeness that is 2020 and extension of the 

legislative session to the end of December (past the 

election and into a lame duck period) a number of bills 

are still active and being lobbied for, including H. 2664/S. 

701, An Act relative to the governance of the Health 

Policy Commission which would create a permanent seat 

for a Registered Nurse on the Health Policy Commission; 

H. 4916 An Act Putting Patients First (Telehealth/APRN 

Scope of Practice) in conference committee. Three of the 

bills on our legislative agenda passed – An Act to Provide 

Liability Protections for Health Care Workers and Facilities 

During the COVID-19 Pandemic; An Act Modernizing 

Tobacco Control; and An Act Designating United States 

Cadet Nurse Corps Day. 

The ANAMASS Accredited Approver Unit has once 

again achieved accreditation from the American Nurses 

Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

This is the 19th year in a row that ANAMASS has held this 

distinguished credential. We are the ONLY Accredited 

Approver Unit in the Commonwealth, and one of just 35 

accredited approver units across the country. If you are 

an RN who plans continuing nursing education activities 

and want to award contact hours that carry ANCC 

approval, please visit our AU website at www.anamassau.org 

for information on how to submit your program to 

ANAMASS to award contact hours in the future! 

Last, but not least, I am proud to announce the 

creation of the Foundation for Nursing Advancement 

in <strong>Massachusetts</strong>, Inc. It has long been a goal of many 

members of ANAMASS to create a charitable “sister” 

association which will advance the nursing profession 

through philanthropic activities that promote 

scholarship, nursing research, and innovation. For more 

information and to donate, please visit www.fnama.org 

and please watch for additional information as we create 

planned giving campaigns, establish scholarships, and 

identify grant opportunities for nurses. 

For someone who couldn’t think of anything to write 

about, once I read Florence’s words and decided to just 

chronicle the ACTIONS of ANAMASS on BEHALF of the 

NURSES of the Commonwealth and the RESULTS, I found 

my voice. 

behind the scenes 

Monique Heddens 

An important person Behind the Scenes is Monique 

Heddens. Monique was born and raised in Cedar Falls, 

Iowa. She graduated from Cedar Falls High School and went 

on to receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree from 

Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, IA. Ms. Heddens 

spent the majority of her career in some type of position in 

the publishing field thereby gaining extensive experience. 

She began at Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency, Inc. in 

September 1992 as Media Production Manager. She assisted 

with the proofing and production of newsletters and soon 

assumed heading the production department. In her current 

position, she is responsible for coordinating and producing 

39 quarterly nursing newsletters and 16 annual convention 

books. Monique works extensively with publication sponsors 

and editors, setting and following up on deadlines, proofing and sending newsletter 

proofs to sponsors; composing all advertisements and client ad proofs; communicating 

with the printer regarding publication of all materials; maintaining and processing lists 

for all media mailing lists and email distribution. She is proficient in Filemaker, Adobe 

Acrobat, Excel, Word, Photoshop and InDesign software programs. 

When asked what she enjoys about the position, she responded that it was the 

constant variety and fast-paced nature of the work. And especially working with the 

extremely competent graphic designers that are part of the department and “make 

my duties flow so much smoother!” One of the challenges to her position is working 

with so many different people and circumstances, adapting to issues that arise when 

deadlines are not met. “As with many businesses in the last few months, our company 

has transitioned from a brick and mortar office to being totally remote; working from 

home has presented different challenges which we have all been working through, 

quite successfully I believe!“ Monique responded to a question about her wish list for 

current position/future positions, as follows “After 28 years in this position, I guess you 

could say I am totally happy with what I do every day! I have been very fortunate to 

have worked for the Miller family business for over 28 years!” 

For those interested in the more personal side of Monique she says “I have been 

married to my husband Rich for almost 40 years (May 2021), and have family members 

that live fairly close (in the Minneapolis area). She lived in Cedar falls for the first several 

decades of her life and now lives in Waverly, IA. When queried about what she does for 

fun, Monique responded “I enjoy reading, spending time in the kitchen, being outdoors, 

going for walks, spending time with friends, traveling (especially getting out of the Iowa 

winters to warm locales!), and doing some shopping. In addition, she is a member of 

the American Legion Auxiliary, in which they do a lot of fund raising and projects for the 

veterans in her region. 

Full Time Psychiatric Nurse-RN 

32 or 40 hours per week 

The Austen Riggs Center is internationally recognized for excellence 

in providing intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy in an open 

community. Located on a bucolic campus in the town of Stockbridge, 

MA, the Center provides a continuum of hospital, residential, and day 

treatment for people with a variety of complex psychiatric troubles. 

We are looking to add to our talented nursing staff. Position is full time 

primarily evening shift with ability to float to nights for coverage if 

needed. Requires weekend and holiday rotation. 

The nursing staff play a vital role in helping patients take charge of 

their lives through the establishment of a thoughtful and respectful 

therapeutic relationship that maximizes the dignity of the individual 

patient through support of their healthy, adaptive functioning. 

Staff Nurse requires current <strong>Massachusetts</strong> RN license, CPR, CPI, BSN 

and previous psychiatric nursing experience. 

Austen Riggs Center offers an excellent work environment, competitive 

salary and great benefits including generous time off and 

tuition support for higher nursing education. Austen Riggs Center 

is consistently ranked a “Best Hospital in Psychiatry” 

by U.S. News and World <strong>Report</strong>. 

Austen Riggs Center is committed to equal opportunity, a diverse 

workforce, and an inclusive environment. We seek to recruit, develop, 

and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. 

For consideration, please submit cover letter and resume to 

Jobs@austenriggs.net; mail to Bertha Connelley, Austen Riggs Center, 

25 Main Street, P.O. Box 962, Stockbridge, MA 01262. 

Visit our website www.austenriggs.org/careers for more 

information about the Austen Riggs and to complete and 

submit our PDF employment application.


interviews 

Representative Kay Khan, BS, MS 

Jessie Brunelle, Staff Director 

Office of State Representative Kay Khan 

Inge B. Corless, PhD, RN, Co-Editor 

State Representative Kay 

Khan was born in Cherokee, 

Iowa and raised primarily in 

Wellesley, <strong>Massachusetts</strong>. She 

earned her Bachelors’ degree 

from the Boston University 

School of Nursing in 1965. 

Her first position as a nurse 

was at the Boston Children’s 

Hospital. Thereafter, she 

became an instructor for 

undergraduate students on 

a pediatric rotation at the 

Boston University School of 

Nursing. Later she worked in Kay Khan 

an adolescent psychiatric unit at the Gaebler Children’s 

Unit at Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham, before 

earning her Masters’ degree in Psychiatric Mental Health 

Nursing from Boston University School of Nursing, 

graduating with honors in 1981. Representative Khan 

worked in a private psychiatric group practice in Newton 

for close to 20 years. 

Representative Khan has lived in Newton for more 

than 40 years, where she and her late husband, Dr. Nasir 

Khan, raised their three children and now enjoys her 

seven grandchildren. She served on the Newton Parent 

Teacher Organization, was a member of the city’s Arts 

Committee, a volunteer writer for a local newspaper, 

and an active member of the women’s auxiliary of the 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> Medical Society. She joined the Board of 

the New Philharmonia Orchestra in Newton and became 

a founding member of the Newton Cultural Alliance. One 

of her passions is Classical Ballet and supporting the arts 

has always been an important value to her. 

As a member of the Newton Democratic City 

Committee, Representative Khan spent many years 

helping numerous candidates run for local, statewide, 

and federal offices. Always civically engaged and a proud 

risk-taker, she decided to run for office when a State 

Representative seat in her district opened up. She was 

subsequently elected and has served her community 

in the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> House of Representatives since 

1995. In 2009, Representative Khan was appointed by 

Speaker Robert DeLeo to serve as the House Chair of the 

Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with 

Disabilities, and she has served in this capacity ever since. 

Throughout her career as a State Representative, she has 

been an unshakable advocate for celebrating diversity 

and protecting the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable 

populations. She has filed many bills to promote public 

health, mental health, and the nursing profession. In 

response to my request that Representative Khan share 

information on a bill she is sponsoring. She was kind 

enough to share the following. 

“As a State Representative and an Advanced Practice 

Psychiatric Nurse, I am excited to have the opportunity 

to highlight my legislation: H.2664, An Act relative to the 

governance of the Health Policy Commission. If passed, 

this bill would add the critical perspectives of a registered 

nurse to the state’s Health Policy Commission (HPC), the 

independent state agency that shapes policy and tracks 

cost-control measures across our public health and health 

care sectors. Nurses have a unique understanding of what 

really happens on an emergency room floor, a psychiatric 

hospital, a hospice bedside, or a research facility. The 

professional perspectives a nurse would offer the HPC 

is vital if we are to meet the goals of containing costs, 

improving patient outcomes, and reducing disparities in 

health care. 

In February of 2019, State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump 

appointed Barbara Blakeney, an experienced public 

health nurse, and past president of the ANA to the HPC. 

With this appointment, Auditor Bump took a critical 

step in recognizing the important experiences nurses in 

leadership can bring to our health care system. H.2664 

will ensure that professional nurses have permanent 

representation on the HPC so that we can continue to 

benefit from their insights and contributions to improving 

health care in the Commonwealth. I am grateful this 

legislation enjoys the ANAMASS’s full support. 

If you are interested in advocating for the 

advancement of this bill, I encourage you to contact your 

State Representative and State Senator in support of its’ 

favorable release from the Joint Committee on Health 

Care Financing. You can find the contact information for 

your elected officials at www.wheredoivotema.com. To 

learn more about this effort and my other nursing bills, I 

encourage you to visit my website at www.kaykhan.org.“ 

Representative Denise Garlick, RN 

Collin Fedor, Chief of Staff, Office of State 

Representative Garlick 

Inge Corless, PhD, RN, Co-Editor 

Representative Denise 

Garlick’s journey to serving as 

State Representative for the 

40,000+ people of Needham, 

Dover and Medfield began 

like many of ours – in nursing 

school. A graduate of New 

England Baptist Hospital 

School of Nursing in 1975, 

she received her critical care 

certification in 1978 before 

going on to graduate summa 

cum laude with her BSN from 

Fitchburg State in 1984 – all 

while giving birth to her four Denise Garlick 

children and working as a Staff Nurse. 

As a nurse, she considers learning a life-long endeavor 

that provides the background to be “qualified to care.” 

As a member of the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Nurses Association 

(MNA), she advocated for her colleagues, co-workers 

and patients on issues related to indoor air quality at a 

major tertiary care facility. Ultimately, the MNA became 

the first state nurses’ association in the nation to 

develop a department of occupational health and safety. 

The American Nurses Association also then initiated a 

department, which strengthened nurses’ ability across 

the country to advocate for their own health and safety. 

Denise served as the President of the MNA from 2000- 

2001. 

In 2004, Denise was elected to the Needham Board 

of Health. She served as Chair and co-founded and cochaired 

the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention 

when four Needham adolescents died of suicide in an 

18-month period. She believes that as Chair, but most 

importantly because she was a nurse, she was able to 

address the many issues and concerns of families, friends, 

and her deeply shaken and grieving community. The 

coalition informed communication in the Town for both 

suicide prevention and all crisis situations, and is a model 

for community coalitions in <strong>Massachusetts</strong> and beyond. 

With a deeper understanding of municipal 

government, Denise learned that “policy without money 

is just a good idea.” She was elected to the Needham 

Select Board where the decisions for allocation of 

resources is made. Again, utilizing her knowledge as a 

nurse, she led a campaign to successfully develop the 

Center at the Heights, which houses the Council on Aging 

and is now a center of vibrant, robust public life and 

comprehensive supports for older adults and their loved 

ones in Needham. 

Seeking a broader platform to work for positive 

change, Denise was elected as a State Representative 

in 2010. In the time since, she has served as a member 

on every health care committee, including the Joint 

Committee on Health Care Financing, and in multiple 

leadership positions, including as Chair of the Joint 

Committee on Elder Affairs and Chair of the Joint 

Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and 

Recovery, where she authored the pivotal 2018 opioid 

bill, An Act for prevention and access to appropriate care 

and treatment of addiction. Informed by her knowledge 

and experiences as a nurse, the legislation steers the 

Commonwealth’s public policy to deal not only with 

care and treatment of those engaged in substance 

use but also to focus on prevention. Building on her 

experiences as a nurse, chair of the Needham Board of 

Health and seasoned legislator, she sponsored the State 

Action for Public Health Excellence (SAPHE) Act, which 

was signed into law earlier this year to strengthen the 

Commonwealth’s 351 local boards of health – and takes 

on enhanced importance in light of the coronavirus 

pandemic. 

Currently, she serves as Vice Chair on the House and 

Joint Committees on Ways and Means, which is pivotal 

in the final budget and policy decisions of the House of 

Representatives. In addition, she has been asked to lead 

the “Caring Collaboration for Vulnerable Children and 

Families,” a House initiative created by Speaker Bob 

DeLeo to examine ways to strengthen the Department of 

Children and Families (DCF) in <strong>Massachusetts</strong>. Through 

this initiative, Rep. Garlick works with Chair Kay Khan – 

who is the only other Nurse in the Legislature – and Rep. 

Paul Donato. In July 2020, the House of Representatives 

unanimously passed Rep. Garlick’s bill that contains 

quality improvements to DCF agency operations, 

supports foster parents, and increases data reporting and 

accountability at DCF. 

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, House 

Speaker Bob DeLeo charged Representative Garlick as 

one of five members to lead the House COVID-19 Working 

Group. Throughout the pandemic, the Working Group 

has played a key role in amplifying the local concerns 

of House members to the Command Center, ensuring 

clear communication throughout levels of government, 

and ensuring that the House could continue operations 

remotely in light of physical distancing and other CDC 

guidelines. 

When asked why it matters to have a nurse as a 

legislator, Rep. Garlick notes that nurses’ expertise 

contributes to the development of policy related to 

access to safe, affordable, quality care, as well as the 

issues that impact our profession. Nurses work hard 

to advocate, but the truth is we need to stop being the 

“askers” and instead be the “deciders” in the halls of the 

State House. She feels strongly that nurses need to run 

for office – “nurses need to know and believe that they 

are qualified to care and ready to lead.” 

To that end, Representative Garlick has led on health 

care, public health and issues specific to the practice of 

nursing. She secured the mandatory overtime ban in the 

2012 health care cost containment legislation (commonly 

referred to as Chapter 224), the 2014 law setting ICU 

nurse staffing ratios (the only law in the country on safe 

staffing) and legislation requiring newborn pulse oximetry 

screenings for congenital heart defects. She continues 

to focus on health care workplace safety, in light of the 

considerable health risks nurses face during COVID-19 

and broader workplace violence issues, as lead sponsor of 

H1416, An Act requiring health care employers to develop 

and implement programs to prevent workplace violence. 

With her many accomplishments, Denise’s loves are 

her high school sweetheart husband, Russell, and her 

four young adult children and growing family. It is being a 

nurse – caring for patients without judgement, addressing 

complicated issues, listening to people’s voices, defining 

the facts, assessing situations and developing and 

implementing a plan – that strengthens Representative 

Garlick’s service to her community and Commonwealth. 

It is a nurse’s courage and ability to advocate, a nurse’s 

stamina to “stay with the job” and, above all, a nurse’s 

ability to hold and share hope. Rep Garlick believes she is 

like every nurse, and knows that every nurse should run 

for office. Nurses are leaders, and our Commonwealth 

and country will be stronger when nurses are the 

“deciders.”


Advocating for Expanded Scope of Practice in the Legislature 

Laura K. Duff, RN, BSN, Clinical Nurse II 

DNP Candidate University of <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

Amherst, lkduff@umass.edu 

ANAMASS has long been advocating for expanded 

scope of practice for Advanced Practice Registered 

Nurses (APRNs) who, until very recently, were required to 

prescribe under the guidance of a supervising physician. 

(Certified Nurse Midwives are the exception as they 

already have full prescriptive authority.) In March as a 

response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Baker 

signed an executive order temporarily granting this 

expanded scope of practice to APRNs in order to help 

meet the sudden increased need of providers in the 

Commonwealth. Then, in June, the Senate incorporated 

this provision into Bill S.2796, An Act Putting Patients 

First. The Bill was moved to the House in July, where in 

a rush to meet the Legislative Session deadline, it was 

quickly passed through a series of committees. The House 

made amendments and published H.4916 in response. 

A caveat of S.2796 and H.4916 is that APRNs must still 

have two years of supervised experience before they are 

granted full practice authority; however, any independent 

provider can provide that supervision. Effectively, an 

APRN with full practice authority can supervise a new 

APRN. Allowing a profession to supervise itself is more 

appropriate than mandating a different and separately 

regulated profession, physicians in this case, to oversee 

the work of APRNs. 

Ideally, APRNs would not legally require any 

supervision. The Consensus Mode of APRN Regulation, a 

2008 report created by a collaborative nursing workgroup 

and endorsed by a long list of nursing organizations, 

clearly states that Boards of Nursing will “license 

APRNs as independent practitioners with no regulatory 

requirements for collaboration, direction or supervision” 

(p. 14). 1 Requiring supervision runs contrary to this widely 

backed statement. Receiving a license from a Board of 

Nursing indicates that APRNs have already fulfilled their 

educational and clinical requirements and can safely 

operate independently in a provider role. 

Requiring supervision in any capacity, whether it is 

for two years or an entire career, reduces efficiency and 

productivity in the healthcare system. 2 First, if a new 

APRN is unable to find an experienced practitioner to 

supervise her or his practice, then her or his entry into 

the workforce is delayed, which negatively affects those 

in need of care. This issue is further exacerbated in rural 

areas where there is a general provider shortage. Second, 

slowing the entry of new APRNs into the independent 

provider role decreases competition. When demand 

for care remains high but the supply of providers is low, 

cost for services can increase, thus benefitting those 

who advocate for this restricted entry into full practice 

authority. 

As this readership likely already knows, the case for 

independent APRN practice is well established in the 

literature. There is no difference in the quality of care 

delivered by an APRN versus a physician, and the cost of 

care by an APRN is often lower. 3,4 

At the time of writing, the bills (S.2796 and H.4916) 

currently sit in a Committee of conference, a joint 

committee between the Senate and House created to 

resolve differences between the versions of the bills 

passed by the two chambers. The House and Senate have 

extended the formal Legislative Session, which normally 

ends in July, through the end of the year meaning that 

there is still a chance for these bills to move forward. 

However, even if they don’t, similar versions of these 

Bills are likely to resurface in the 2021-2022 Legislative 

Session. You can find your local Senators and House 

Representatives and their contact information by 

accessing malegislature.gov and clicking on Legislators for 

a list of Representatives and Senators and their contact 

information. Please consider reaching out and expressing 

your opinion as a nurse of the Commonwealth now and in 

the future. Securing independence for APRNs is a change 

that will elevate not only our profession but also the lives 

of those we serve. 

References 

1. APRN Consensus Work Group & National Council of State 

Boards of Nursing APRN Advisory Committee. (2008). 

Consensus model for APRN regulation: Licensure, 

accreditation, certification & education. https://www. 

nursingworld.org/~4aa7d9/globalassets/certification/ 

aprn_consensus_model_report_7-7-08.pdf 

2. Ritter, A., Bowles, K., O’Sullivan, A., Carthon, M. & Fairman, 

J. (2018). A policy analysis of legally required supervision 

of nurse practitioners and other health professionals. 

Nursing Outlook, 66(6), 551-559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. 

outlook.2018.05.004. 

3. Swan, M., Ferguson, S., Chang, A., Larson, E. & Smaldone, 

A. (2015). Quality of primary care by advanced practice 

nurses: A systematic review. International Journal for 

Quality in Health Care, 27(5), 396-404. doi: 10.1093/ 

intqhc/mzv054 

4. Timmons, E. J. (2017). The effects of expanded nurse 

practitioner and physician assistant scope of practice on 

the cost of Medicaid patient care. Health Policy, 121, 189- 

196. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2016.12.002 

Focus on Health Reform and Health Equity in <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

A webinar jointly provided by ANAMASS and UMass/Amherst 

Christine Schrauf, PhD, RN, MBA 

The ANAMASS Health Policy Committee presented a 

webinar focusing on health reform with an emphasis on 

health equity in a first-time collaboration with UMass/ 

Amherst College of Nursing. Due to pandemic restraints, 

the event was redesigned as a virtual offering held in late 

September that provided all members the opportunity to 

participate. 

The webinar began with welcome comments by Alison 

Vorderstrasse, DNSc, APRN, FAAN, Professor and Dean of 

the UMass/Amherst College of Nursing and Julie Cronin, 

DNP, RN, OCN, President of ANAMASS. 

Health Care Financing and Health Equity 

Health Policy Committee co-chair and UMass/Amherst 

alumnus Christine Schrauf began with a review of reasons 

why Americans want (and need) health care financing 

reform. A review of health care financing issues included 

(1) increasing costs of health care and associated insurance, 

(2) inability of some families to actually use their health 

care insurance, and (3) inequity among different income 

and racial groups in ability to access health care insurance. 

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased 

the portion of the US population who have lost health 

insurance due to lost employment, although the full 

measure of this effect won’t be known until later when the 

country returns to a new “normal.” 

Federal proposals for single payer coverage 

Dr. Schrauf also reviewed a sample of current proposed 

federal legislation that seeks to improve coverage of health 

care costs through either enhancement of the Affordable 

Care Act and the current health insurance model or the 

transition to single-payer health care financing such 

as a Medicare for All program. Senator Bernie Sanders 

(VT) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA) have each 

proposed a Medicare for All bill in their respective federal 

legislative branches, and although similar in many ways, 

the differences in the two bills were also discussed. Also 

reviewed was a bill passed by the House of Representatives 

in the current legislative session which enhances the 

current Affordable Care Act and “fixes” some aspects 

of the current law which had not been foreseen. The 

Affordable Care Act has allowed more than 20 million 

people to obtain health care insurance since passage. 

Some of the highlights of this law were reviewed during the 

webinar as well as the most significant court challenges to 

several components. 

State proposals for single payer coverage 

Dr. Schrauf summarized current Senate and House 

proposals for single payer coverage in <strong>Massachusetts</strong>, 

also called Medicare for All sponsored by Senator 

James Eldridge, Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, 

and Representative Denise Garlick and colleagues. 

Representative Sabadosa joined the webinar to describe 

her personal experience and reasons for supporting this 

legislation. Both Senator Comerford and Representative 

Sabadosa fielded questions from participants. 

Health care financing and health equity 

Dr. Raeann LeBlanc, PhD, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, CHPN 

eloquently described the link between health care 

financing reform and health equity. Dr. LeBlanc is the 

Seedworks Endowed Clinical Assistant Professor for Social 

Justice in the UMASS/Amherst College of Nursing and 

represents the College’s commitment to programs and 

activities that highlight various ways that all nurses can 

work toward health equity and social justice. Her remarks 

began with the description of health equity as a reality 

where “…Everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as 

healthy as possible.” 

Poverty and discrimination are obstacles that may cause 

powerlessness and reduce access to good jobs with fair 

pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, 

and accessible health care. Thus, social determinants 

of health have as much to do with health equity as the 

provision of direct care services. Dr. LeBlanc referred to 

food shortages, lost or low-paid employment, and isolation 

during the pandemic that exacerbate already high risks for 

poor health, especially among rural communities. 

Dr. LeBlanc also described equitable health care 

provision in the context of human interdependency 

and interconnectedness when care provision is neither 

discriminatory nor dehumanizing. She emphasized that 

interpersonal health care delivery promotes health equity 

and mentioned additional challenges in the areas of longterm 

health care quality and access to telehealth services. 

As a conclusion to her presentation, Dr. LeBlanc described 

nursing roles that can contribute to health care equity. 

Measuring the impact of health equity on health 

disparities 

The last speaker in this program was Senator 

Joanne Comerford, who represents several western 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> districts and co-chairs the Public Health 

Committee. She briefly discussed a bill she proposed 

during this session that would require preparation of a 

health equity impact statement evaluating the likely 

positive or negative impact of each major state initiative 

on promoting health equity and eliminating or reducing 

racial and ethnic health disparities. Senator Comerford 

also reiterated her support for a single-payer health care 

financing system for the Commonwealth. 

The webinar offered a snapshot of current health care 

financing and delivery system issues and problems, and 

future possibilities. As the largest group of health care 

providers, nurses can play a key role in advocating for plans 

and policies that ensure health equity for everyone.


Eliminating Disparities Through Social Justice, Education, and 

Scholarship 

Sasha DuBois MSN, RN, President, New England 

Regional Black Nurses Association, Inc. 

Since 1972, the New 

England Regional Black Nurses 

Association, Inc. (NERBNA) has 

been a part of the national 

effort to unify, educate and 

increase the number of Black 

Nurses in this country. A 

chapter of the National Black 

Nurses Association, NERBNA, 

is dedicated to investigating, 

defining and determining the 

health care needs of Black 

Indigenous People of Color 

(BIPOC) throughout New 

England. NERBNA is committed to implementing the 

necessary changes to ensure that optimum health care 

is available to African Americans and other underserved 

communities. 

What We Stand For 

NERBNA offers educational programs addressing 

specific clinical issues affecting minority communities, 

ethical practice, and leadership development. Also, as 

a network of professional nurses, NERBNA works to 

maintain a database of New England's Black Nurses 

consisting of education, professional experience/ 

expertise, employment, etc. NERBNA advocates for and 

provides health services to the community to reduce 

mortality and morbidity in diseases that have a high 

incidence in the minority populations i.e. violence, 

cardiovascular disease, asthma, infant mortality, cancer, 

etc. NERBNA participates in local and national initiatives 

on Violence Prevention, Global Health, Mentorship and 

Brain Health. More importantly, NERBNA provides nursing 

mentorship and supports nursing students throughout 

their nursing education. We award scholarships for 

individuals pursuing a nursing degree from student nurse 

to the doctoral level. 

NERBNA’s Response to COVID 

Through the COVID pandemic and racism epidemic in 

the United States, NERBNA has been busy collaborating 

with organizations to combat health inequities, promote 

nursing professionalism, and fight for social justice. We 

recognize that our members’ priority is at the bedside 

and beyond to care for patients in crisis, and as a result 

they have saved lives while transforming their practice. 

Over the summer, NERBNA collaborated with the 

Organization of Nurse Leaders (ONL) to create a Diversity, 

Equity and Inclusion Pledge. 

Open to all nurses, this pledge was made in response 

for nurses to take a personal charge to contribute 

to social justice. This represents the first steps that 

any nurse can take to increase inclusivity, decrease 

disparities, and promote equity for nursing, patients, 

and their surrounding communities. The Diversity, Equity 

and Inclusion Pledge continues to gain support. To date, 

over 800 nurses from 46 states have taken the pledge. 

Recently, students of the MSN-CNL Nursing program at 

Augusta University in Georgia plan to incorporate the 

pledge into their White Coat and Graduation Ceremonies. 

In addition, NERBNA is in the 2020 cohort of the 

NBNA collaboration with the NIH All of Us Research 

program. Finally, NERBNA has collaborated with National 

Association of Hispanic Nurses Western <strong>Massachusetts</strong>, 

National Association of Hispanic Nurses <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

(Boston), National Association of Hispanic Nurses 

Hartford, Northern Connecticut Black Nurses Association, 

Southern Connecticut Black Nurses Association, Western 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> Black Nurses Association, and the Cape 

Verdean Nurses Association as conference partners 

for the past four years. These partners comprise the 

New England Minority Nurse Leadership Collaborative 

(NEMNLC). In collaboration we have received a $10,000 

award from the Network of the National Network of 

Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NNLM 

NER) to implement “The New England Minority Nursing 

Collaborative: Promoting Access to Health Information” 

project. 

Where You Belong 

Becoming a member of NERBNA is not just another 

organization in which to become a member. It is where 

you will understand your identity as well as grow 

professionally. Always inclusive, NERBNA is committed to 

building community and promoting nursing scholarship. 

We hold monthly meetings and also provide quarterly CE 

sessions. As a member, you gain access to online NBNA 

News, the national association's quarterly newsletter as 

well as a subscription to the Journal of the National Black 

Nurses Association, a bi-annual published professional 

refereed journal. Regarding nursing scholarship, you 

receive direct electronic mailing on nursing and health 

care issues and position papers on important issues 

impacting the health care of Black consumers. As a 

NERBNA member, you will see that collaborations are 

important for inclusivity and professionalism, and you 

will experience association partnerships with national 

organizations. If policy is a passion, we provide a unified 

voice for the profession of nursing to address public 

policy issues in Washington. Your network will grow as 

this is a network of Black nurses from around the country, 

the Caribbean, Canada and West Africa. If you are a 

member looking to expand your professionalism, you 

will have leadership opportunities through committees 

and task forces, speaking engagements at national and 

local conferences, and appointments to serve on external 

advisory committees. As a chapter of the National Black 

Nurses Association (NBNA), becoming a member of 

NERBNA automatically grants you membership to NBNA. 

Below are some of our upcoming events as well as our 

signature events: 

• NERBNA Chapter meetings are every third Tuesday 

5:30-7:30 September to June (currently via zoom 

due to COVID) 

• New England Minority Leadership Conference: 

December 5, 2020 

• National Black Nurses Association Day on Capital 

Hill: February 4, 2021 

• NERBNA 34th Excellence in Nursing awards 

Ceremony: February 26, 2021 

• NERBNA 49th Annual Spring Conference April 23, 

2021 

• NERBNA May chapter meeting and CE session 

annually hosted by Boston Children’s Hospital: 

May 18, 2021 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

<strong>Report</strong> on Nursing 

Updates 

Gail B Gall, PhD, RN, Co-Editor 

Just as most nursing teams approach problem-solving 

based on the good old “Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA)” 

approach, editors and staff are working on improving the 

newsletter. We’re striving to identify barriers to creating 

the best quarterly report for <strong>Massachusetts</strong> nurses. 

We’ve turned to ANAMASS staff and leaders as well as 

the abundant resources at Arthur L. Davis Publishing. 

We’re also gathering information from other state nursing 

publications. Our goal is to have useful guidelines in place 

for the next edition. 

Writing, like nursing is both an art and a science. The 

art lies in choosing the topic, words, and phrases, drawing 

word pictures and conveying the message honestly. The 

science is another matter altogether. We’ve tapped 

resources and consulted with experts in copyright 

protection and manuscript guidelines. We’re tracking how 

frequently the electronic version is viewed and what is 

actually read. 

We appreciate offerings of nurses in practice, 

research, and education and strive to represent diversity 

in perspectives and demographics of our contributing 

authors. We urge you to share your talents, stories, 

reflections, and visions for improving the newsletter. 

• Remember, the deadline for the next edition is 

JANUARY 1, 2021. 

• Send suggestions or comments to newsletter@ 

anamass.org 

• Enter: editorial suggestions in the subject line. 

WE ARE LAYING 

THE FOUNDATION 

OF TOMORROW 

Join Lawrence General Hospital, the best in the Merrimack Valley! We provide a 

strong professional practice environment for nurses who value compassionate 

care and each other. 

We are seeking experienced nurses who thrive in a teamwork-based environment 

where a positive practice culture is available without the Boston commute. 

Lawrence General currently offers the most competitive rates in the area 

including a $10/hour differential for night shift RN positions. You will enjoy our 

accessible location and free parking! 

Visit www.lawrencegeneral.org/careers to view openings.


Fostering Gender-Affirming Care – An Interview with Dallas Ducar 

Pamela Coombs 

Delis 

Pamela Coombs Delis, PhD, RN, CNE 

MGH Institute of Health Professions 

she/her/hers 

Dallas M. Ducar MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, CNL 

CEO, Transhealth Northampton 

she/her/hers 

Introduction 

Dallas Ducar is a nurse practitioner who is dedicating 

her career to serving the needs of the gender diverse 

community. Her goal is to dismantle oppressive 

healthcare systems and to empower every individual to 

control their healthcare journey, making the path a joyous 

and open-hearted one. Dallas is working with a diverse 

group of clinicians and non-profit leaders to build a new 

non-profit transgender healthcare program in western 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>. The program will be deeply rooted in 

community-based participatory action and is informed 

by a robust community study. I sat down with Dallas 

Ducar to speak more about barriers facing gender-diverse 

individuals and how to best provide care. 

What are some risks that gender-diverse people face 

across <strong>Massachusetts</strong>? 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> has a diverse, vibrant, and disproportionately 

young self-identified LGBTQ+ population. Despite a strong 

Gail B. Gall, PhD, RN 

One of our new ANA 

MASS members, Heiu 

Tieu, began her health care 

career as a human resource 

(HR) coordinator at Boston 

Medical Center then moved 

to Beth Israel Deaconess 

Medical Center (BIDMC) as an 

organizational development 

coordinator and then as 

program administrator for 

faculty development. These 

roles brought her close to 

nursing leadership and she 

became interested in quality 

Dallas M. Ducar 

improvement. Hieu earned an MBA in health care 

and subsequently decided to become a family nurse 

practitioner via the MGH Institute of Health Professions 

direct entry program (DEN). She returned to Beth 

Israel in early 2017 to become a member of the Cardiac 

community, gender diverse folks (transgender and nonbinary 

people) face higher rates of discrimination and 

greater risk of depression, suicide, and homelessness 

(The Boston Foundation, 2020). In 2015, the National 

Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) examined the 

experiences of persons identifying as transgender 

(N=27,715), including those residing in <strong>Massachusetts</strong> (n 

= 1,195). Despite Federal and State anti-discrimination 

laws, they reported discrimination, harassment, and/ 

or assault in schools, employment, housing, shelter 

access, restrooms, and other public places, and by law 

enforcement. 

How can we get better at providing healthcare to 

gender diverse patients? 

A strong need exists for sensitive and knowledgeable 

healthcare addressing the specific needs of the transgender 

community. The NCTE survey (2015) uncovered a concerning 

view of healthcare. Of <strong>Massachusetts</strong> respondents: 28% 

experienced denial of insurance coverage for routine care 

or transition-related care, 31% of those who saw a health 

care provider (HCP) in the previous year had a negative 

experience due to being transgender, and 20% feared 

mistreatment, and therefore did not seek care. 

What are some of the barriers that gender-diverse 

patients face when achieving care? 

Two problems gender diverse people have with 

accessing appropriate healthcare are locating 

knowledgeable HCPs and paying for services. Additionally, 

those living outside of major urban areas such as Boston 

have greater difficulty in accessing care appropriate to 

the needs of the transgender community (<strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

Transgender Political Coalition, 2020). Patients desire 

gender-affirming healthcare, a term often used in the 

community but not always defined. Gender-affirming 

care is a form of care which enables one to live their 

authentic gender, this can include, but is not limited to, 

medical care. 

What struggles do patients in rural settings face, in 

particular? 

Many patients in rural settings are without care or 

travel exceptionally long distances to receive care. A 

Welcome new member Hieu Tieu, MBA, MSN, 

FNP-BC: Influencing and improving patient care 

Heiu Tieu 

Physiology team where her focus is not only on direct 

patient care but also improving patients’ experiences in 

both inpatient and outpatient care as well as transitions 

between these. Hieu believes that nurses are particularly 

aware of the importance of care continuity in assuring 

optimal outcomes. 

By focusing on building trust within the team, 

Hieu, along with her NP and nursing colleagues are 

collaborating with physician leaders to create more 

seamless processes in patient triage and clinical 

workflow. Currently BIDMC has returned to 90% capacity 

and her regular clinics are fully booked. She is focusing 

on developing metrics to measure quality improvement 

processes and mentoring young NPs. 

Heiu joined ANAMASS for several reasons. Her 

HR background led her to seek out a professional 

organization that would provide benefits and 

opportunities focusing on practice and advocacy. As a 

board-certified nurse practitioner, access to the ANCC 

recertification process and professional development 

programs also influenced her choice. 

ANAMASS welcomes her membership and anticipates 

her success as she pursues these worthy goals. 

need exists for culturally humble, trauma-informed 

care, including available interpreters, transportation, 

and telehealth services. Importantly, this involves 

wrap-around services - one center where all genderaffirming 

care (primary care, mental healthcare, specialty 

services, holistic services, training and support groups) 

is housed. Gender-affirming spaces must make room for 

the community, include inclusive signage, implement 

programming based on community feedback, and include 

advisory boards that provide input on program design, 

form changes, and policy. 

What is one of the most important facets of genderaffirming 

care? 

Patient outcomes rely on trust, without which 

morbidity and mortality increase. Appropriate care is 

affirming care (Reisner, White, Dunham, et al. 2014). 

One-fifth of NCTE survey respondents postponed or 

went without healthcare because of past perceived 

discrimination, while 28% of respondents did not seek 

care in the past year, and 29% had to teach their HCP 

about transgender health issues. To eliminate barriers 

between the patient and the HCP, systems must hire 

gender-diverse HCPs, especially those from within the 

transgender/gender diverse community, to bring about 

awareness of needs and to facilitate a culture of trust. 

HCPs must reduce conscious and unconscious bias and 

reduce rates of perceived discrimination. All patients, 

regardless of identity, deserve a safe, secure space to 

ensure that preventative, urgent and/or emergent care 

are not delayed. 

Nursing Objectives for Transgender Care (P. C. Delis & D. 

M. Ducar, 2020) 

Nursing objectives for transgender care include the 

following: 

1. Be aware of the vulnerability the patient may feel 

in accessing healthcare. 

2. Ask the patient what their preferred name and 

pronouns are and consistently use them. 

3. Familiarize yourself with any definitions and terms 

that you do not understand prior to the clinical 

encounter. 

4. Understand that affirmation involves three steps: 

a. Listening 

b. Responding with compassion 

c. Paying attention 

5. Remember that HCPs do not decide whether a 

patient feels safe, the patient does. 

6. Be aware that identity does not always match 

definitions so always ask, never assume. 

7. Examine and acknowledge personal bias. 

8. Affirm the shared humanity of all patients.


Meet our New Directors 

Chris Caulfield, RN, NP-C 

Chris Caulfield, MSN, 

RN, NP-C is the co-founder 

and Chief Nursing Officer 

of IntelyCare Inc. Chris is 

passionate about decreasing 

short-staffing practices 

and improving patient 

care delivery. His nursing 

background includes Long 

Term Care facilities, Advanced 

Practice, and as a hospital cochair 

representing his fellow 

Nurses through the MNA. 

Chris's strategic vision focuses on addressing nurses’ 

fundamental questions about what an organization does 

and how it affects them. 

IntelyCare provides a platform for nurses and nursing 

assistants to make their own schedules and strengthen 

their proficiency by gaining experience in a variety of 

settings and expand knowledge and skills in post-acute 

health care through online training. The company's 

goal is to “give nursing professionals control over their 

schedules, and health care facilities the power to find 

the experienced staff they need.”[i] In August 2020, the 

Boston Business Journal noted that IntelyCare was the 

fastest-growing <strong>Massachusetts</strong> company on the Inc.5000 

list. 

ANAMASS welcomes Chris to the Board of Directors 

and anticipates that his expertise in informatics and 

social media strategies will be an important asset toward 

improving membership recruitment, engagement, and 

retention. 

Retrieved from http://intgelycare.com Intelycare.com / 

on October 5, 2020. 

Eilse Pierre-Louis, BSN, RN 

Eilse has been a registered nurse for eight years and 

has experience in behavioral health, ambulatory care, and 

women’s health. Eilse finds being a nurse fulfilling, and 

exciting. Nursing allows her to live a new adventure every 

day by improving efficiency, creating solid foundations for 

teamwork, and ensuring continuity of care. 

Hiring Full Time School Nurse, R.N. 

Responsible for oversight of the health, medication acquisition and distribution 

for all individuals within the agency and is the lead trainer for all staff in areas 

related to health medication and overall well-being. 

• B.S.N. from an accredited school of nursing. 

• Preferably 2+ years of experience in the field of autism/developmental disorders or 

experience in a residential setting. 

• Valid Driver’s License Required. 

• Salary is commensurate with experience. 

archwayinc.org 

During her baccalaureate 

studies, Eilse collaborated 

with the Women & Infants 

Hospital leadership to improve 

policies and reduce racial 

disparities in maternal care. 

This transformative experience 

inspired her to become a 

post-partum doula and focus 

on new ways to support 

vulnerable communities. 

Becoming an ANAMASS 

Board of Directors member 

is one of her greatest 

accomplishments. 

“I am deeply honored to be in a leadership position 

as ANAMASS is wholeheartedly devoted to empowering 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>’ registered nurses.” 

Eilse’s view is that the global health pandemic 

challenges nurses to remain connected and to continue 

offering the highest level of care and support. With 

colleagues, Eilse organized a virtual town hall series to 

address the psychological impact on nurses and patients 

by making referrals for resources and social service 

programs. Additionally, Eilse is creating an action plan to 

present to government offices, health care organizations, 

and community leaders to support implementing 

proactive measures that follow CDC recommendations. 

ANAMASS warmly welcomes Eilse and the 

experiences, insight and energy she brings to the Board of 

Directors. 

New Graduate Director 

Casey Crawford, MA, BSN, RN 

Casey is registered 

nurse with experience in 

international relations, politics, 

and security, as well as event 

planning and promotion. 

He has well-developed 

communication, writing and 

presentation skills. He currently 

works as a registered nurse in 

the Surgical Intensive Care Unit 

at U.S. Department of Veteran 

Affairs, Boston Healthcare 

System. As a new graduate, 

director Casey would like to take on the task of developing 

additional opportunities to recruit a more diverse youthful 

membership and create a new nurse coalition. 

ANAMASS welcomes Casey and looks forward to his 

contributions towards expanding diversity among the 

membership. 

Membership 

Engagement 

Committee Notes 

Greetings! 

We know that nurses are especially busy, and under 

great stress in whatever role you are serving. But you may 

find that spending some time with like-minded nurses 

could be a really good way to engage in the self-care 

we all need right now. Self-care is essential for nurses 

during this pandemic. Nurses in all roles are challenged 

by their day-to-day work, especially those who have lost 

employment due to cuts made in healthcare services. 

We encourage those of you who haven’t joined ANA 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> yet to consider joining. 

For those who are already members, but not yet 

actively involved in ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong>, we urge you to 

join a committee. 

ANAMASS Membership options: 

• ANA initiated a new membership level for nurses 

who would like to join but have been deterred 

by costs. We encourage all nurses who are not 

yet members to take another look at whether 

this enables you to join/rejoin your professional 

organization. 

• ANA offers a Premier membership that 

incorporates existing members. This membership 

offers additional benefits and perks such as an 

extra $100 off ANCC Certification, free unlimited 

continuing education from the Lippincott 

NursingCenter.com library, free webinars 

(including certification exam taking skills), and an 

additional 25% off any ANA Publication purchase. 

• For more information about membership: https:// 

www.anamass.org/ 

Getting involved with the Membership Engagement 

Committee 

We meet monthly using Zoom to discuss trends in 

membership numbers, brainstorm about ways to engage 

members, and plan outreach to both nurses and nursing 

students encouraging them to join. When we are not 

amid a pandemic, we have an annual in-person meeting 

for strategic planning. 

We are always interested in welcoming new members 

to the committee, so reach out to Lisa Presutti at 

lpresutti@anamass.org who will forward your interest to 

our co-chairs, Silda Melo and Janet Ross. If our committee 

isn’t the right fit for your interests, please consider joining 

another one that will suit you better. A list of committees 

can be found at https://www.anamass.org/page/211 

Lowell Community Health Center has 

exciting opportunities for RN’s and 

LPN’s looking to make a difference. 

We offer a supportive and collaborative work 

environment that is committed to helping you meet 

your professional goals. 

Lowell CHC works to provide the best possible 

experience for our patients, family and our 

dedicated team members. 

We pride ourselves on our commitment to 

community health, patient and family centered care, 

inclusivity and culturally informed care. 

We support our employees with a friendly, family 

oriented atmosphere, collaborative culture and 

work-life balance. 

Please visit our website: 

https://www.lchealth.org/job-seekers 

Or contact us by email at: 

HRRecruiting@lchealth.org


Nursing Policy in Times of Uncertainty surviving, 

thriving on the edge 

Leadership in policy 

and care quality and 

safety 

Rebecca M. Patton, 

DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN 

Margarete L. Zalon, 

PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN 

Ruth Ludwick, 

PhD, RN-BC, APRN-CNS, FAAN 

Marian K. Shaughnessy 

Nurse Leadership Academy 

Case Western Reserve University 

https://case.edu/nursing/nurse-leadershipacademy 

As we confront new and existing realities and 

move into this decade launched by the Year of 

the Nurse and Midwife, we critically examine the 

history and the future of nursing by inaugurating 

a new column called, Leadership in Policy, Care 

Quality and Safety. The purpose of the column is 

to engage nurses in dialogue and galvanize them 

to take leadership in the individual but overlapping 

aspects of policy, care quality and safety. Each 

quarter you will find a short column on a topic 

related to one or more of these intersecting factors. 

Leadership is the framework that underpins each 

column. We believe that no matter where nurses 

work or the position held, leadership is a critical skill 

for all nurses not only those who hold titles that 

imply leadership, e.g. manager, director, dean, but 

every nurse regardless of practice setting or role. 

Our goal is to raise awareness about the leadership 

opportunities in policy, care quality, and safety 

across settings, specialties, communities and the 

globe by focusing on inspiring exemplars and action 

steps that can be taken by nurses. 

Rebecca M. Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN 

Margarete L. Zalon, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN 

Ruth Ludwick, PhD, RN-BC, APRN-CNS, FAAN 

Marian K. Shaughnessy 

Nurse Leadership Academy 

Case Western Reserve University 

https://case.edu/nursing/nurse-leadershipacademy 

Call to Action 

As we write this column during the COVID-19 

pandemic, we are in the midst of unprecedented 

change and risk for our personal lives, our families, our 

professional lives, our communities, our country, and 

our world. Little did we think when we planned this 

column about policy, leadership, quality and safety that 

we would be facing one of the greatest challenges in our 

lifetimes. This crisis has thrust nurses into the forefront 

of the public’s mind. How ironic that this coincides with 

the World Health Organization’s declaration that this 

is the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. While nurses 

are essential on the frontlines at the sharp edge of care, 

it is the lens of nurses that provide critical insights in 

evaluating and formulating policy to achieve quality and 

safety patient care outcomes. 

Everyday nurses walk the tightrope of uncertainty. 

The uncertainty of practice is a constant that requires the 

attention of all nurses, vigilance, and most importantly 

activism. COVID-19 has magnified these unknowns to 

astronomical proportions. The accelerated pace of 

uncertainty with COVID-19 has led to care dilemmas 

and crises, with variations in practice standards that 

negatively impact health outcomes. 

We are bombarded with challenges like mass 

shootings, climate change, water supply, and emerging 

diseases. Now we are in the midst of a pandemic, which 

not only impacts the health of our communities and 

workforce, but has dire financial consequences for so 

many. How many of these challenges have you faced? 

What challenges have you faced that are not even listed 

here? What will come next? We don’t always know what 

will come next. We do know that nurses will be there on 

the frontlines. When nurses are asked to volunteer in a 

crisis, they show up for wars, disasters, and pandemics. 

Nurses are in the frontlines of policy implementation. 

Often in times of crisis, policies are disregarded, ignored, 

or unofficially discarded. Nurses often know whether a 

policy is workable, flawed or whether it is doomed to fail. 

We have seen policy failures like changing instructions 

on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as 

supplies dwindle. On the other hand, times of crisis can 

lead to policy gains as illustrated by a willingness to allow 

advance practice registered nurses full practice authority. 

To counteract policy failures, correct flaws and take 

advantage of opportunities for policy advancements, we 

need to be knowledgeable, and prepared. This means 

participating in policy so that we understand concerns 

expressed by broad constituencies and take action using 

our nursing expertise. This expertise is needed so that 

the policies are realistic, workable and meet the needs 

they were designed to address. Policy is more than 

enacting a law; it includes formulating rules, regulations 

and guidelines. Policies occur at many levels, often simply 

referred to as Big “P” and little “p”, the former often 

focus on state, federal or international laws and the latter 

to local government or local associations or organizations. 

Move to Action 

Moving to action requires identifying the preferred 

outcome with clarity. This is achieved by examining the 

data, sharing information, and capitalize on your skills to 

move an issue forward. 

Know the data, appraise credibility of sources, and 

interpret its meaning 

“In God we trust, but everyone else needs to bring 

data” 

This quote attributed to Edward Fisher when testifying 

before Congress (Source) is a fitting start for policy 

involvement. Nurses have the knowledge and are in a 

unique position to use and leverage data for patient 

advocacy. Knowing the data, appraising sources and 

interpreting its meaning are critical steps in the processes 

for research, quality improvement and evidence-based 

practice. Nurses all have intellectual capital related to 

these processes regardless of their practice setting or 

role. Your intellectual capital can be enhanced with the 

following strategies: 

• Use the resources available from professional 

associations: the American Nurses Association, 

state nurses associations, specialty nurses 

associations and interdisciplinary professional 

groups. 

• Subscribe to a wide variety of data sources 

including journals, news alerts, list servs 

• Track and identify progress on issues you are 

passionate about 

• Determine the credibility of sources 

• Verify the facts 

• Identify content experts for policy issues 

• Interpret the meaning 

• Identify policy implications of research and quality 

improvement projects 

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses in the data 

in support of your 

• Sift fact verifying the facts and determining the 

credibility of sources 

• Interpret the meaning of information 

Have the stories, share them widely. 

Stories can be more powerful than only presenting 

data. Stories provide an emotional tug, create drama, 

and provide context. Stories get attention, but data 

strengthens the power of stories. Most stories have 

multiple audiences. Framing your story in a way that 

varying audiences understand transmits important 

knowledge and fosters identification with stark realities. 

Storying telling is subject to several caveats. With the 

advent of social media, sharing stories has become easier, 

it also has created a medium for false stories to grow 

exponentially (as they are often salaciously framed). 

Second, be aware of people and organizations that try 

to block stories, especially when bad news happens. (p 

320 book) As the most trusted profession, nurses have a 

strategic position opportunity to frame and share their 

narratives widely with a variety of audiences at the little 

p to the Big P to level as outlined below varying audiences 

and frame stories using the following avenues. These 

strategies are not static and can be adapted to the virtual 

world. Garnering the support of colleagues, stakeholders 

and the public can be accomplished with these strategies: 

• Post digital content (social media) 

• Disseminate facts and reports in print media 

(fact sheets, policy briefs, articles, letters, press 

releases) 

• Disseminate research findings 

• Engage key stakeholders 

• Contact legislators about key issues on an ongoing 

basis and when votes come up 

• Speaking up at public meetings 

• Presenting in public forums 

• Model inspirational behaviors 

• Participate in town hall meetings 

• Meet with legislators and regulators 

• Create elevator speeches 

• Be social media savvy 

Know your skills, capitalize on them. 

Nurses have the skills to move beyond only being 

implementers of policy and only on the sharp edge of 

policies; we need to be the developers of policies. To 

capitalize on the potential of four million nurses, all 

nurses in any setting or role need to assess how their 

skills can be applied to policy. This positions nurses to 

enhance practice and the work environment as well as 

advance issues of importance to nurses and the public we 

serve. Policy work needs to become ingrained as part of 

the culture of nursing. P. 470 

Common and overlooked strategies to improve an 

individual policy role would include the following which 

you can act upon immediately : 

• Register and vote 

• Be a poll worker 

• Join interest-based organizations and become an 

active member 

• Finding a mentor 

• Volunteer to work on a campaign. 

• Serve on a workplace committee, task force or 

practice council 

• Attend networking events 

• Participate in legislative days 

• Contribute to candidates and political action 

committees 

• Complete your profile for Nurses on Boards 

(nursesonboard.org) 

• Seek local community board positions 

• Communicate with elected officials 

• Capitalize on workplace communication channels 

for policy discussions 

• Volunteering for an organizational or communitybased 

initiative 

The following are generally are longer term actions, 

but can be done in the short-term as well depending your 

policy trajectory: 

• Assume a leadership role for a workplace 

committee, task force or practice council 

• Be a mentor 

• Representing your organization to the external 

community 

• Seek an internship or fellowship with a legislator 

or other policymaker 

• Further your formal policy and content education 

• Serve on a political action committee board 

• Seek a board position 

• Volunteer for appointed office 

• Run for office in your organization or community 

In times of uncertainty, there are certainties. One 

certainty is the mandate for all nurses becoming involved 

in policy. The American Nurses Association’s Code of 

Ethics for Nurses’ (2015) supports nurses’ roles in policy 

with the expectation that nurses advocate for the health 

and safety of patients, collaborate in the promotion 

of health, work to improve the ethical environment of 

practice settings, and advance the profession through 

nursing and health policy. 

We have highlighted strategies that nurses should use 

to increase their involvement in making policy decisions 

to strengthen our practice and improve the health of the 

public we serve. The collective action of over four million 

nurses in our country and 21 million nurses across the 

globe has the potential to be a powerful force for policy 

change. 

American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of Ethics for Nurses with 

interpretive statements. Silver Spring, MD: Author. https://www. 

nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/codeof-ethics-for-nurses/


Join ANA and ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

for just $15 per Month! 

Joining ANAMASS and ANA is a smart choice to achieve quality patient care, advance 

your career and elevate our profession! 

Empowering <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Nurses to advance the profession 

Since 1903, <strong>Massachusetts</strong> nurses have helped define, regulate and improve nursing 

to the benefit of nurses and patients across the Commonwealth. Now, more than 100 

years later, nurses continue to advocate for the profession with the support of ANA 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>. 

Joint membership in ANAMASS and ANA is now only $15/month. 

JOIN TODAY OR MAIL application or CALL 1.800.284-2378 

With professional membership in ANAMASS, you can be a powerful voice that 

speaks boldly for nursing and boldly for the practice environment. Membership in 

ANAMASS and ANA enables you to become a full participant in defining your profession 

now and into the future. Your voice will be heard when ANAMASS speaks out on crucial 

nursing issues. 

Just $15/month gives you access to all of these great benefits and more: 

Discounts On Continuing Education/Nursing Professional Development 

FREE Webinars - Navigate Nursing Webinars with free CE 

Exclusive Savings On Certification Through the American Nurses Credentialing Center 

Advocacy - Protect Your Practice and Improve the Quality of Care 

FREE Subscriptions to ANA Journals and Newsletters 

Further YOUR Career 

https://www.anamass.org/page/Membership2020 

2020 Scholarship Recipients 

Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency, Inc. Scholarship: The Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency, 

Inc. Scholarship is presented annually by the Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency to an ANA 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> member to pursue a further degree in nursing. 

Rina Ambrose, BSN, RN 

The 2020 recipient of the Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency, Inc. 

Scholarship, Rina Ambrose, is a home care nurse who has worked 

closely with children and families and in Boston Public Schools. The 

mother of a patient wrote “Rina was very competent and instilled 

confidence….... She is a great teacher and was focused on our 

daughter’s pulmonary health and developmental needs…. Rina 

made sure new nurses knew how to care for our baby.” 

Rina will be using the scholarship to continue her studies at 

Chamberlain University in pursuit of her master’s degree and 

goal of achieving certification as a family nurse practitioner. Her 

special interest is caring for families with disabilities in low income 

communities. “I want the families I care for to have knowledge and 

resources to promote good health.” 

Ruth Lang Fitzgerald Memorial Scholarship: The Fitzgerald scholarship is presented annually 

by the Fitzgerald family in memory of Ruth Lang Fitzgerald a founding member of MARN (Now 

ANAMASS). The scholarship may be used to attend an educational project or some other 

educational activity. It may also be used for participation in a humanitarian aid project. 

Laura Duff, RN, BSN 

The 2020 recipient of the Fitzgerald Scholarship, Laura Duff, is 

a staff nurse in the Cardiac Intermediate Care Unit at Beth Israel 

Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Laura’s passions are public 

health, service to others, and leadership. Laura is a member of 

her floor’s Unit Based Council that serves as a voice for the nurses 

by brainstorming, designing, and implementing new projects to 

improve care quality and effectiveness. Laura is also an active 

member of the ANAMASS Health Policy Committee. 

Laura will be using the scholarship to attend the DNP Public 

Health Nurse Leader program at University of <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

Amherst. 

Sandra M. Reissour Memorial Scholarship: Is ANAMASS’ 

newest scholarship which was established by the ANAMASS Approver Unit in 2019 in memory 

of Sandra Reissour. Sandra served the Approver Unit for many years as the Co-Chair and was a 

founding member of ANAMASS . This scholarship is given to a nurse who exemplifies dedication 

to nursing continuing education. 

Scott R. Waite, BNS, RN, CCRN 

Scott Waite is the 2020 inaugural recipient of the Reissour 

Scholarship. Scott is a Nursing Professional Development Manager 

at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and has a deep commitment 

to continuing education. He has also coordinated and delivered 

orientation training for new nurses in several area hospitals. He has 

worked on many special projects including regulatory compliance, 

staff development, and integrated health care management 

Scott’s Master’s Capstone is creating a night staff development 

program, “Coffee Talk,” for night shift nurses to increase 

accessibility to educational programs, positive perception of 

administrative support, and overall job satisfaction. One of the 

program topics addresses staff response to emergency situations 

including: calling a code, roles in a code, defibrillator use and code 

cart inventory. 

Scott will be using the Reissour Scholarship to attend the Association for Nursing Professional 

Development (ANPD) Virtual Certification Preparation Course. 

who is the 

masthead 

nurse? 

Sophie Caroline Nelson 

Sophie Caroline Nelson (1886-1964) graduated from the Waltham Training 

School in 1912. She did private duty nursing and served on the Cambridge Board of 

Health before joining the American Red Cross’s (ARC) efforts during World War I. 

She provided pediatric nursing services in Belgium and France. As ARC’s Assistant 

Director in Central Europe and the Balkans, and as subsequently the Acting 

Director of ARC’s European Nursing Services she established hospitals to care for 

refugee children and families. Following the War she completed a program in public 

health nursing at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1924. From 1925-1953, 

Nelson was the Director of Visiting Nurse Services providing care to John Hancock 

Insurance Company’s policy-holders. Nelson served as President of the National 

Organization for Public Health Nursing from 1930-1934 and contributed many 

papers to its journal. She assumed the leadership of the National Nursing Council 

overseeing the completion of its World War II responsibility. The <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

Public Health Association honored Nelson with its Lemuel Shattuck Award. The Red 

Cross did the same when it presented Nelson with its’ Florence Nightingale Medal.


Inspired by compassion 

The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare: 

meeting the changing needs of caregivers 25 years later 

Matt Herndon, Chief Executive Officer 

In the late summer of 1995, when Boston healthcare attorney, Ken Schwartz, was 

nearing the end of his journey with lung cancer, he gathered a group of dear friends, 

family, and trusted caregivers and shared with them his vision for an organization 

dedicated to nurturing compassion in healthcare. He felt strongly that all patients 

should experience the type of caregiver-patient relationships that had buoyed him and 

that he so deeply appreciated during his illness. 

At the time of Schwartz’s death, the healthcare system was moving toward managed 

care, HMOs and other changes designed to cut costs in healthcare. 

“Ken understood that the relationship between the patient and the caregiver was 

as important as the treatment,” said Mimi Bartholomay, MSN, former oncology clinical 

nurse specialist at <strong>Massachusetts</strong> General Hospital, who cared for Schwartz when he 

was sick. “We would have long discussions about his fears and what these changes 

meant for healthcare.” 

“Ken was worried that there would be a rationing of empathy. He really wanted us to 

think about, do something about, and advocate for the centrality of the patient-caregiver 

relationship,” said Ellen Cohen, who was Schwartz’s wife and is president of the Schwartz 

Center Board of Directors. “And he was very clear, he didn’t want it to be just about 

the doctor-patient relationship, it was about the relationship between patients and all 

caregivers – doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, everybody.” 

Thus, the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare was born out of a deeply 

personal desire to turn an intensely difficult time into something that would ease 

suffering and bring compassion to others. 

“We had lost this wonderful person and we were determined to make something 

good come of it,” said Betsy Frawley, Schwartz Center Honorary Board member. 

The group began by creating what has become the organization’s signature program, 

Schwartz Rounds,® which are convenings designed to offer healthcare providers and 

staff a regularly scheduled time to openly and honestly discuss the social and emotional 

issues they face in caring for patients and families. The idea was that caregivers are 

better able to make personal connections with patients and colleagues when they have 

greater insight into their own responses and feelings. Today, Schwartz Rounds take 

place at hundreds of organizational member sites in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, 

Australia and New Zealand. 

“Schwartz Rounds is a beacon in the world, because it brings people together. It 

creates this incredibly unique counter-cultural space where people can actually talk 

about how they’re feeling and what their experiences are like,” said Beth Lown, MD, 

Schwartz Center chief medical officer. 

As healthcare moved into more outpatient settings, the Schwartz Center developed 

Unit-Based Schwartz Rounds to provide the same support, but with greater flexibility. 

In 2017, the Schwartz Center launched its Compassion in Action Healthcare 

Conference to bring together hundreds of healthcare clinicians, leaders and others 

interested in the compassionate delivery of healthcare. Sessions addressed timely 

issues impacting healthcare, such as immigration and transgender issues. This 

year’s conference took place virtually and included programs on how to manage the 

challenges of the pandemic. 

As healthcare has changed, the Schwartz Center has introduced new programs and 

adapted existing ones to meet the changing needs of caregivers. 

Following the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, the Schwartz Center created a special 

Schwartz Rounds program designed to help caregivers cope with the extreme stress of 

providing care in the aftermath of a mass casualty trauma. The Schwartz Center followed up 

on this in subsequent years in response to mass casualty shootings around the country. 

“I feel like the Schwartz Center has been nimble in responding to situations that we 

never could have imagined initially. In the face of these horrible tragedies we found a 

way to connect with caregivers in those areas and be a resource for them to know they 

are not alone with their distress,” said Cohen. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the Schwartz Center launched a full 

complement of programs and resources to meet the needs of caregivers including a 

COVID-19 resource page with tips, information and links to resources. It hosted a special 

series of Compassion in Action webinars focused on issues around coping during this 

pandemic. More than 7,000 people from 20 plus countries took part in these webinars. 

With the limitations around in-person gatherings due to COVID-19, the Schwartz 

Center developed Virtual Schwartz Rounds, remote convenings that take place using 

online meeting platforms. And it has offered a new Stress First Aid (SFA) program to 

help caregivers at risk of mental health and other conditions recognize the danger signs 

of stress in themselves and in peers, to overcome the stigma of reaching out for help, 

and to provide access to support and resources. 

“I think Ken would really be impressed and proud at how the Center has grown and 

it continues to be so relevant,” said Cohen. “The issues that we deal with, and that we 

hold so dear, and that we value – they are more relevant than ever.” 

Challenges at the forefront of healthcare today remain large and include systemic 

issues like racial inequities, social determinants and access to quality healthcare for all. 

“Ken was hoping for a more compassionate healthcare system. That can only take 

place within the context of a compassionate world,” said Lown. The Schwartz Center 

“Ken understood that the relationship between the 

patient and the caregiver was as important as the 

treatment,” said Mimi Bartholomay, MSN, former 

oncology clinical nurse specialist at <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

General Hospital, who cared for Schwartz when he 

was sick. “We would have long discussions about his 

fears and what these changes meant for healthcare.” 

Inspired by compassion continued on page 19


American Academy of Nursing 2020 Conference, Awards 

and New Inductees 

Inge B. Corless PhD RN FNAP FAAN 

The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) was developed 

in 1973 to serve the public and the nursing profession by 

advancing health policy, practice, and science through 

organizational excellence and effective nursing leadership. 

The Academy and its more than 2,700 members create 

and execute knowledge-driving and policy-related initiates 

to drive reform of America's health system. i The 2020 

annual meeting and induction ceremony was held virtually 

from Oct. 29-31 with the theme “In Crisis and in Calm, 

Leading with Purpose”. The focus was on “the unique 

role the nursing profession plays in achieving equitable 

care- especially as we grapple with an increasingly grave 

global health crisis.” ii For the Academy inductees it was 

“Connect, Collaborate, and Celebrate”. In this review, we will 

emphasize the Academy inductees from <strong>Massachusetts</strong> or 

some with a <strong>Massachusetts</strong> connection. 

President Eileen Sullivan-Marx led an excellent meeting 

that included discussions related to COVID-19, racism, 

achieving health equity, the year of the nurse and midwife 

among other topics. 

One of the first celebrations was of the individuals 

designated COVID-19 Award Winners including: 

Ukamara Oruche PhD RN PMHCNS FAAN (innovation) 

Marissa Pietrolungo MSN RN CCRN (Leadership) 

Doris Grinspun PHD RN (LLD (hon) Dr (hc) FAAN,O (Policy) 

Jason Farley PhD MSN MPH ANP-BC AACRN FAAN 

(Science). 

In a separate ceremony the following leaders were 

honored for improving health and health care: 

Admiral Susan Orsega MSN FNP-BC FAANP FAAN 

Stephanie Ferguson PhD RN FNAP FAAN 

Sheila Burke MPA RN FAAN 

Millicent Graham MBA FAAN 

Patrick DeLeon PhD SD MPH FAAN 

Every year AAN celebrates those who have made 

outstanding, life-long contributions to nursing and health 

care. This year those named Living Legends include: 

Linda Harman Aiken PhD RN FRCN FAAN 

Bobbie Berkowitz PhD RN NEA-BC FAAN 

Kathleen “Kitty” Buckwalter PhD RN FAAN 

Beverly Malone PhD RN FAAN 

Marilyn Rantz PhD RN FAAN 

i Retrieved 11_04_2020 from: https://www.aannet.org/ 

about/about-the-academy 

ii Retrieved 11_04_2020 from: https://www. 

academypolicyconference.com/ 

During the induction ceremony, the AAN President’s 

Award was given to Lord Nigel Crsip; Karen Donelan ScD 

EdM (the inaugural Stuart H. Altman Professor of U.S. 

Health Policy at the Heller School at Brandeis University 

and a Senior scientist and Associate Professor of Medicine; 

at the Mongan Institute of Health Policy Research Center at 

the MGH and Harvard Medical School); Ahrin Mishan MPS, 

MAVA; and a final President’s Award was given to a physician 

who graduated from Holy Cross College in 1962, is married 

to a nursing leader (but that’s not why he received the 

award), and is Chief of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation 

and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and 

Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

As you can see the new inductees to the American 

Academy of Nursing from <strong>Massachusetts</strong> are in good 

company. 

Andrew Dwyer, PhD, FNP- 

BC, FNAP, FAAN 

I believe that the collective 

strength of nursing is a 

powerful and important 

force for helping to alleviate 

disparities to genomic 

healthcare. 

Dr. Dwyer is a boardcertified 

Family Nurse 

Practitioner with 20+ years of 

experience in endocrinology 

and translational research at the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> General 

Hospital (MGH) in Boston and the University Hospital 

of Lausanne in Switzerland. He received his Bachelor 

of Science degree in Human Development and Family 

Studies from Cornell University, a Masters’ degree in 

Nursing from the MGH Institute of Health Professions 

and a PhD from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). 

Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at Boston College 

William F. Connell School of Nursing, an external Faculty 

Nurse Scientist in the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing 

Research at the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> General Hospital and 

a Researcher in the Harvard Reproductive Endocrine 

Sciences Center. His clinical focus is reproductive 

endocrinology and he specializes in genetics and 

disorders of growth/puberty. He has worked in 

interprofessional research teams and has contributed to 

the discovery of 17 genes underlying Kallmann syndrome 

and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. He has authored/ 

co-authored >100 articles and he presents his work 

internationally. He holds leadership positions in several 

professional organizations including the Global Genomic 

Nursing Alliance, International Society of Nurses in 

Genetics, Endocrine Nurses Society, Pediatric Endocrine 

Nursing Society and Sigma Theta Tau International (Alpha 

Chi). He previously served as Vice-Chair of the European 

Society of Paediatric Endocrine Nursing and a nursing 

board member of the European Society of Endocrinology. 

In 2018, he was named a Distinguished Fellow in the 

National Academies of Practice and was inducted into the 

American Academy of Nursing in 2020. Dr. Dwyer is an 

NIH-funded researcher who utilizes patient engagement 

and digital solutions to address key challenges in genetic 

literacy and disparities in genomic healthcare. 

Viola Karanja, BSN, RN, RM 

The greatest lesson I have 

learnt during my career is 

Mentorship. Mentorship 

for the young generation of 

Nurses is quite important. This 

will ensure no gaps in nursing 

leadership and more so have 

nurses at the table making 

decisions and coming up with 

policies and not having other 

people making policies for us 

nurses. 

Viola Karanja received her BSN from University of 

Dundee (UK), her RN / RM from Nairobi, Kenya. Viola has 

been a registered nurse and midwife for over 30 years, 

with 15 of those years serving in leadership positions. She 

has worked throughout the African continent from South 

Africa, to South Sudan, her native Kenya and currently 

in Liberia where she is the deputy executive director for 

Partners in Health,* the first African nurse to hold that 

position within the organization. In her current role, 

Viola ensures that the services rendered by PIH Liberia in 

Maryland county are in line with the Ministry of Health’s 

strategic plan. Under her tutelage, a nursing center of 

excellence has been founded to expose and train Liberian 

nurses in various nursing specialties to serve the needs of 

the community. Viola actively mentors nurses to become 

healthcare leaders, advance quality improvement 

initiatives, and become advocates to improve patient 

outcomes despite resource limitations and hierarchical 

practice constraints. Viola’s passion for mentorship 

and the realization that a pipeline of nurses are needed 

propelled her to create a leadership development 

program at her current institution to ensure that 

nursing leadership will continue to evolve and flourish. 

It is the hope of advancing the nursing profession that 

inspires Viola to continue to invest her time, expertise 

and experiences to mold the next generation of nurses 

to become global leaders at decision making tables 

contributing not only to health policies that reduce health 

disparities and inequalities but to strengthen health 

systems for us all. * Dr. Sheila Davis, a member of AAN is 

the CEO of Partners in Health. 

Elissa Ladd, PhD, RN, 

APRN, FAAN 

Population health depends on 

advocacy in the policy space - 

and showing up - at the local, 

state, and federal level. 

Dr. Ladd received her 

undergraduate degree from 

the University of Pennsylvania, 

Master of Science degree 

from Rush University, and 

PhD from the University of 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>. Dr. Ladd has worked as a nurse in health 

care settings around the world. She volunteered with 

midwives in a maternity center in Lima, Peru, served as a 

Commissioned Officer with the Indian Health Service on the 

Navaho Indian Reservation, and worked in refugee camps 

on the Thai/Cambodian border. Her global work continued 

within the context of her academic career as a consultant in 

the development of a nurse practitioner program at Walter 

Sisulu University in South Africa and as a Fulbright Scholar 

at Manipal University in South India. There she served as a 

professor and mentor to students and faculty in the College 

of Nursing, focusing on research and nursing practice 

innovations. She went on to create an academic partnership 

between Manipal and the MGH Institute of Health 

Professions which now supports bidirectional student and 

faculty immersion programs. Dr. Ladd received funding from 

the US-India Educational Foundation to promote expanded 

capacity in inter-professional health professions education. 

Dr. Ladd’s research focuses on practice and policies that 

pertain to nurse prescribing in domestic and global arenas. 

She has lectured and published widely on policy topics that 

relate to pharmaceutical practice and advanced practice 

nursing. She a member of the Core Steering Group of the 

International Council of Nurses Advanced Practice Nurse 

Network (ICN/APNN) and was recently appointed as a Co- 

Director of its Global Academy of Research and Enterprise. 

Dr. Ladd, who is a faculty member at the MGH Institute of 

Health Professions, was recently was recently inducted as a 

Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing and, in 2019, 

was the recipient of the Inspiring Global Nurse Award by 

Nurses with Global Impact at the United Nations. 

Patricia Reidy, DNP, RN, 

MS, BSN, FAAN 

I feel honored and privileged to 

be inducted into the American 

Academy of Nursing and to be 

among such esteemed leaders 

in the nursing profession. 

As a Fellow I have the 

opportunity to address health 

disparities through my work 

in interprofessional education 

and practice, and to enhance 

the role of the advanced 

practice nurse. 

Dr. Patricia A. Reidy received her nursing diploma 

from the Fall River School of Nursing, a BSN from 

Fitchburg State College, MS degree from the University 

of Lowell and DNP degree from the University of 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>: Amherst. She is a board-certified family 

nurse practitioner with extensive clinical, managerial, 

and teaching experience in community health centers 

who maintains a clinical practice at the Family Health 

Center of Worcester. Dr. Reidy is Professor and Associate 

Dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Nursing at the 

MGH Institute of Health Professions. She was named 

a Distinguished Fellow and Practitioner in the National 

Academies of Practice. Dr. Reidy has lead initiatives 

promoting innovative interprofessional clinical practice 

models, curriculum development, and academic-clinical 

partnerships to prepare advanced practice nurses in 

collaborative practice. As Principal Investigator she 

received $2.3 million dollars in grant funding from the 

U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 

Advanced Nursing Education Workforce to implement 

team-based care for persons living with multiple chronic


conditions and support interprofessional practice learning at a student-faculty practice 

providing primary care with underserved populations. This model has been widely 

disseminated and received the prestigious Public Health Excellence in Interprofessional 

Collaboration Award by the US Public Health Service and Interprofessional Education 

Collaborative. She has served as a catalyst for faculty regionally and nationally to 

adopt new academic interprofessional models; and to infuse new curriculum content 

and experiences for advanced practice nurses caring for vulnerable populations and 

promote health equity. 

Ellen M. Robinson, PhD, RN, HEC-C 

Nursing’s disciplinary perspective shines light on patient 

response when the patient’s voice is lost in a highly 

medicalized culture. Collective voices of ethics and policy 

experts to urge responsible stewardship of resources can 

impact end of life care and redirect utilization of health care 

dollars towards more beneficial care 

Ellen M. Robinson, PhD, RN, HEC-C is a graduate of 

the William F. Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, 

receiving her Masters’ degree in Cardiovascular Nursing as 

a Clinical Nurse Specialist in 1983, and her PhD degree in 

nursing with a focus on nursing ethics in 1997. During her doctoral program, Ellen was 

the recipient of a National Research Service Award (National Institute of Nursing) for 

her dissertation research and awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship in the Department of 

Veterans Affairs. In 1998, Dr. Robinson completed the Harvard Medical School Center 

for Bioethics medical ethics fellowship after which she transitioned into the role of 

Nurse Ethicist at the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> General Hospital (MGH). In her role as nurse 

ethicist, Ellen provides ethics consultation to health professionals, patients and families. 

She has served on the MGH Optimum Care Committee since 1993 and as co-chair of the 

committee since 2007. In Dr. Robinson’s role as committee co-chair, she was a leader 

with physician colleagues in the development and implementation of the hospital’s 

‘Do No Harm’ policy, which aims to protect patients approaching end of life from the 

harms of CPR. Dr. Robinson serves on the MGH Hospital for Children Pediatric Ethics 

Committee and the Harvard Medical School Ethics Leadership Council; she also holds 

a faculty appointment in the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics. Ellen has 

successfully co-directed a research program on ethics consultation that has contributed 

empirically to life sustaining treatment policy and clinical ethics literature in processes, 

outcomes and themes of ethics consultations. Dr. Robinson is currently chair of the 

Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs committee of the American Society of Bioethics 

and Humanities. The highlight of Ellen’s professional career has been continued active 

engagement and mentorship of clinical nurses and health professionals in direct care 

roles involved in ethically complex situations and interested in career development. 

and equity-centered invention practices has been featured in national media outlets 

such as Forbes, Scientific American, on NPR, and in the journal Science. 

Lisa Wolf, PhD, RN, CEN, FAEN, FAAN 

The most important lesson I’ve learned is that the problem 

is bigger than you think it is. I learned this from Dottie Jones, 

who was my dissertation chair and mentor at BC. I walked in 

with a nice tight study on chest pain, and walked out with a 

theory of decision-making that has shaped my practice and 

research ever since. 

Dr. Lisa Adams Wolf received her BA in Anthropology 

from Amherst College, a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from 

Emerson College, a diploma in Nursing from St Elizabeth’s 

Hospital School of Nursing, a Masters’ degree in Nursing from 

Molloy College, and a PhD from Boston College’s Connell 

School of Nursing. Dr. Wolf is the Director of Emergency 

Nursing Research at the Emergency Nurses Association, and an adjunct professor at 

both the University of <strong>Massachusetts</strong> and Elms College. Dr. Wolf’s work focuses on 

understanding the socio-clinical structure of the emergency care setting as an influencing 

factor in nursing practice and patient safety. Her dissertation work provides a theoretical 

model of clinical decision-making in emergency care environments that demonstrates the 

intersection of individual factors and socio-environmental factors at the point of clinical 

decision-making. Her work since then has continued to expand and explicate the research, 

practice, and educational implications of that intersection. Over the last decade, she 

has identified individual and environmental driving factors in workplace bullying, moral 

distress, and fatigue that affect both nursing and patient outcomes. Her most recent 

work identifies the chronic, cumulative, unacknowledged secondary trauma prevalent in 

emergency nursing as a driver of lateral and organizational violence, suicidality in nurses, 

and errors in clinical decision-making. Her work consistently underpins both educational 

and policy work by the Emergency Nurses Association, specifically in critical areas of 

residency education, workplace violence, triage practices, identification and management 

of high-risk patients, and emergency nursing staffing guidelines. She has developed 

theoretical frameworks that describe the elements and effect of the unique environment 

of the emergency care setting on nursing and patient outcomes, with application of those 

frameworks to real-world problems, reframed the role of an organizational research 

institute into a unique mechanism to effectively bridge the theory-practice gap nationally 

and internationally, leveraged leadership of an organizational research institute to address 

cross-disciplinary problems in the care of patients with reproductive care and psychiatric 

care needs, and conducted creative, wide-ranging explorations of nursing phenomena 

that underpins education, practice, and policy for emergency nursing. 

Nancy White Street, BSN, MSN, ScM, ScD, PPCNP-BC 

Today, I chose to come to my local library for my 

commentary, a place where stories are celebrated and 

shared. During this most challenging time of COVID, and 

in the year 2020, nurses are center stage in our world, 

celebrated as heroes of the front line and leaders in our 

communities. Collectively nurses have a responsibility to 

raise their voices, tell their stories to educate leaders and 

community influencers. Stand up, be seen and be heard! 

Advocate for the health and well-being of the marginalized 

populations of the world. 

Dr. Nancy White Street received a Bachelor of Science 

degree in Nursing from Boston College and an MS degree from the University 

of Pennsylvania. She holds Masters’ and Doctoral degrees in Public Health from 

the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Street is a nurse and social 

epidemiologist with a thirty-year record of scholarship, program development and 

implementation in global health, nursing education, and adolescent medicine. She 

is the Co-Founder and former Executive Director of the International Nurse Faculty 

Partnership Initiative at Regis College, leading the education of nursing faculty in Haiti 

from 2011-2017. Dr. Street is currently the Co-Director of the Global Nursing Caucus, an 

organization focused on building and strengthening worldwide collaborations between 

nurses to advance healthcare for all, through research, practice and education. She was 

the inaugural Julia and Harold Plotnick Professor of Global Nursing at the University 

of <strong>Massachusetts</strong>-Dartmouth, where she expanded global partnerships locally and 

nationally, including the development of a nurse-led community health worker program 

in the Mississippi Delta. A pediatric nurse practitioner with over twenty-five years of 

experience in adolescent health, she has worked in urban health care centers serving 

the needs of inner-city children. Nancy translated her clinical observation of the 

sleep deprivation epidemic among adolescents into a doctoral dissertation in social 

epidemiology, and advocates for later school start times at the national and local level. 

Dr. Street is a Professor at <strong>Massachusetts</strong> College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 

University. 

Rachel Walker, PhD, RN, OCN 

Scholars and mentors have taught me that most of the 

systems people refer to as ‘broken’ are functioning exactly 

as designed, and the people in power know it. If we want to 

create new futures to transform health, we need to transform 

who has the power, including, in nursing. 

Rachel Walker is a nurse inventor, Associate Professor and 

PhD Program Director at UMASS Amherst College of Nursing, 

where they also help to direct the IALS Center for Health and 

Human Performance. They are a co-founder of the Nursing 

Mutual Aid collective and the first and only nurse ever to 

serve as Invention Ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of 

Science, where they’ve advised government agencies like the White House Office of 

Science & Technology Policy and industries from UnitedHealth to Facebook on policy 

related to invention, technology and A.I. in health care. Their work on more inclusive 

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The American Academy of Nursing and the American Nurses 

Association Call for Social Justice to Address Racism and Health 

Equity in Communities of Color 

Today, the American Academy of Nursing (Academy) and 

the American Nurses Association (ANA) issued the following 

statement on the urgent need for social justice to address 

prevalent racism and discrimination against communities 

of color, especially Black and Brown people. Nurses stand 

to champion equity while upholding dignity and respect 

of individuals as the country continues to grapple with the 

devastating spikes in COVID-19 cases and reckons with the 

compounding, longstanding, and systemic racism within 

health care and our society. 

For far too long, communities of color have been 

disproportionally suffering as a result of persistent 

inequities and biases that exist in society. The current 

unrest worldwide in response to unjust killings of Black 

and Brown people as well as higher rates of COVID-19 

within these communities, has emphasized more clearly 

the need for social justice reform that addresses racism 

and realigns structures to enable the attainment of 

better health regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, social 

group, or geography. The nursing profession, as leaders 

of compassionate care, upholds the highest commitment 

Faculty positions available 

Please visit: 

https://nursing.uconn.edu/about-theschool/open-positions/ 

to achieving health equity and combating discriminatory 

actions. 

“Our collective moral vision is for broad awareness and 

collaborative action in addressing social inequities and 

health disparities,” said ANA President Ernest J. Grant, PhD, 

RN, FAAN. “Nurses have a responsibility to use our voices 

to call for change. The Code of Ethics obligates nurses to 

be allies and to advocate and speak up against racism, 

discrimination, and injustice.” 

The Code of Ethics for Nurses (Code) clearly states in 

provision eight that “the nurse collaborates with other 

health professionals and the public to protect human rights, 

promote health diplomacy, and reduce disparities.”[1] The 

profession’s code exemplifies our promise to advocate 

for safe and healthy communities. This advocacy extends 

to all individuals as noted in the first provision of the Code 

which states nurses “practice with compassion and respect 

for inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every 

person.” 

Further, we must remove areas of bias that perpetuate 

negative behaviors and reinforce harmful stereotypes 

and stigmas. This extends to those biases held by nurses 

and other health care providers. Working together, health 

professionals, public health officials, health care and 

industry leaders, system administrators, and policy makers, 

can confront and directly address these behaviors along 

with the unfair practices that lead to discrimination against 

Black and Brown individuals and communities of color. It is 

imperative in this time of incredible uncertainty and unrest, 

that we create and sustain cultures of understanding, 

belonging, open dialogue, and inclusion in workplaces, 

within our profession, and in communities. Commitment to 

addressing bias is a meaningful starting point to make lasting 

change. 

The nursing profession stands ready to ease suffering, 

settle confusion, and foster inclusivity while maintaining 

their firm commitment to the Code of Ethics for Nurses. 

Continued vigilance is of the utmost importance to enact 

policies that achieve health equity and tackle systemic 

racism within society, health care, and our own profession. 

Nurses can be change agents by responding to racism when 

they experience or see it occur, further their understanding 

of implicit and unconscious bias, and work within their own 

institutions to develop cultures of inclusivity. Moreover, 

nurses can advocate for policies at the local, state, and 

national level that address health equity, which will not 

only improve well-being now, but also continue to lay the 

foundation for better health in the future. 

“The nursing profession advocates for social justice in 

the pursuit of optimal health” said Eileen Sullivan-Marx, 

PhD, RN, FAAN, American Academy of Nursing President. 

“This must extend to our own understanding of the systems 

and structures that block this vision from becoming a 

reality. As we see a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases and 

more deaths, the toll that this pandemic has taken on 

communities of color becomes more and more devastating, 

especially considering we have yet to determine its future 

ramifications. We must commit now to change, with fierce 

conviction, so that our profession can ease suffering and 

elevate health equity in our recovery.” 

The Academy and ANA as organizations are reviewing 

our own practices and policies to reduce racism and further 

identify ways that we can foster cultures of inclusivity, while 

also creating educational opportunities that support our 

members’ growth and understanding. Additionally, we will 

work in partnership with each other and with stakeholder 

organizations to amplify our collective efforts to advance 

health equity policies. Addressing and responding to racism 

is an urgent public health crisis and nurses are vital to the 

solution. 

For more information, visit the ANA and the Academy 

Websites.


editor’s column 

Public Office, an important role for nurses 

Inge B. Corless, RN, PhD, FNAP, FAAN 

Every Sunday, my younger daughter, Patricia, calls to 

say hello and we share what some of our activities and 

thoughts are about what’s happening in our lives and in the 

world. (My older daughter, Theresa, calls on Saturdays and 

sometimes during the week). Today I mentioned I would 

be writing the editorial for the ANAMASS newsletter and 

was thinking about writing about nurses in political office 

as two Representatives in the <strong>Massachusetts</strong> legislature 

who are nurses would have articles in the November 2020 

edition. I mentioned how impressed I was having spoken 

with one of the Representatives at length about her 

background and work. 

Patricia, who is in finance, mentioned in what high 

regard nurses and doctors are held for the great work 

they are doing in the Pandemic. I responded that I hoped 

the articles in this edition by the ANAMASS President, 

the Health Policy Committee members, and the State 

Representatives would inspire our members to get 

involved at the local, state, and/or national levels. We 

agreed that this might be a challenge for nurses given 

their demanding roles both at work and at home with 

family and other activities. Nonetheless, we concurred 

that the knowledge nurses possess is of great value to the 

community and society. 

Patricia continued “now is the time to make your 

voices heard and given the spotlight on nurses with the 

Pandemic, people will listen and will care about what 

you’re saying. While the cheers and clapping should 

have come before COVID, the pandemic made the public 

realize what true heroes nurses really are.” 

With her characteristic sense of humor my daughter 

teased herself with a comment about people in finance 

contrasting it with health care providers when she observed 

“Nobody claps for us (people in finance) when we walk 

down the street.” Patricia correlated the well-deserved 

applause for nurses and physicians with that given for the 

rescuers from the Fire and Police Departments after 9/11. 

“Citizens were unbelievably thankful and appreciative” she 

noted. Nurses and other providers are dying now just as 

rescuers and others died then. 

Nurses have the clinical knowledge and understand 

the impact of illness on the patient and family. We 

understand the social determinants of health not only in 

theory but from our interaction with patients. The graphs 

and tables we view are given dynamism as we recognize 

and remember the patients who are part of those 

numbers. Nurses are in a position to enlighten colleagues 

in health professions, the public, and government on the 

ramifications of an array of issues. Nurses in public office 

can make powerful contributions addressing the needs of 

children in school and at home whether we’re confronted 

with a pandemic or not; speaking out about the efficacy 

of wearing a mask in public and in private depending 

on the circumstances. Nurses can create and support 

Public Office, an important role for...continued on page 19


CE corner-Spotlight on Nursing Continuing Professional Development 

Judy L. Sheehan, MSN, RN-BC 

ANAMASS Approver Unit Nurse Peer Review 

Leader 

Frequently asked questions 

What is the ANA Accredited Approver Unit? 

ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> is accredited as an approver of 

nursing continuing professional development by the 

American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission 

on Accreditation through November of 2023. As, the 

only accredited approver unit in <strong>Massachusetts</strong>, there 

are 33 provider units and over 64 activities that were 

approved by the ANA Mass Approver unit last year. 

That means that 46,961 continuing nursing professional 

development certificates have been awarded with the 

ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> name and approval statement on 

them as of last year. 

The approver unit also is active in advocating 

for the culture change/paradigm shift of moving 

continuing education to Continuing Nursing Professional 

Development, thus broadening the development of 

the professional nurse. Faced with the pandemic, 

the approver unit moved forward into the virtual 

environment to provide peer support and education to 

the many Professional Development Nurses during the 

covid-19 reality. The approver unit has held network 

meetings and webinars over the past months and is now 

planning an online series focused on finding ways to 

provide education in as adaptable a way as possible. 

Do we get CEUs or Contact Hours when attending 

programs approved by ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Approver 

Unit? 

Please do not use “CEU” when discussing professional 

development as it violates the copyright law. Contact 

hour is used by the ANCC to denote the unit of learning 

acquired during an educational program. A contact hour 

is 60 minutes of learning time. “CEU”, copyrighted by 

a different organization, refers to 10 hours of learning 

time / one CEU and is not allowed to be used by ANCC 

standards. 

When did the language change from nursing continuing 

education to nursing continuing professional 

development? 

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s 

Commission on Accreditation changed the language 

earlier this year. It is intended to reflect the reality of the 

professional development process, renewed focus on 

adult learner needs and the changing landscape of clinical 

and professional education.


bulletin board 

As a nurse and joint ANA and ANAMASS member, you are 

committed to providing superior care to your patients. It is 

your passion, and you invest all of your energy in your work. 

But who is taking care of you while you take care of others? 

Through ANA and ANAMASS Personal Benefits, we are here 

to help with seven important programs that every nurse 

must consider. We carefully screened partners committed 

to providing ANAMASS member nurses with great value, and 

we make it easy to cover yourself in these critical areas. 

Travel discounts are the #1 requested benefit 

program from ANAMASS members. ANA has 

partnered with BookingCommunity to offer 

members hotel room rates that are discounted 

up to 70% -- lower rates than you will find at any 

online travel or hotel website. ANA and ANAMASS 

members get access to amazing deals that are not available 

to the public, at over 800,000 participating Hotels and 

Resorts Worldwide. Plan a trip and watch the savings grow – 

it pays to be an ANAMASS member! 

To access these great, member-exclusive rates and book 

travel today – https://www.nursingworld.org/membership/ 

member-benefits/personal-benefits/. 

The ANA has partnered with CommonBond, a 

leading student lender, to help you save money 

through student loan refinancing. Refinancing 

your federal or private student loans to a 

lower interest rate can save you thousands. 

CommonBond offer up to 24 months of forbearance, 

just in case you need to put payments on pause, plus the 

process is free and ANA members get $300 cash back from 

CommonBond when they refinance! 

Visit CommonBond for an instant quote and to start an 

application. 

To listen to a webinar on Student Loan Refinancing 101, go 

to https://www.nursingworld.org/membership/memberbenefits/personal-benefits/student-loan-refinancing-101/. 

Webinar: How to Pay Down Student Loans 

JOIN ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> 

and ANA TODAY! 

Many nurses mistakenly believe they are covered 

by their employer's liability insurance — until a 

licensing board complaint or lawsuit is filed and they 

find that no one is advocating for their interests. 

Protect yourself and your career with professional 

liability insurance. ANA has partnered with Proliability® 

powered by Mercer, a global leader in insurance, to offer 

liability coverage specifically geared to nurses. Remember, a 

complaint or suit can be filed even if you did nothing wrong, and 

an investment in liability insurance will protect your future and 

the future of your family. Get the protection you need without 

paying more than is necessary by taking advantage of the 

competitive rates for ANA members. 

Mercer – Omnisure Webinar 3/25/19 

RiskFit 

For an instant quote and to fill out an application for ANA 

liability insurance offered by Proliability, go to https://www. 

proliability.com/professional-liability-insurance/nursepractitioners.html. 

Long Term Care Insurance is increasingly the choice 

of ANA Members seeking to protect their hardearned 

assets from the high cost of long-term 

services along with the resulting financial spenddown 

and potential loss of self-reliance. 

Final Expense Insurance, also known as Burial or Funeral 

Insurance, is a type of whole life insurance designed for those 

over 40 years of age, to cover funeral expenses and existing bills 

when you pass. 

Through ANA’s partnership with Anchor Health Administrators 

(AHA), members receive specialized advocate services for these 

much-needed protections. AHA is a company that, for almost 

30 years, has specialized in working with Nurses/Spouses to 

provide the best personal solutions for their planning needs. 

For more information on Long Term Care, or Final Expense 

coverage and to receive a free, no obligation consultation with a 

licensed advocate, go to https://www.anchorltc.com/. 

Please join ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> today 

and become an active member of the 

world renown and most respected 

professional nursing organization. Go to: 

www.ANAMass.org to complete the 

application. 

The ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Action Team 

– MAT cordially invites you to join this 

exciting team, when you join you will 

be lending your voice to those matters 

affecting all nurses in <strong>Massachusetts</strong>. 

Go to www.ANAMass.org 

for more information 

Like us on Facebook - 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ANA 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong>/260729070617301 

ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> Mission 

ANA <strong>Massachusetts</strong> is committed to 

the advancement of the profession 

of nursing and of quality patient 

care across the Commonwealth. 

Vision 

As a constituent member of the 

American Nurses Association, ANA 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> is recognized as 

the voice of registered nursing in 

<strong>Massachusetts</strong> through advocacy, 

education, leadership and practice. 

Inspired by compassion continued from page 13 

remains steadfast in its commitment to continue evolving in ways that best support the 

compassionate healthcare delivery in this changing world. 

“Obviously healthcare has changed in the past 25 years, but the need for compassion 

hasn’t changed. That’s always going to be there, regardless.” said Cohen. “It’s amazing, I 

keep thinking, if Ken could see this, and maybe he can, he would be shocked but proud 

of this thriving organization.” 

For more information, please contact the author at: mherndon@theschwartzcenter.org 

Public Office, an important role for...continued from page 17 

legislation that improves the well-being of vulnerable populations. While nurses have 

always been highly regarded, the universality of that view has never been greater. 

Given we will be making New Year’s resolutions before too long, let one of those 

resolutions be that each of us will make our voices heard on issues that affect us, and/ 

or our community/society. I know I will. In addition, mine will be to discuss nursing at 

greater length with my daughters, neither of whom are nurses, so I can benefit from 

their perspective. 

Lynn Community Health 

Center is now hiring for the 

following full-time positions: 

• Primary Care Nurse - 

(Registered Nurse/LPN) 

• Nurse Educator 

• Nurse Manager 

• Medical Assistant 

COME JOIN US! If you are looking to be a part of a mission driven 

organization servicing the greater Lynn Community we want to hear from 

you! We offer a comprehensive benefits package starting on day one of 

employment, and training and development opportunities. 

To find out more please visit our website www.lchcnet.org/team/jobs 

Interested in applying? 

Please send resume to: 

Susan Shambo at 

SShambo@lchcnet.org

PACU Nurse Manager: 

Join an outstanding leadership team in our 

state of the art Integrated Procedure Platform. 

If you are an experienced PACU leader and 

would like to know more, please contact 

Brenda Welch, Senior Manager for 

Talent Acquisition at 

brenda.welch@bmc.org or 617.638.8572

Massachusetts Report on Nursing - December 2020

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