Louisiana's Coletta Barrett speaks at Chicago Town Hall

Coletta C. Barrett, RN, FACHE, Vice President of Mission for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (pictured on the right), was a presenter at the Future of Nursing 2030 Town Hall held in Chicago on June 7. Barrett’s presentation, titled Integrating the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity into Nursing Practice, included stories from the field and how nurses can impact policy, systems and structures through volunteer work on boards. She also spoke about nurses’ ability to form coalitions and collaboratives to make a significant difference in addressing the social Influences of health and health disparities.

Barrett said, “The Joint Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Joint Implementation Plan (CHIP) specifically call out the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). A review of data for the 2018 CHNA highlighted clearly that where you live determines life expectancy. In Baton Rouge, if one turns right onto Perkins Road off of Park Blvd., life expectancy is 83.1 years; yet if one turns left onto Lehmann St., life expectancy is 66 years. Social Influencers of health significantly determine life expectancy. We must address the SDOH in order for the entire community to thrive.”

During her presentation, Barrett shared information about programs currently under way in Louisiana including the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative in Baton Rouge, La.

The theme of Town Hall in Chicago was Education, Research and Practice. It was the first of three regional town hall meetings being held by the Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 for the purpose of hearing insights on ways to advance the nursing profession to help the nation create a culture of health, reduce health disparities, and improve the health and well-being of the U.S. population in the 21st century.

“The Committee will examine the lessons learned from the Future of Nursing Campaign for Action as well as the current state of science and technology to inform their assessment of the capacity of the profession to meet the anticipated health and social care demands from 2020 to 2030, with emphasis on multi-sector teams and partnerships,“ said Barrett.

Upcoming Town Halls will be held in Philadelphia, PA, on July 24; and in Seattle, WA, on August 7, 2019.

Pictured from left are Teanya Norwood, RN, MSN, MBA, and Coletta Barrett, RN, FACHE.

Click here to view Barrett's presentation.