Message from the Chair
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
For the remarkable energy showed during the Annual Meeting in November! I am impressed always by the camaraderie, professionalism, caring and great minds that bring so much to each meeting. Thanks to Debra Anderson for her wonderful leadership; to our cadre of past and present officers who keep us moving to meet our strategic priorities; to our Governing Councilors and members on APHA committees for the countless hours spent behind closed doors to make APHA more effective; to our PHN Section Councilors and Section committee members and leaders for their guidance in dealing with an ever-changing health landscape; and most of all, to you, our members, for your continued enthusiasm for improving health in a nation that has so far to go.
The Annual Meeting, with its emphasis on “Politics, Policy and Public Health,” kicked off a year of political focus in preparation for the national election that will follow the upcoming meeting in San Diego. We continue to face a crisis in health and health care. Basic access to services does not exist for so many Americans. This year, the number of uninsured in the United States rose for the sixth year in a row to 47 million — including nearly 9 million children1. Yet programs like SCHIP are threatened with inadequate funds to meet demands. Moreover, the ability to meet basic needs is endangered for the one in eight Americans living below the poverty level2. Will this be the year to make a difference?
Public health nurses live policy every day. As trusted members of their community, they influence policy at the local, state and national level, whether they are collaborating with community partners to create non-smoking ordinances or advocating for healthy choices in school lunch menus, creating talking points for a visit by their state legislator or communicating with their Congressional representatives about pending legislation. Do you use the power you have in your community to make a difference? Let us not lose the enthusiasm of November 2007 as we consider local, state and national candidates. Regardless of your political affiliation, stay informed, let your voice be heard and make sure that you are registered to vote. We can make a difference by delineating our vision, raising our voices and improving our visibility!
Immediately following our last session in November, a number of Section members came together to brainstorm about the 2008 Annual Meeting in San Diego. A great and heartfelt discussion ensued concerning the backlash targeting both documented and undocumented immigrants in this country. There was such energy around this topic that we decided to make it a focus during the 2008 meeting. The topic is one that fits well with “Public Health Without Borders” -- the Annual Meeting theme -- as well as our Section priorities of ensuring social justice and eliminating health disparities. Please think about the health issues that exist around such a backlash. What are the ethical issues raised by denying services to those who are here? What is the community impact when select groups are disenfranchised? Let me know your thoughts and if you are interested in this issue.
Moving our strategic priorities
In addition to the strategic priorities linked to social justice and health disparities, we continue to focus on promoting environmental health through follow up on the work of the Environmental Health Task Force. Do you use the Environmental Health Principles for Public Health Nursing in your public health practice, education, policy and/or research? The document and action plan is available for your use. Feedback about how you are using the principles is always welcome. Send them to Past PHN Section Chair Marjory Buchanan here.
The last two strategic priorities serve as the backbone of public health nursing’s future: strengthening the public health work force and engaging students. Limits on public health nursing capacity threaten the health of communities across the nation. If you have not read the Quad Council update on the shortage, I encourage you to do so reviewing the Quad Council Shortage document located here.
Capacity challenges, however, exist beyond the public health nursing shortage. Are public health nurses adequately prepared? Do our future PHNs have the partnership skills needed to collaborate for healthy communities? Are they ready to accept the leadership challenges that exist within the public health system? These skills are vital to transforming a health care system into one that values health and not just health services.
Colleagues, how will you be a part of the solution? If you are in practice, do you open your door to students in your community? If you are a seasoned public health nurse, do you mentor less-experienced PHNs? As an educator, have you reached out to the practicing PHNs in your community? Do you collaborate with your practice partners to meet the needs of the community, in addition to working with your students? Do you share your research expertise with those in practice to advance the evidence base for public health nursing? Have you sought out adjunct appointments for those practice partners?
Be a part of the solution! As we prepare to celebrate National Public Health Week (NPHW) during April, consider how you might enhance the vision, voice and visibility of public health nursing. Work within your organization to facilitate a high school or university student shadowing a PHN for a day. Encourage your community to participate in NPHW activities. Do you have other ideas about how to be part of the solution? Send me your ideas and we will see that they get out to the membership. The best way to educate others about public health nursing and engage new PHNs is to get out there and get involved.
As we transition into this exciting year, join with us. Make a difference. Visit the PHN Section Web site and find a committee. Share your many talents and let your voice be heard.
Jeanne Matthews, PhD, RN
E-mail me: jmatthews@arlingtonva.us or attheje@georgetown.edu
1Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “More Americans, Including More Children, Now Lack Health Insurance”, August 31, 2007.
2U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Campaign for Human Development,
“Poverty USA: The State of Poverty in America”, http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/povfacts.shtml.
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2007 PHN Section Awardees Recognized
At the APHA Annual Meeting each year, the PHN Section is pleased to honor those men and women who exemplify distinguished careers and service in public health. At the 135th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Anne Schmidt Belcher, Derryl E. Block and Naomi E. Ervin were award recipients.
Anne Schmidt Belcher, DNS, RN, accepted the 2007 Public Health Nurse Creative Achievement Award.
Dr. Belcher’s achievements have focused in the education. Her expertise has been in developing and sustaining numerous university/community partnerships that have provided rich learning experiences for health students. These collaborations played an integral part in decreasing health disparities for under-served and vulnerable populations while increasing capacity for healthy communities.
Beyond successes in health profession education, Anne’s creative and successful community partnerships provided the impetus to increase the health promoting capacities of the public health workforce and local communities. Evidence of this is a partnership that she facilitated between the state health department and the school of nursing that resulted in an improvement in community immunization practices.
Anne has also ventured beyond the scope of the university and local communities by sharing the successful outcomes from these collaborative partnerships at regional and national meetings and in peer reviewed journals.
Derryl E. Block, PhD, RN, was honored with the 2007 Lillian Wald Service Award.
Dr. Block has been a powerful and important voice for public health nursing. Her leadership positions in public health nursing have been evident in the Public Health Nursing Section of APHA, the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and various other local, state and national organizations. Dr. Block’s purposeful decision-making and strategic planning have demonstrated her leadership in the policy arena. She is committed to social change, and her persistence and determination have allowed her to become a powerful agent for change.
Committed to population health, her goal is to increase the public health nursing work force in the 21st Century. A proponent of distance learning, she has developed innovative models for graduate and undergraduate nursing education. Dr. Block developed the Population Based Public Health Nursing Competency Instrument. She continues to use this tool with a goal of elevating and promoting population-based public health nursing practice.
Dr. Block is a leader and activist who strives to empower students and public health nurses to advance population-based public health nursing practice.
Naomi E. Ervin, PhD, RN, APRN-BC, FAAN, received the 2007 Ruth B. Freeman Award.
Dr. Ervin’s distinguished career encompasses 39 years in public health nursing in the practice, education and policy domains. Her career began as a staff public health nurse at the Wayne County Health Department in Michigan. She then progressed to supervisor, clinical director, and mentor and eventually to director of PHN at the Chicago Department of Health. Adjunct appointments at two universities spurred her transition from administration to education.
Dr. Ervin led the Department of Public Health Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago for five years. There she increased student enrollment, facilitated research, and was instrumental in developing a Community Nursing Center in a poor, under-served Chicago neighborhood. At this center, undergraduate and graduate nursing students worked with disparate and needy populations.
Dr. Ervin has held numerous leadership positions in public health nursing organizations at the local, state and national levels. As president of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE), she led the organization in defining the essentials of baccalaureate, masters and doctoral education. In 1999, Dr. Ervin was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing