Virginia Nurses Today - August 2022

Page 14 | August, September, October 2022
VNF President's Message
Virginia Nurses Today | www.VirginiaNurses.com
Mental Health Roundtable:
A Special Focus on Youth Mental Health
Phyllis Whitehead, PhD, APRN/CNS, ACHPN,
PMGT-BC, FNAP, FAAN
I am excited to share that our special focus
on Youth Mental Health on May 5, 2022 was a
huge success with 196 participants from multiple
organizations throughout the commonwealth.
A special thanks to the Virginia Association of
School Nurses for their collaboration on this event.
Additionally, we collaborated with the Public
Health Nurses of the Commonwealth of Virginia
and the Virginia Association of Community Service
Boards.
The day was packed with excellent
presentations from a variety of speakers. Angela
Ransom Jones started off the roundtable by
sharing “Themes in K-12 Mental Health, Resource
Gaps and Successes.” Dr. Jones serves as the
Director of Culture, Climate & Student Services
at Richmond City Public Schools, which has a
student population in excess of 20,000. Dr. Jones
is trained as a Psychologist both in School and
Counseling Psychology.
Dr. Jones launched offered a 5,000’ look at K-12
mental health supports, and what we can learn
from the gaps and “gold” of current trends and
infrastructure. To be clear, she said, the pandemic
has exacerbated a mental health crisis among our
children that already existed.
“Schools,” she said, “are often considered
the natural and best setting for comprehensive
prevention and early intervention services for
all students.” Recognizing that more than 75%
of children and youth do not receive the mental
health services they need,” she examined the
promising practices that DO work, including:
• Safe and welcoming school cultures
• Promoting the understanding that positive
mental health and positive physical health
are inextricably link
• intentional identification and naming of
emotions and feelings, educating parents,
teachers and staff / nursing staff.
Dr. Jones underscored the importance of the
number of nurses, psychologists, social workers,
and counselors working in schools be increased to
address the growing needs of our youth and meet
nationally recommended ratios. Concurrently, it is
essential that we lean on our community partners,
she said, such as the local community service
boards (CSBs) throughout Virginia for those
children in crisis. Doing so will enable school
staffs to better focus on early intervention and
non-crisis support of all children.
Na-Keisha White, RN, Coordinator of School
Health for Richmond City Public Schools, a
position she has held for four years, shared her
passion on the importance of amplifying the
role of the school nurse in mental healthcare. In
2019, VNF was given a Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation Innovations Fund Award to advance
our work in mental healthcare. We used some of
the grant monies to enable a nurse, Na-Keisha
White, MSN-PH, RN, NBCSN, to participate in the
Mental Health First Aid Instructor Training, Youth
Module. Na-Keisha, coordinator of health services
with Richmond Public Schools, will now serve as
instructor for three groups of RPH school nurses,
counselors, and behavioral health professionals
participating in the program in the coming
months. We’re excited to be furthering the mental
health education of these professionals and hope
to expand our reach to other school districts in the
commonwealth.
Ms. White discussed the interventions in
place at RPS and the importance of amplifying
the school nurses role in mental healthcare and
recognizing school nurses as essential members
of the care coordination team who are able to
effectively assist students and families, meeting
them at the point of their needs. School nurses,
she added, should be positioned to facilitate the
division’s trauma responsive culture to fosters
resilience.
During the afternoon session, Congresswoman
Bonnie Watson Coleman shared her vision for
equity as she is known for her advocacy work and is
serving her fourth term in the United States House
of Representatives. She has had an impressive
career in public service advocating for the needs of
New Jersey families and the equitable treatment of
all people. She is the first Black woman to represent
New Jersey in Congress and serves on several
committees as chair or co-chair and is vice chair
at large of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Representative Watson Coleman shared that her
work in the House centers on her belief that, in
the United States of America, there’s a floor below
which we should never allow any child, any family,
or any person to fall, therefore her legislative work
seeks to bridge the gap
for socially disadvantaged
populations, and other
vulnerable groups in our
society.
Phyllis Whitehead,
PhD, APRN/CNS,
ACHPN, PMGT-BC,
FNAP
Congresswoman Coleman introduced the
Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act, which
addresses the disparities in access, care, and the
study of mental health issues among people of
color. On April 30, 2019, Representative Watson
Coleman established the Congressional Black
Caucus (CBC) Emergency Taskforce on Black
Youth Suicide and Mental Health, empowering
a working group of experts composed of the
country’s leading Black academic, advocacy
and practicing experts, all who had the same
passion for closing the mental health care gap
for black youth. Over the span of eight months,
the taskforce and working group held hearings,
forums, events and listening sessions to identify
both the causes and potential solutions to
this burgeoning crisis. On December 17, the
taskforce released the report, Ring the Alarm:
The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America,
and simultaneously introduced legislation aimed
at closing the mental health care gap for that
population.
Much more attention and action are needed
to better care for our youth’s mental health.
Current mental health focusing on substance
abuse and early intervention strategies, selfharm,
transgender and LGBTQ+ issues (including
legal considerations), more suicide interventions
and case studies, bullying, and psychosomatic
management.
The Virginia Nurses Foundation is committed
to improving the health of Virginia’s communities
by developing an educated and diverse nursing
workforce through leadership development,
research, and innovation. We know that nurses
are and will continue to make a crucial impact
on improving the mental health of our youth.
If you are interested in becoming involved with
the work of the Virginia Nurses Foundation
and/or the Mental Health Roundtable, please
contact VNA Membership Manager MJ Gearles
at mgearles@virginianurses.com. For more
information on the Mental Health roundtable,
visit: https://virginianurses.com/mpage/Mental
HealthInitiatives.
NOW HIRING!!
• Registered Nurses (Night Shift) with a
$7,500 sign-on bonus
• Certified Nursing Assistant (Evening or
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• Certified Nursing Assistant Part-Time/PRN
• Licensed Practical Nurse Full Time and
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Currently offering $3,500
sign-on bonus for full time LPNs
and $2,000 sign-on bonus for CNAs
For more information, call 804-524-7600.
To learn more and apply, please visit
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