Ohio Nurses Review - June 2022

The Official Publication of the Ohio Nurses Association www.ohnurses.org 

OHIO NURSES 

Volume 97, Issue 2 

June 2022 

1 | Ohio Nurses Review | Volume 97, Issue 2 | www.ohnurses.org 

Review 

NURSE RALLY AT 

THE STATEHOUSE

OHIO NURSES Review 

The Ohio Nurses Review (ISSN 0030-0993) is the official 

publication of the Ohio Nurses Association, 3760 Ridge Mill 

Drive, Hilliard, OH 43026, (614) 969-3800. Indexed in International 

Nursing Index and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health 

Literature. Published quarterly. Circulation approximately 10,000. 

Published by ONA Staff and Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency 

Inc., PO Box 216, Cedar Falls, IA 50613. Layout and Design: 

Chris Hall 

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION – Members of ONA, $15, included 

in dues as a member benefit; Corporate first class postage 

subscription, $40; Agencies, $40; members of the Ohio 

Nursing Students’ Association, $15 with a copy of NSNA 

membership card. Replacement copies, $5 prepaid with order. 

POSTMASTER – Send address changes to Ohio Nurses Review, 

3760 Ridge Mill Drive, Hilliard, OH 43026 

MISSION STATEMENT – The mission of the Ohio Nurses 

Review is: To advance professional nursing practice in Ohio in 

service of quality health care. 

Articles appearing in the Ohio Nurses Review are presented 

for the information of our members. They are not intended as 

legal advice and should not be used in lieu of such advice. For 

specific legal advice, readers should contact their legal counsel. 

Copyright © 2022 by Ohio Nurses Association. 

ONA BOARD OF DIRECTORS – 2021-2023 

OFFICERS 

Robert Weitzel, BSN, RN, President, Harrison 

Rick Lucas, BSN, RN, OCN, VA-BC, CCRN, First Vice-President, 

New Lexington 

Jacinta Tucker, MSN, RN, Second Vice-President, Midvale 

Michelle Thoman, MSN, RN, Secretary, Cincinnati 

Janet Corbin, RN, Treasurer, Urbana 

DIRECTORS, UNSTRUCTURED 

Tammi Ingledue, BSN, RN, Neatwater 

Benitha Garrett, MSN, RN, North Olmsted 

Alex Watts, BSN, RN, PCCN, Hilliard 

Jamie Burchett, BSN, RN, New Franklin 

DIRECTORS, STRUCTURED 

Catharyne Henderson, RN, Reynoldsburg, 

Deborah Baker-Loyd, RN, Akron 

Barbara McGhee, RN, Tallmadge 

Amy Pompeii, RN, Med/Surg Cert, Hilliard 

Jennifer Hunt, RN, Morning View, KY 

NEW NURSE 

Taylor Mullin, MSN, RN, CNOR, Galloway 

ECONOMIC & GENERAL WELFARE COMMISSIONERS 

Amy Pompeii, RN, 

Med/Surg Cert. 

Chair 

Barbara McGhee, RN, 

Co-Chair 

Michelle Croker, RN, 

Secretary 

Catharyne Henderson, RN 

Deborah Baker-Loyd, RN 

Lukas Killian, BSN, RN 

Katie Lewis, RN 

Jennifer Hunt, RN 


COUNCIL ON PRACTICE 

Nicole Baltich, MS, APRNC,AGCNS- 

AG, CCRN 

Kris Cope, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, NE-BC 

Catharyne Henderson, RN, BSN, 

RNBC 

Taylor Mullin, MSN, RN,, CNOR 

Kayla Pfeiffer, MSN, CPN, RN 

Erin Spies, RN, BS Edu 

Nisia Thornton, RN, BSN, MSN, BA, 

MEd 

CONTINUING EDUCATION 

COUNCIL 

Barb Brunt, MA, MN, RN, NPDA-BC, 

NE-BC (co-chair) 

Melanie Morris, MBA, BSN, RN, 

NPD-BC, CCRN-K (co-chair) 

Lucinda Cave, MSN RN NPD-BC 

Stephanie Clubbs, MSN, RN, NPD- 

BC, APRN-CNS 

Kristine Cope, DNP, RN, NPD-BC 

Jacqueline Gierlach, MS, BSN, RN, 

CDDN 

Amy Knupp, PhD, RN, APRN-CNS, 

CPPS 

Kayla Pfeiffer, MSN, CPN, RN 

Laura Rafeld, MSN, RN, NPD-BC 

Deb Shields, PhD, RN, CCRN, QTTT 

Sue Smith, MSN, RN, CCHP-RN 

Pam Dickerson, PhD, RN, NPD-BC 

(MS, BSN), FAAN (Liaison for ANCC) 

Nancy Campbell, MS, RN, 

MEDSURG-BC, NPD-BC (Liaison for 

Indiana) 

ONA STAFF 

Lisa Ochs, CEO 

Kristen Bailey, Labor 

Representative 

Phillip Bloomer, Organizer 

Tiffany Bukoffsky, RN, Director of 

Health Policy 

Bob Cousins, DEO of Labor 

Relations 

Michelle Donovan, 

Communication and 

Development Coordinator 

Dodie Dowden, Assistant to CEO 

Dennis Dugan, Labor 


Alex Gehrisch, Membership 

Controller 

Molly Homan, Director of 

Communications and Marketing 

Technology 

James Humphreys, Organizer 

Sangita Koparde, Organizer 

HEALTH POLICY COUNCIL 

MEMBERS 

Kay Ball, Chair, PhD, RN, CNOR, 

CMLSO, FAAN 

Sara Arter, Co-Chair, PhD, RN 

Peggy Berry, PHD, MSN, RN, 

COHN-S, CLE, PLNC, FAAOHN 

Kelly Duffey, MSN, RN, CCRN 

Alyssa Figueroa, MPH, BSN, RN 

Tina Foster, DNP, MSN, RN, CCRN 

Catharyne Henderson, BSN, RN, 

ANCC 

Kelly Hickman Bigley, RN 

Lukas Killian, RN 

Janice Lanier, JD, RN 

Rick Lucas, BSN, RN, VA-BC, OCN, 

CCRN 

Barbara McGhee, BSN RN, CNOR 

Jeri Milstead, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, 

FAAN, ANA Hall of Fame 

Gina Severino, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC 

Michelle Thoman, MSN, RN 

Jacinta Tucker, MSN RN 

Alex Watts, BSN, RN, PCCN 

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE 

Barb Brunt, MA, MN, RN, NPD-BC, 

NE-BC, Editor 

Kristine Cope, DNP, RN, NE-BC, 

Lucinda Cave, MSN, RN, BC 

Lataya De Jesus, BSN, RN 

Elizabeth Digianantoni, RN 

Amber Kruzen, RN 

Jeri Milstead, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, 

FAAN 

Tracy Zeller, BSBA, BSN, RN 

Angie Lemery, Business Office 

Administrator 

Cathy McClelland, Finance 

Manager 

Anne Mueller, Labor 


Anne Ransone, Deputy Executive 

Officer - Operations 

Kelli Schweitzer, RN, Senior 

Director of Professional Practice 

Robin Smith, Membership 

Controller 

Sandy Swearingen, Continuing 

Education Specialist 

Brittany Turner, Nurse Planner 

Lisa Walker, Health Policy and 

Nursing Practice Specialist 

Jake Whitehurst, Customer 

Service, Administrative and 

Membership Support Specialist 

Rachel Wolfe, Assistant to DEO, 

Labor Relations

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 

Robert Weitzel, BSN, RN 

Happy June, members! It feels great to finally reach the summer 

months. A lot of great things have happened since the last ONR, 

including Nurses Day at the Statehouse, the ONF’s Virtual 

Nurses Choice, and National Nurses’ Week. The board has also 

met several times. During our April 28th meeting in particular, 

the Board voted to approve a recommendation to move members 

of the Knox-Licking and Mohican Districts into the Mid Ohio 

District. The leaders of each district approached the board 

with their intention to dissolve. A committee of the board 

was formed, and the board voted to accept this committee’s 

recommendation. This transition became effective June 1, 2022. 

The board also discussed convening the Leadership Assembly. 

A townhall with the board and association leadership will 

take place July 28, 8:00pm-9:30pm. The primary focus of the 

first townhall will be a review the ONA’s strategic plan. An 

invitation to association leadership is forthcoming. 

I’m sure many of us have been watching the RaDonda Vaught 

case closely, wondering how it may affect the future of our 

profession and even possibly persuade nurses who are already 

on the brink of leaving nursing to finally make an exit. The 

criminal conviction of this circumstance is concerning, and is 

why we felt it necessary to release the following statement on 

April 5, 2022. 

The Criminal Conviction of RaDonda Vaught 

“The ONA stands with many Ohio nurses in deep concern 

about the dangerous precedent set with the criminal conviction 

of former Tennessee nurse, RaDonda Vaught. Ms. Vaught was 

convicted of criminally negligent homicide and impaired adult 

abuse on March 25 stemming from a 2017 medication error that 

resulted in a patient death. 

Medical errors are the third leading cause of preventable death 

in the United States, resulting in more fatalities than motor 

vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. Given the alarming 

number of medical errors, we must begin to question why our 

healthcare systems are not better designed to ensure safer patient 

care. We must go beyond the individual healthcare workers, 

evaluate the entire body of evidence about why medical errors 

occur and take heed. We must do all that we can to protect 

patients and families from preventable errors. 

For example, research has repeatedly pointed to an increase 

in medical errors and patient mortality when nurses are 

understaffed and work lengthy shifts. Yet, many medical 

systems continue to intentionally understaff nurses and mandate 

nurses to work extra hours as cost-saving measures, while 

federal and state legislatures stall common sense legislation to 

curb unsafe nurse staffing. 

Already, over 40% of nurses are considering leaving the 

profession. Criminally punishing Ms. Vaught, who immediately 

reported and took ownership of her error, and who was already 

disciplined by the Tennessee Board of Nursing through 

licensure revocation, will only further demoralize the nursing 

profession, contribute to the nurse staffing crisis, and potentially 

dissuade healthcare professionals from being fully transparent 

about errors. 

Decision makers must start trusting the most trusted profession. 

All signs point to a need for change, and the time is now for 

meaningful systemic change to happen.” 

CONTENTS 

President’s Message....................................... 3 

CEO’s Message................................................. 4 

Anielski Appointed Executive Director 

for the Ohio Board of Nursing.............. 5 

ONA Heritage Hall....................................... 5-7 

GCNA Helps MedWish Help the World... 8 

Nurses Day at the Statehouse and 

Virtual Advocacy Week........................... 9 

2022 NDASH Photos...............................10-12 

Ohio Nurse Attends State of the Union....13 

ONA Upcoming Events...............................15 

Navigating Virtual Accreditation, 

Certification, and Regulatory Visits 

During the Pandemic and Beyond...16 

Spiderman - A Nurse?..................................18 

Small but Mighty!..........................................18 

Thank you to our 2022 ONF Nurse 

Choice Sponsors!.....................................19 

MODNA Executive Committee................19 

Local Nursing Legends................................20 

Nurse Rally at the Statehouse...................21 

National Updates: ANA Position 

Statement on Sexual and 

Reproductive Health..............................22 

www.ohnurses.org | Ohio Nurses Review | Volume 97, Issue 2 | 

3

CEO’S MESSAGE 

Lisa Ochs, CEO 

Dear Members, 

It has been a very busy 2022 at the Ohio Nurses Association 

as we have been involved in many projects and numerous 

events including Nurses Day at the Statehouse, Nurses Week, 

Nurses March and Nurses Choice presented by Ohio Nurses 

Foundation. 

In addition to events, I have been working with the ONA Board 

of Directors and Staff to create and execute a meaningful 

strategic plan that will strengthen our organization, engage 

and grow our members, work on meaningful issues facing our 

nurses and ultimately magnify the voice and needs of Ohio 

nurses. As we execute the strategic plan, I look forward to 

working with members to move ONA forward. 

One critical area of the strategic plan is addressing safe 

staffing. According to the Ohio Board of Nursing, there are 

nearly 250,000 Registered Nurses in the state of Ohio yet, our 

hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, universities and virtually 

every area needing Registered Nurses is understaffed. While 

many employers see this issue resulting from a nursing shortage, 

the truth is that Ohio has plenty of nurses but they are leaving 

their careers behind - especially at the bedside. 

The COVID pandemic was instrumental in shining a light on 

flaws within the healthcare system. With COVID, the preexisting 

staffing gaps in hospitals were much more obvious and 

the need to have more nurses at the bedside during the pandemic 

became critical. Because of the greed within the healthcare 

system to spread staff so thin, it became blatantly apparent to 

everyone that the need for effective staffing was vital. With 

even more pressure put on nurses to perform under these 

circumstances, many nurses chose to leave the bedside. 

The trend of nurses leaving the bedside continues with 40% 

considering this option. The time is now for our members and 

nurses across the state to come together with one strong voice 

to take a stand. Nurses deserve much better. Nurses are the 

backbone of the healthcare system and nurses in all walks-of-life 

make the system stronger. If nurses from across the state work 

together, the power of one voice will make legislators, healthcare 

systems and the public take notice. 

4 | Ohio Nurses Review | Volume 97, Issue 2 | www.ohnurses.org

Anielski Appointed Executive Director for the Ohio Board of Nursing 

The Ohio Board of Nursing voted to appoint Marlene Anielski, 

MBA, OCPM, as Executive Director for the Ohio Board of 

Nursing at their March meeting. 

Ms. Anielski previously served for three years as the Executive 

Director for the Vision Professionals Board, she also served the 

citizens of the state of Ohio as a State Representative for Ohio 

District 6 (previously District 17) and as a mayor in northeast 

Ohio. Ms. Anielski holds a Master’s degree in Business 

Administration and her professional background is in project 

management, process improvement and operational leadership. 

Ms. Anielski brings a demonstrated history of working 

successfully in government administration and effectively and 

efficiently regulating the practices of health care providers in the 

state of Ohio. 

The Board of Nursing regulates more than 300,000 licenses and 

certificates. The Board licenses and regulates registered nurses 

(RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), Advanced Practice 

Registered Nurses (APRNs), Dialysis Technicians (DTs), 

Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Medication Aides 

(MA-Cs). The Board’s top priorities are to efficiently license 

the nursing workforce and remove dangerous practitioners from 

practice in a timely manner to protect Ohio patients. Public 

protection is critical, as nursing touches virtually every citizen 

of Ohio. 

ONA Heritage Hall 

By Linda Bass 

In 2018 The ONA Board of Directors resurrected ONA Heritage 

Committee (HC) to devise a plan to highlight the organization 

history in the new headquarters in Hilliard. The HC included: 

Linda Bass, Kay Ball, Donna Curry, Joylyn Daniels, Doris 

Edwards, Mary Beth Mathews, Carol Sams, and Lisa Walker 

(staff). Five large panels displaying the history of the 125 years 

of ONA were installed only weeks prior to the fire that destroyed 

the headquarters. This was such a loss and few members had 

the opportunity to see the panels. The Publication Committee 

agreed to print each panel in the next five issues of Ohio Nurse 

Review so members of the organization can see what was 

created. 

Panel One 1897-1925 

At the time the Ohio Nurses Association was founded almost 

125 years ago the nature of nursing was quite different from 

what it is today. Hospitals were staffed by student nurses under 

the direction of a superintendent of nursing who oversaw the 

school of nursing and the hospital. People were hospitalized for 

surgery, delivery of a baby, or when there was no one to care for 

them at home. 

Students dreamed of graduating and working in private duty. 

These graduate nurses were entrepreneurs dictating the terms of 

their employment, and marketing their skills. Initially graduate 

nurses were hired by word of mouth and cared for generations 

in the same family when a child was born, or a grandparent 

became ill. 

The formation of a professional organization with local 

districts provided a great service to the nurses by providing a 

registry where they could sign up for an assignment. This made 

finding work much easier. The registry was like a temporary 

employment agency; however, the nurse contracted directly with 

the patient and family for terms of the contract. Most graduate 

nurses were members of the ONA. A small number of nurses 

worked in unique practice areas such as school nursing, public 

health, and the operating room. When WWI began, nurses were 

recruited to serve in field hospitals in Europe. In 1918 nursing 

faced a major public health challenge. The Spanish Flu was a 

highly contagious, epidemic, respiratory infection that killed 

more US citizens than WWI. 

Panel Two 1926- 1950 

Following WWI more schools of nursing were founded in 

conjunction with hospitals. The student nurses attended more 

classroom lectures but they continued to provide most of the 

direct care to hospitalized patients. The Great Depression 

brought a major shift in nursing roles. Many private duty nurses 

were out of work because families could no longer afford their 

services. Nurses were literally starving. The New Deal provided 

support to public health projects that employed graduate 

nurses and hospitals to hire more nurses to care for indigent 

hospitalized patients. This shift in employment from private 

duty to hospital staff increased from the 1920’s to 1940’s. By 

1950 private duty nursing was almost nonexistent. 

In 1941 the military Cadet Nursing Programs was created to 

accelerate nursing education and prepare nurses for military 

service. By the end of WWII, more nurses were needed in the 

civilian hospitals. Battlefield operations, the use of antibiotics, 

and monitoring made their way into post war treatment in many 

community hospitals. Hospitals grew in size and technology 

following WWII. This justified the hiring of more nurses at the 

bedside. By the end of this quarter graduate nurses had moved 

from entrepreneurs to employees in large institutions. 


5



7

GCNA Helps MedWish Help the World 

By Lucinda Cave, MSN, RN, NPD-BC 

Hospitals in the U.S. generate over five million tons of waste 

each year. That’s 29 pounds per patient bed per day! Much of 

this waste includes unused supplies and equipment which end up 

in our landfills (Practice Greenhealth, 2022). 

Worldwide, more than five million children die each year before 

reaching their fifth birthday. Many of these deaths could be 

prevented with access to adequate health care and medical 

supplies (UN, 2021). 

MedWish International, based in Cleveland, Ohio is a nonprofit 

organization which works towards helping both situations. And 

nurses from Greater Cleveland Nurses Association (GCNA, or 

District 16) help MedWish – but more on that later. MedWish 

saves lives and our environment by repurposing discarded 

medical supplies and equipment to provide humanitarian aid 

to people in need, regardless of race, religion, or political 

affiliation. 

The donated supplies and equipment have come from 136 U.S. 

hospitals, clinics, physician offices, surgery centers, homecare, 

and individuals. Facilities close, vendors change, and equipment 

gets upgraded. All become reasons for having excess stock 

which can be donated. Donations are made regularly or onetime. 

MedWish accepts and redistributes everything from 

2x2s, to urinary catheters, to defibrillators, to patient beds, and 

everything in between! They do not distribute expired items 

or about-to-expire items or prescription medications. Some 

expired items can be re-purposed in an ‘Alternate Recycling’ 

program. For anyone who works in a facility that might have 

items to donate, there is a complete list of accepted supplies and 

instructions on the website: www.medwish.org 

placed in alternative recycling or are discarded. Other days the 

sorting and packing becomes more fine-tuned. GCNA nurses 

place all similar items in boxes, weigh them, pack for storage 

or shipping, and affix the labels. Why are nurses particularly 

good at this effort? Because we are already familiar with the 

supplies, and just like with our patient care, we first check 

expiration dates! We know the difference between say, Luer-Lok 

and slip-tip syringes, and can quickly spot mis-sorted items. 

We also exhibit the same concern we share with our own direct 

care patients, because after all, we understand these supplies are 

going to people in great need. 

MedWish accomplishes its work through the actions of many 

volunteers. In 2021, there were 7,646 total service hours 

performed. GCNA nurses frequently work alongside others from 

school, church, and community groups, as well as with helpful 

staff. MedWish sets a few rules for volunteers and provides an 

orientation for first-timers. Volunteer information may be found 

on the MedWish website: www.MedWish.org 

At a time when environmental and health justice issues are 

forefront, MedWish provides one tangible way for nurses to 

take action. Just as we are rewarded through our own direct 

and indirect patient care, we benefit by knowing that through 

MedWish we are also caring for others in need. 

In 2021, MedWish shipped 431,000 lb. of supplies, impacting 

nearly two million people here and around the globe. That’s 

431,000 lb. of useful materials that did not get buried in our 

landfills. MedWish has helped people in Lebanon following 

the 2020 explosion, sent PPE to Wuhan, China at the start of 

the pandemic, then pivoted to distributing it here in the US 

when supplies became sorely needed. Currently, MedWish is 

collecting and shipping medical supplies to Ukraine. MedWish 

works with a network of international agencies and individuals 

to make sure supplies reach the intended recipients. Recipients 

pay shipping costs, and supplies donated from MedWish may 

not be resold. 

So how do GCNA nurses help? By volunteering! Once a month 

a group of GCNA members arrive at the MedWish warehouse to 

sort, pack, count and weigh thousands of healthcare items. Some 

of the nurses from GCNA participate more hours above that. 

Donated supplies arrive at MedWish in boxes and bins all 

jumbled together – sterile surgical instruments packed between 

tubes of toothpaste; defibrillator pads nestled among ostomy 

products. Volunteers first sort the items into about two dozen 

bins with other like products – respiratory equipment, wound 

care products, surgical supplies, and so forth. Expired items are 


GCNA nurses (and nurse friends) finish a MedWish volunteer shift. Note all 

the boxes and the sorting bins. 

References 

1. Practice Greenhealth. 2022. Waste. https://practicegreenhealth. 

org/topics/waste/waste Accessed April 8, 2022. 

2. UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. 2021. 

Estimation Child Mortality Report 2021. https://childmortality. 

org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/UNICEF-2021-Child- 

Mortality-Report.pdf Accessed April 8, 2022.

Nurses Day at the Statehouse and Virtual Advocacy Week 

By Tiffany Bukoffsky, MHA, BSN, RN 

While ONA’s Nurses Day at the Statehouse looked different 

this year, many nurses (and students) took advantage of a 

week’s worth of advocacy. On Monday and Tuesday of the 

Virtual Advocacy Week, ONA launched a three-part continuing 

education series that offered 2.5 contact hours. Presentations 

included, The Legislative Process – How Does a Bill Become 

a Law in Ohio?; Safe Staffing, Workplace Violence, Hospital 

Licensure – History and Importance; and Legislative Update on 

Issues Impacting Nurses in Ohio. 

Monday also presented the launch of ONA’s #TheTimeIsNow 

campaign sign-on letter. This letter and campaign urges elected 

leaders in Ohio to recognize that nurse staffing is a statewide 

crisis and take immediate and robust action, that looks at both 

short-term and long-term solutions. While the sign-on letter 

began during the advocacy week, nurses and nurse supports can 

still sign-on by visiting www.ohnurses.org/the-time-is-now. 

On Tuesday, March 8, 2022, ONA President Robert Weitzel 

provided testimony in the House Commerce and Labor 

Committee to voice our association’s concerns with House Bill 

466. HB 466 would place regulations on healthcare staffing 

agencies, cap nurses’ wages, and potentially impede where a 

nurse works. 

While nurses from across the state could not meet in-person 

for the typical Nurses Day at the Statehouse, a symbolic day at 

Ohio’s Statehouse took place in the atrium. Lawmakers, their 

aides, and politicos entered the room with sounds of a typical 

hospital ICU, while the New York Times opinion piece “Hospital 

Greed is Destroying Our Nurses. Here’s Why” played on two 

large projector screens. As folks navigated through the room, 

they read the tragic realities of what it’s like to be nurse through 

stories nurses submitted to ONA. Additionally, individuals 

walked past three hospital beds that each shared the following 

evidence-based statistic: The standard ICU nurse-to-patient 

ratio is 1:2. Each additional patient added to a nurse’s workload 

has a 7% increase in mortality. The patient’s (your spouse, your 

child, your loved one) risk of death increases by 7%. Lastly, the 

symbolic day at the statehouse ended with ONA’s vice president, 

Rick Lucas, providing a recorded interview with New Channel 

4. 

On Thursday of the Virtual Advocacy Week, ONA’s Health 

Policy Chair Kay Ball and Co-Chair Sara Arter led a virtual 

panel discussion with several of Ohio’s lawmakers who serve 

on the House and Senate Health Committees. Members 

who attended the panel discussion included House Minority 

Leader Allison Russo, Representatives Brian Stewart, Susan 

Manchester, Tom Young, Andrea White and Senator Kristina 

Roegner. The discussion topics included questions regarding 

keeping nurses at the bedside, the effects of COVID-19, staffing 

agencies and capping nurses’ wages, incentivizing nurses to stay 

in Ohio, workplace violence, and safe nurse to patient limits. 

On the last day of the virtual advocacy week, ONA’s Director of 

Communications interviewed Ashley Lantto, who is leading the 

Nurse March Rally at the Ohio Statehouse on May 12th. Ashley 

shared why she decided to start this grassroots effort and what 

she is planning for this important rally. 

Details, pictures, and videos of each of the week’s activities 

can be found on ONA’s Facebook and Instagram pages. While 

this year’s virtual week of advocacy was a success, a week is 

not enough to create change at Ohio’s Statehouse. Advocacy is 

a marathon, not a sprint! As ONA continues to move forward 

with #TheTimeIsNow campaign, please be on the lookout for 

opportunities to get involved. 


9

2022 NDASH Photos 


www.ohnurses.org | Ohio Nurses Review | Volume 97, Issue 2 | 11


Ohio Nurse attends State of the Union 

By Barbara Brunt, MA, MN, RN, NPDA-BC, NE-BC 

Refynd Duro, BSN, RN, a nurse from the Progressive Care 

Unit at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, was invited 

by Dr. Jill Biden to join her in the viewing box for President 

Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1, 2022. Refynd 

has been working for 19 years as a nurse. Over the past two 

years, she’s cared for COVID-19 patients who are no longer at 

the critical level that warrants intensive care. She was invited 

to attend through connections with the ONA, who knew her 

as an advocate for patient safety and beside nurses. Refynd, 

who was born in the Philippines, said First Lady Jill Biden was 

specifically looking for an Asian-American nurse to invite. 

When asked about her experience, Refynd said it was 

unforgettable, using adjectives such as excited, honored, and 

nervous. She felt responsible for representing all nurses in the 

US. When she was in Washington, she had dinner at the White 

House. Dr. Jill Biden, Doug Harris, and the President’s sister 

came out at the end of the dinner to meet all the invited guests, 

and there was a photo shoot with Dr. Jill Biden and the Second 

Gentleman. Refynd received a surprise at dinner when the group 

sang Happy Birthday (her birthday was February 27th and two 

of the other guests had birthdays on Feb. 28th). She was allowed 

to bring one guest and selected her best friend Tanya Dean, who 

enjoyed the ceremony inside the White House in a theater with 

a giant screen eating popcorn and drinking champagne. After 

dinner the invited guests were shuttled to the Capitol, following 

the President’s motorcade. The President came in to meet 

everyone after the speech, and Refynd acknowledged that she 

froze when she was introduced to the President. 

Refynd started out working at Mount Carmel in 1994 and took a 

break from school because she was not sure she wanted to be a 

nurse. Her father took the Sunday paper, looked at the job hiring 

section and circled all the nurses needed. He was the one who 

convinced her to become a nurse. Nursing school was difficult 

at first because she was just out of high school, so after a couple 

years of nursing school, she took a break She wanted to get some 

experience, so she became a Patient Care Assistant in 1997. She 

worked as a PCA and Dialysis Tech before she went back to 

nursing school 

After she graduated years later, she started working at the 

bedside and has been there ever since. Nursing is her calling 

and her passion. She shared some of the stresses she had when 

caring for COVID patients. One gentleman who had not been 

vaccinated had eight children and she spent two hours in his 

room because he was anxious and couldn’t breathe. Initially 

she was scared and quarantined from her family for a month, 

sending her son to live with her parents. She missed her son’s 

birthday during this time. She also has felt the personal loss of 

losing a loved one to COVID – her uncle died from COVID. 

Refynd graduated from Columbus State Community College in 

December of 2002 and got her BSN from Mt. Carmel in 2014. 

She has been at Ohio State Medical Center for 12 years and 

hopes to go back to school once her son is in school all day. Her 

son will be five next week and she is looking forward to being 

able to get him vaccinated. As a single Mom, she appreciates the 

support of her parents and brother and sister-in-law to help her. 

She has been part of the union at Ohio State since she started 

in 2010 but became more involved with the union in 2017 when 

the union filed a grievance about the nurse-to-patient ratio. She 

helped pass out fliers and helped recruit members. In her spare 

time, Refynd enjoys taking care of herself with massages and 

manicures. She loves going to dinner with friends, as well as 

cooking. She also loves to garden; flowers make her happy and 

lift her spirits up. She talks with her plants every morning and 

after she retires, she may work at a nursery. 



Ohio Nurses Association 

Upcoming Events 

June 7th and 8th 

The Retired Nurses Forum Presents: Healthcare Issues 

Potpourri 2022 

Registration is open for a virtual event for ALL nurses! 

$175 for nonmembers and $115 for ONA members. 

June 22nd 

2nd Annual ONA Human Trafficking Awareness Symposium 

12pm-1pm 

ONA members free 

$25 for nonmembers 

Monday, September 12th - 

Tuesday, September 13 

8:00am-5:00pm 

E&GW RN Labor Institute 

Mohican Lodge & Conference Cernter, Perrysville, OH 

October 12th 

2022 Cornelius Leadership Conference 

The Blackwell Inn - Columbus 

Time: TBA 

Save the Date 

Monday, October 3, 2023- 

Thursday, October 6, 2023 

2023 ONA Convention 

Details TBA. 

The Ohio Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of 

nursing continuing professional development by the American 

Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

(OBN-001-91). 

Visit ohnurses.org/ona-events/ to register for event or to see all 

upcoming ONA events. 

Medical Disclaimer: This publication’s content is 

provided for informational purposes only and is not 

intended as medical advice, or as a substitute for the 

medical advice of a physician, advanced practice 

registered nurse or other qualified healthcare professional. 


Navigating Virtual Accreditation, Certification, and 

Regulatory Visits During the Pandemic and Beyond 

By Khaliah Fisher-Grace, PhD, RN, Jennifer Gonzalez, MSN, RN, Janet Kloos PhD, RN 

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 

Introduction 

Hospitals and health systems have been forced to think 

differently about clinical operations during the COVID-19 

pandemic. While clinical operations upended, hospitals and 

health systems worked tirelessly to ensure patients were safe 

and received high quality care despite the challenges brought 

on by the pandemic. Accreditation, certification, and regulatory 

(ACR) visits were among some of the clinical operations 

disrupted in 2020. ACR visits validate the quality of care 

provided at an institution and help support quality patient 

outcomes. During ACR visits staff and patients are interviewed; 

and organizational processes and documents are reviewed to 

validate compliance with patient safety and quality standards. 

As a large academic medical center our organization averages 

more than 20 anticipated and unanticipated ACR visits annually. 

During the first two quarters of 2020, our ACR visits were 

suspended. As regulatory agencies refined their visit methods, 

our health system participated in virtual and hybrid anticipated 

and unanticipated visits from our accrediting organizations, our 

specialty certification programs, as well as our state inspection 

and licensing authorities. The purpose of this article is to share 

our experience, as well as best practices defined in literature for 

navigating anticipated and unanticipated ACR visits during the 

pandemic and beyond. 

There is a paucity of information available in the literature to 

help organizations prepare for virtual or hybrid ACR visits. 

Recent publications have shared information about preparing for 

virtual ACR visits from the Accreditation Council for Graduate 

Medical Education International (ACGME-I) and the American 

Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® 

(Nasca, 2020; Tomaseki, 2020). This article synthesizes the 

themes from these publications as well as our experience 

navigating ten virtual or hybrid ACR visits in an academic 

medical center with an aim of sharing how to successfully 

conduct a virtual or hybrid Accreditation, Certification, or 

Regulatory visit in other settings. 

Visit Types 

Accreditation, certification, and regulatory visits typically occur 

in one of four methods. They may be anticipated, announced, 

unanticipated, or unannounced (see Figure 1). During the 

COVID-19 pandemic, anticipated and unanticipated visits 

occurred virtual or in a hybrid format. We learned from our 

experience and the existing literature that the core components 

of virtual and hybrid visits are the same whether the visit was 

anticipated or unanticipated. 

Figure 1. Four Visit Types 

Anticipated Visit 

location: onsite, virtual, hybrid 

reason for visit: validation of 

compliance with quality and safety 

standards set forth by regulatory 

agency 

Unanticipated Visit 

location: onsite, virtual, hybrid 

reason for visit: validation of 

compliance with quality and safety 

standards set forth by regulatory 

agency, but may be the result of a 

complaint 

Announced Visit 

dates known; made 

in collaboration with 

organization 

Unannounced Visit 

specific date 

unknown, date range 

may be made in 

collaboration with 

organization 

Core Components of Virtual and Hybrid Visits 

We identified equipment, technology support, a visit plan, and 

a good communication strategy as the four core components 

essential to the success of anticipated and unanticipated virtual 

and hybrid ACR visits. 

Equipment 

Studies about virtual ACR visits described the need to secure 

the appropriate equipment as a high priority (Cobourne 

&Shellenbarger, 2021; Tomaseki, 2020). Given that ACR visits 

can be unanticipated or unannounced we recommend addressing 

the equipment needs immediately and planning for periodic 

re-testing. Equipment needs include computers with camera and 

microphones, conference phones, Electronic Medical Record 

(EMR) access, and touchscreen tablets. Computers with cameras 

are necessary to verify the identity of the ACR hospital team 

members and to help with observation and interviews. Select 

equipment participants are comfortable using. Test equipment 

to ensure the microphones work, the internet connects in 

various areas such as the stairwells, basement, operating room 

and radiology departments, and the camera is wide enough to 

display the entire audience. 

Technology Support 

Video conferencing, cybersecurity, and hands on support are 

types of technology needed to successfully conduct a virtual 

visit. 

Video conferencing. Simultaneous video conferencing with 

many people in the organization may need to occur. Consider 

ACR and hospital team member needs when selecting a video 

conferencing platform. Communicate with the ACR agency 

to identify the optimal platform. User agreements or product 

licenses may need to be obtained. Practice sessions are 


ecommended even with platforms that are regularly used to 

enhance confidence. 

Cyber Security. “Cybersecurity in healthcare involves 

protecting electronic information and assets from unauthorized 

access, use and disclosure” (Healthcare Information and 

Management Systems Society, para 1, 2021). Ensure that 

information shared remains confidential and risk for a 

cybersecurity breach is minimized. Include your Privacy 

Officer and Information Technology team, who can assist in 

identifying a secure location to store and share documents, issue 

EMR passwords, and provide instructions on how to securely 

send protected health and employee information. Identify if 

healthcare information can be shared via computer screen or if 

it must be electronically transferred. Engaging cybersecurity 

experts will save time and minimize risks. 

Hands on Support. The IT team can be beneficial to troubleshoot 

technology issues with audio, connectivity, or the conferencing 

platform. They can assess connectivity before a planned visit. 

Based on the results of the IT assessment, they can resolve or 

communicate lack of connectivity and plans for reconnecting to 

both teams ahead of time. 

Visit Plan 

ACR leaders collaborate with the organization to develop a 

visit plan. Mutual development of the visit plan can enhance 

the site visit workflow and agenda. Include phone numbers, 

video conference links, and visit locations on the agenda. As 

appropriate, plan to include non-clinical team members such as 

Finance, and Human Resources. Inform staff of the schedule 

and expectations such as virtual etiquette and speaking clearly 

through face masks. Establish a team to move equipment 

throughout the organization, navigate the meeting platform, 

share secure documents, troubleshoot issues, and identify 

optimal Wi-Fi spots on each unit (Tomaseki, 2020). 

Communication Strategy 

The key component for success during any visit is to begin 

with a good communication strategy. The communication 

strategy should be developed, tested, and activated. This 

strategy includes notification of leadership and members of the 

organization that a visit has begun, reporting to a designated 

location to meet the ACR team, sharing the agenda, identifying 

when the visit is complete, and sharing visit outcomes. Call 

multiplier, email, and text messaging are communication 

tools that can be utilized during an ACR visit. Leveraging 

communication tools can facilitate a smooth visit process. 

During an unannounced and unanticipated visit communication 

from the external ACR agency may be initiated through email 

or via phone call. Ensure that your organization has a process to 

triage an email or call from an ACR agency. 

Obtaining accreditation, certification or designation is often 

the focus of an ACR visit. Outcomes of ACR visits are very 

important; however, the process is also critical to the success of 

the visit. As our organization hosted visits that entailed each of 

the four visit methods we took lessons learned and disseminated 

them throughout the health system. We improved our processes 

so that all subsequent visits used the four components of a 

successful visit; ensuring sustainability of our efforts. 

A virtual visit can save money on travel expenses and remove 

the barrier of geographical location preventing an ACR 

visit from being possible. As we move out of the COVID-19 

pandemic, accreditation, certification, and regulatory visits 

may continue to be virtual, they may resume in person or 

there may be a hybrid approach. A healthcare accreditation 

organization announced that in person visits would resume 

with minimal staff participating in visit related tours and 

meetings. Consider how hybrid models may be used by your 

accreditation, certification, and regulatory organizations and 

plan to be prepared to support each model. This can ensure that 

you can move your organization forward to obtain the quality 

recognition it deserves, while maintaining safety of the patients 

and the team. 

References 

Cobourne,K, Shellenbarger,T. (2021). Virtual site visits: a new 

approach to nursing accreditation, Teaching and Learning in 

Nursing, 16(2).162-165. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2020.11.001. Accessed 

April 4, 2022. 

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 

(2021,May 21)Cybersecurity in Healthcare. Retrieved 

from https://www.himss.org/resources/cybersecurityhealthcare#:~:text=Cybersecurity%20in%20healthcare%20 

involves%20the,as%20the%20%E2%80%9CCIA%20 

triad.%E2%80%9D 

Nasca T. J. (2020). ACGME's Early Adaptation to the COVID-19 

Pandemic: Principles and Lessons Learned. Journal of graduate 

medical education, 12(3), 375–378. https://doi.org/10.4300/ 

JGME-D-20-00302.1 

Tomaseki, C. (2020). The inside scoop of a virtual site visit. Plan 

and prepare to ensure a successful visit. Retrieved from https:// 

www.myamericannurse.com/the-inside-scoop-of-a-virtual-sitevisit/ 

Suggested Reading: 

The Joint Commission. (2021,April). New: The Joint Commission 

Resumes On-Site, Unannounced Visits; Joint Commission 

Perspectives. 41(4),3. 


Spiderman—a Nurse? 

By Jeri A. Milstead, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, ANA Hall of Fame 

Yes, Spiderman is a nurse! Introducing Phil Re, a 2021 BSN 

graduate of the Ohio State University College of Nursing. In 

a recent interview, Phil said he has always had a love for the 

Marvel comic book hero. He even acquired a costume that he 

wore on occasion. On Halloween, 2021, a rainy day, Phil donned 

his costume and, with an umbrella in hand, walked across 

campus. He approached people walking in the rain and asked, 

“If you don’t have an umbrella, would you like to share mine?” 

He was received by everyone with good humor and appreciation. 

He continued to seek opportunities to make people smile and to 

do small good deeds during games in the horseshoe and other 

places on campus. 

How did he think to combine a comic book hero with nursing? 

He admitted to struggling sometimes in his studies and said 

he was always “hitting the books” and often did not have time 

to socialize with friends. But he noted that one concept kept 

showing up throughout many courses: ‘dimensions of wellness.’ 

He thought one of these, Physical Wellness’ was the easiest 

to relate to what he was learning. Then he began to consider 

another dimension, Social Wellness, in light of the COVID 

pandemic. That is, how people coped with separation and 

isolation. During one course, students had to identify how they 

actually could use those dimensions in practice. Phil realized 

he had an opportunity to combine several dimensions and apply 

them not only to his patients but to strangers. That is when he 

began to don his costume and make others smile. 

Phil is surprised that his persona has become so big. His nurse 

manager at OSU Wexner Medical Center heard about his afterhours 

activity, spoke to administrators about him, and the set 

up an interview with OSU media representatives who, in turn, 

set up an interview with Good Morning America. What does 

he get out of being Spiderman? Phil says it is satisfying to do 

small things that make even strangers smile. As for his nurse 

practice in a medical-surgical unit that focuses on bariatrics, 

he wants to continue to gain experience. He says his colleagues 

are supportive of him and another ‘new’ nurse and their team 

approach have helped them learn every day and have made the 

transition to practice “easier than school.” He does not have a 

plan for more education right now but does not rule it out. He 

will continue to do Instagram posts. 

So, if you are in the area of OSU and see Spiderman walking 

around, don’t think you are hallucinating—you are seeing 

a creative, caring Registered Nurse expanding the realm of 

practice! 

Small but Mighty! 

By Tracy Zeller, BSBA, BSN, RN 

Two local units of the Ohio Nurse Associations have something 

to talk about! Mercy Allen Oberlin Hospital and East Liverpool 

City Hospital have been able to make economic and fair labor 

practice changes happen, proving that even smaller groups of 

nurses have the power to achieve big changes. While nurses are 

leaving bedside to travel or work in other aspects of healthcare, 

those that remain at bedside continue the fight for fairness and 

competitiveness. 

Oberlin’s Mercy Allen Hospital was able to make significant 

gains with their most recent contract negotiations being 

primarily economic in nature. While the Oberlin ONA is 

comprised of 30 nurses, their small union group has tremendous 

power. Nurses there will be receiving 5-11% wage increases in 

the first year of the new contract based on if that particular nurse 

experienced pay freezes noted in the previous contract. The pay 

scale cap also increased from 20 years of service to 25 years and 

night shift differential tripling from $1.25, increasing every year 

until it reaches $3.75. These changes will help the staff thrive 

and make the hospital more attractable for nurses. 

Over 100 miles away, East Liverpool nurses also fought for and 

won against Prime Healthcare regarding not only economic 

attractiveness but also fair labor practices. East Liverpool 

Hospital employs approximately 125 nurses, having lost 

approximately 20 nurses over the last few years. While slightly 

larger in size from Mercy Allen, East Liverpool nurses still 

showed their strength on a much larger scale by successfully 

having the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) side with 

them. 

As previously discussed, the NLRB agreed with the ONA that 

the hospital failed to properly compensate their nurses. The 

hospital will be retroactively paying those nurses who were 

employed between June 14th and December 13th, 2020. This 

retroactive pay totals more than $170,000. The hospital must 

also enter contract negotiations in good faith and have union 

negotiators well-equipped with negotiation-related information. 

Lastly, East Liverpool Hospital will publicly announce that the 

hospital will not violate nurses’ federal labor rights and will 

not prematurely declare an impasse in negotiations as they had 

previously done. 

Nurses within these two hospital systems should stand proud 

that they fought for and won what they truly deserved. With 

dedicated nurses, the “David’s” in healthcare can still stand 

strong against the “Goliath’s.” 


Thank you to our 2022 Ohio Nurses 

Foundation’s Nurse Choice Sponsors! 

Platinum Plus 

Mid-Ohio District Nurses Association (MODNA) 

Platinum 

Aon Affinity/NSO 

Arthur L. Davis Publishing/HealtheCareers 

Case Western 

Cloppert, Latanick, Sauter & Washburn 

Ohio State School of Nursing 

Quantum Health 

Gold 

California Casualty 

Kent State University College of Nursing 

I Love Nurses 

Southeastern Ohio Nurses Association (SONA) DOUBLE 

SPONSOR 

District Three Nurses Association 

Ohio State University Nurses Organization (OSUNO) 

Greater Cleveland Nurses Association (GCNA) 

Seeking MODNA 

Executive Director 

The Mid-Ohio District Nurses Association (MODNA) (www. 

modna.org), Columbus, Ohio is seeking a part time (0.6 FTE) 

Executive Director. Registered Nurse required; Master’s 

degree preferred. A minimum of three years’ experience of 

organizational management of a professional organization 

related to nursing service, education, professional association, 

union or other health care entity preferred. Knowledge of 

contemporary issues in nursing, health care, and professional 

association operations and management required. Must be 

able to work effectively with a 13 member Board of Directors 

and other governance structures in a membership driven 

organization. The Executive Director directs and is responsible 

and accountable for all association operations including hiring 

and overseeing an Administrative Assistant/Continuing 

Education Coordinator. Excellent interpersonal, fiscal, and 

leadership skills required. 

Resume and contact information for three references by June 30, 

2022 to: executivedirector@modna.org 


Local Nursing Legends 

By Jeri Milstead, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN 

On May 5, 2022, the Medical Heritage Center at The Ohio State 

University Health Sciences Library* paid tribute to 10 nurses 

from the Central Ohio area. These outstanding nurses were 

originally recognized in 2020, but formal acknowledgement 

was delayed until 2022 because of COVID-19. Named Local 

Nursing Legends, these nurses were cited because they have 

made “significant contributions to the nursing profession and 

health care.” These “pioneers” have provided “exemplary 

service” not only to the local population but through their work 

within many organizations. You may know one or more of these 

nurses but you may not realize the depth and extent of their gifts 

to our professional association. We celebrate several who also 

have contributed significantly to the profession through their 

contributions to ONA. 

Doris Edwards 

Early in her career, Doris was active in a number of roles in 

SONA including president and recipient of the Mary Hamer 

Greenwood Award. Later she became chair of the ONA Nurse 

Educator Assembly and was elected to the ONA Board for two 

terms. Dr. Edwards served on the Yellow Team of Nursing 

2015 (Education) and was subsequently Chair of the Advancing 

Nursing Education Task Force, the Caucus on Advancing 

Nursing Education and the Heritage Committee. She received 

the ONA Outstanding Nursing Education Administrator Award 

and the Elaine Martyn Writing Award. She is a member of the 

Caucus on Racial Equity and Inclusion in Nursing and was 

inducted into the Cornelius Congress. 

Sandra Cornett 

She served on the first (1994) nursing continuing education 

committee for ONA that established criteria for individual 

and institutional approval processes for granting continuing 

education credits. She also was an active member of the 

former ONA Clinical Nurse Specialist Assembly and the Staff 

Development Nurses Assembly. Sandy also was a leader in 

MODNA as first vice president (1990-1996) and member and 

often chair of the CE/Program committee. 

In 1974, Sandy served on an ONA task force that co-authored 

A comprehensive cardiac care curriculum: A guide to course 

development for registered nurses. 

Janice K. Lanier 

In the 1980s, Jan worked with legendary CEO Dorothy 

Cornelius as ONA’s policy director. She later earned a Juris 

Doctor degree and became a regulatory specialist, associate 

executive director and Interim Executive Director for the Ohio 

Board of Nursing (OBN). Upon returning to ONA, she served 

as director of health policy and deputy executive officer from 

2002–2010. She oversaw health policy activities, developed 

position papers and testified before the Ohio General Assembly. 

During those years, she also oversaw extensive bylaws and 

strategic plan revisions and led the redesign of Ohio Nurses 

Review. Jan worked closely with the Mid-Ohio District Nurses 

Association (MODNA) to establish effective communications 

with local elected officials, establishing candidates’ night 

at MODNA, and ONA’s Nurses Day at the Statehouse. She 

spearheaded the Nursing 2015 Initiative that brought ONA, 

OBN and the Ohio Organization for Nurse Executives together 

to successfully develop strategies that addressed hospital 

staffing levels and nurse education and practice issues including 

workplace violence. This collaboration became the subject of 

a presentation to congressional staff members on Capitol Hill. 

Additional legislative and regulatory work included issues 

surrounding health care reform, advance practice nursing, nurse 

shortage reporting and other areas of nursing practice. 

Deborah Shields 

Dr. Shields exemplifies the definition of nursing excellence 

by demonstrating caring, holistic practice at every level. Her 

passion is infectious. Her member appointments include being a 

member of the Continuing Education Council for Ohio Nurses 

Association, the CE Advisory Group for the Ohio Board of 

Nursing, nurse peer review leader (American Holistic Nurses 

Association), and lead nurse planner (AHNA). Debbie was 

awarded the Mid-Ohio District Nurses Association (MODNA) 

Expert in Nursing Care Award in 2017. 

Let’s give our colleagues a round of applause for their long 

commitment to the profession and to ONA. 

*The Friends of Nursing History Steering Committee of the 

Medical Heritage Center of The Ohio State University Health 

Sciences Library collects, preserves, promotes, teaches, and 

celebrates the legacy of nursing in central Ohio. Biosketches of 

all 10 recipients can be found at www.go.osu.edu/LNL 


Nurse Rally at the Statehouse 

ONA was honored to be asked by Nurse March-Ohio to help 

organize the Nurse Rally at the Statehouse. 


National Updates: 

ANA Position Statement on Sexual and Reproductive Health 

Effective Date: March 7, 2022 

Status: Position Statement 

Adopted by: ANA Board of Directors 

Purpose 

The purpose of this Position Statement is to guide ANA’s 

advocacy and policy engagement on issues related to nursing 

and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), as defined below. 

SRH issues include respect for a person’s reproductive choices; 

sex education; access to contraception; access to abortion 

care; ensuring equity in reproductive health, access, and care 

delivery; and matters of conscience for nurses in SRH care. 

Background 

The term SRH encompasses sexual health as an aspect of 

reproductive health. Sexual health is a “state of physical, 

emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; 

it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. 

Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to 

sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of 

having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, 

discrimination and violence.” (WHO) 1 

The World Health Organization (WHO) discusses the broader 

term reproductive health as “a state of complete physical, mental 

and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or 

infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and 

to its functions and processes.” Further, “reproductive health 

implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life 

and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom 

to decide if, when and how often to do so.” 2 (WHO) 

This Position Statement also encompasses principles of 

reproductive justice, which are related to reproductive health 

in ways that could have implications for nursing. Reproductive 

justice is “the human right to maintain personal bodily 

autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the 

children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” 3 

The right to seek and receive reproductive health care in the 

United States has often been contested in the law and debated 

in public policy at the state and federal levels. For instance, 

access to contraception was not constitutionally protected 

until 1965 when the Supreme Court ruled in Griswold versus 

Connecticut (381 U.S. 479 (1965)). In 1973, the Supreme Court 

issued Roe versus Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)), which recognized 

a constitutional right to abortion during the first trimester of 

pregnancy. Since 1973, states and courts have refined abortion 

law and clarified the restrictive powers of state legislatures 

to regulate abortion care. Advocates in favor of and opposed 

to abortion rights have repeatedly sought judicial rulings to 

support their positions. In 2021, the Supreme Court agreed to 

reconsider Roe versus Wade. 4 

The Code of Ethics for Nurses acknowledges that patients 

under the care of a nurse have the moral and legal right to 


self-determination. Nurses have a duty to respect the decisions 

of their patients, including those decisions that are related to 

sexual health and pregnancy. Respect for patient decisions does 

not mean that the nurse must agree or support the decision. 

The Code of Ethics for Nurses requires nurses to provide 

their patients with “accurate, complete and understandable 

information in a manner that facilitates an informed decision.” 

Nurses should assist patients with weighing benefits, burdens, 

and available options, including the choice of no treatment, 

when discussing sexual health issues and pregnancy. ANA 

believes that nurses should be aware of the history of misogyny, 

racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination that has led to 

the existing inequities, inequalities and limited access to SRH 

care for certain populations. Nurses who provide SRH care 

should deliver care that promotes reproductive justice and sexual 

health within their scope of practice, such as care coordination 

that supports a patient’s decision not to have children, or to 

safely have and raise children in a just society. 

Statement of ANA Position 

ANA affirms: 

• Everyone has the right to privacy and the right to make 

decisions about SRH based on full information and without 

coercion. 

• Nurses are obligated to share with their patients in an 

unbiased manner all relevant information about SRH 

choices that are available and to support that patient 

regardless of the decisions that patient makes. 

• Abortion is a reproductive health alternative that nurses and 

other providers can discuss when counseling patients. 

• SRH care should be widely available, accessible, and 

affordable for all. 

• Nurses have the right to refuse to participate in SRH 

care based on ethical grounds, as long as patient safety is 

assured, and alternative sources of care have been arranged. 

Policy and Practice Recommendations 

• Public programs that fund SRH care should: 

o Provide access to the full range of SRH care consistent 

with patient choice and other principles such as privacy 

and fully informed consent. 

o Promote care delivery models that include care 

coordination for the health of the whole person, including 

the need for SRH and supportive services. 

o Allow and support SRH care delivery by nurses 

practicing to full extent of their education, training, 

and licensing. Policies must not interfere with an SRH 

provider’s ethical obligations, including the obligation to 

provide complete and accurate information about SRH 

and SRH care options. 

o Be administered with provisions that guard against 

patient coercion in treatment decisions, and ensure that 

the rights of minors to choose and access SRH care are 

protected consistent with their rights to choose and access 

non-SRH care.

• To the extent that federal and state laws regulate the 

provision of SRH, providers must not be subject to judicial 

process when they act within their scope of practice and 

ethical boundaries. Similarly, any such regulation must 

not be enforced against patients based on their exercise of 

choice in receiving SRH care. 

• Health insurance plans should be accountable for providing 

access to the full range of services for SRH care. Provider 

networks should ensure adequate access to SRH care 

providers, including advanced practice registered nurses 

who are authorized to provide SRH care. 

• Nurses should be knowledgeable about principles of 

reproductive justice as they relate to nursing care, health 

equity, and equitable access to care. 

• Nurses providing SRH care should strive to create a nonjudgmental 

atmosphere of shared decision making based on 

mutual respect, adequate factual information, and freedom 

from bias or discrimination for the persons in their care and 

their families. 

• Nurses who have concerns about the provision of specific 

SRH services have an obligation to notify potential 

employers and patients of those concerns, and to assist in 

referral to an alternative source of care. 

Previous Position Statements 

In 2010, the ANA Board of Directors adopted a Position 

Statement on Reproductive Health. This 2010 Position Statement 

required revision and updating in 2022 to enable ANA to speak 

to SRH issues as they are presented in contemporary terms. 

For instance, the 2010 Position Statement asserted ANA’s 

belief that “abortion is a symptom of social failure.” In this 

superseding Position Statement, ANA unequivocally disavows 

this perspective, and declines to express any social, professional, 

or personal judgment regarding abortion. 

Further, the 2010 Position Statement did not acknowledge 

principles of reproductive justice. The 2022 Position Statement 

was updated accordingly to recognize a person’s right to have 

children, not have children, and to parent children in safety; and 

further to set expectations for nurses to be familiar with this 

approach, as it relates to their provision of SRH care. 

In other respects, this superseding Position Statement remains 

consistent with core statements in the 2010 document. For 

example, ANA retains the view, as expressed in the 2010 

Position Statement: “ANA believes that the health care client 

has the right to privacy and the right to make decisions about 

personal health based on full information and without coercion. 

It is the obligation of the health care provider to share with the 

client all relevant information about health choices that are legal 

and to support that client regardless of the decision the client 

makes. … If the state limits the provision of such information 

to the client, an unethical and inappropriate restraint will be 

imposed on the provider and the provider-client relationship will 

be jeopardized.” 

References 

Note: This section includes sources that informed development of 

this statement even if not quoted directly. 

American Nurses Association (ANA). Code of ethics for nurses 

with interpretive statements. 2015. 

ANA. Letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier 

Becerra, supporting repeal of 2019 final Title X rule. 

American Academy of Nursing (AAN) and ANA. Letter to 

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, requesting 

reconsideration of final Title X rule. March 2019. https:// 

higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/AANNET/c8a8da9e- 

918c-4dae-b0c6-6d630c46007f/UploadedImages/Academy_ 

ANA_Response_to_Title_X_Final_Rule.pdf 

American College of Nurse Midwives. Access to Comprehensive 

Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Services. 2016. 

https://www.midwife.org/acnm/files/ACNMLibraryData/ 

UPLOADFILENAME/000000000087/Access-to- 

Comprehensive-Sexual-and-Reproductive-Health-Care- 

Services-FINAL-04-12-17.pdf 

Blueprint Collaborative. Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive 

Health, Rights, and Justice. (2019). See https://blackrj. 

org/sexual-and-reproductive-health-rights-and-justice-acollaboration/ 

(not cited in position statement) 

Center for Reproductive Rights. Beyond Abortion: Roe and Other 

Rights. https://reproductiverights.org/beyond-abortion-roe-andother-rights/ 

Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health. Statement on Abortion 

Bans. Undated. https://www.npwh.org/lms/announcements/ 

details/88 

Roberts, Dorothy. Killing the Black Body. Vintage Books. 1997. 

Ross, Loretta J. and Rickie Solinger. Reproductive Justice: An 

Introduction. University of California Press. 2017. 

SisterSong. Reproductive Justice. Web Content. https://www. 

sistersong.net/reproductive-justice 

World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/teams/ 

sexual-and-reproductive-health-andresearch-(srh)/overview 

WHO. Sexual Health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/sexualhealth#tab=tab_2 

1 

WHO. Sexual Health. Web content accessed January 19, 2022. 

https://www.who.int/health-topics/sexual-health#tab=tab_2 

2 

See World Health Organization (WHO). Reproductive Health 

Indicators. Guidelines for their generation, interpretation and 

analysis for global monitoring. 2006. 

3 

SisterSong. Reproductive Justice. Web content accessed January 

19, 2022. https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice 

4 

See Center for Reproductive Rights. Beyond Abortion: Roe and 

Other Rights. Web content accessed January 19, 2022. https:// 

reproductiverights.org/beyond-abortion-roe-and-other-rights/ 

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