The landmark 2010 Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report and the 2016 follow-up report made recommendations about building capacity in nursing practice, education and leadership; including increasing the number of nurses serving on health-promoting boards. The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action was established by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the AARP Foundation to promote recommendations in the 2010 report and support state Action Coalitions to implement them. 

Building on successful state trainings, Action Coalitions in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee developed a Tri-State Nurses on Boards training in 2017 to prepare nurses in our states to serve on boards and other entities that promote a culture of health.

The recent National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report, The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity is a comprehensive study exploring contributions of nursing to address health equity and the social determinants of health (SDOH). The 9 in-depth recommendations of the report address SDOH and equity. The report recommends for nurses to lead and serve across sectors to address inequities and SDOH, including serving on boards and other entities and that are not traditionally considered health-related, such as housing authorities, school boards, and community boards.

Through a Future of Nursing, Campaign for Action Nursing Innovation grant: Nurses Building a Culture of Health in the Arkansas-Tennessee Delta (Nurses CHAT), the Tri-State team has strengthened its focus on SDOH and equity, including the intersection of health and the built environment; especially housing. This Nurses on Boards training, through a set of modules and activities, will prepare teams of nurses and local leaders from 17 targeted TN, AR and MO Delta counties to improve health by leading cross-sector work in their counties and beyond.

This will be first offered as live virtual education, then available online as enduring material through UTHSC CE Now.

Course modules with related activities:

1. Building a Culture of Health – Coloring Outside the Lines
2. Promoting a Culture of Health through Board Service – Nuts and Bolts
3. What’s Housing got to do with it?
4. Finding and Being a Mentor
5. Leadership – Finding Your Strengths Leadership Panel and Clifton Strengths Assessment|
    

Nurses CHAT Advisory Committee

Libby Seftar
Supervisor for Community Health Specialists and Community Health Nursing Specialists, Arkansas Department of Health (ADH)

Kelly Dunegan
Manager Hometown Health Improvement Northeast AR, ADH 

Jessica Barker
Community Health Nursing Specialist, East AR, ADH

Karen Davis
Community Health Nursing Specialist, Arkansas Department of Health

Dwayne Spencer
CEO Memphis Habitat for Humanity

Leslie Meehan
Director Office of Primary Prevention, Tennessee Department of Health (TDH)

Doreen Graves
W TN Liaison, Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA)

Jeremy Heidt
Director Government Affairs, THDA

Sharon Hyde
Program Manager, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, Memphis

Charlie Santo
Associate Professor, Department Chair, City and Regional Planning, University of Memphis

Kamillah Kelly
Program Manager, Memphis Area Association of Governments