Written by Alana Cueto, MSN, RN, CNL – Resident of City of Perth Amboy NJ
President, National Association of Hispanic Nurses-Garden State Chapter
NEW JERSEY – Hispanics in the State of New Jersey now comprise the largest minority, making up nearly 18 percent of the State’s population or roughly 1.5 million Hispanics in the State (US Census Bureau, 2010). However despite the nursing profession being represented by 3 million registered nurses in the country; only 3.6% of these are Hispanic, or of Latino origin (AACN Diversity in Nursing, 2015). At the local and state level the National Association of Hispanic Nurses-Garden State Chapter (Garden State NAHN) was formed to help bridge the gap by helping to address the equity and health disparities that exist within Hispanic communities in New Jersey (NJ). Garden State NAHN has adapted the motto, “Planting Seeds One Community at a Time”. The chapter’s focus is primarily on education, advocacy and collaboration. Garden State NAHN achieves its motto by forging relationships with community partners, schools of nursing, and local hospitals throughout the State. Garden State NAHN believes that by aligning our resources with community partners we can reduce redundancies, and help promote communication and team building that serves to enhance care for our most vulnerable populations. Nurses understand that we do not work in silos! This mindset is carried into our partnerships so we can collaborate and pool resources to better serve our local Hispanic communities.
Since the chapter’s inaugural launch in January, Garden State NAHN has been pro-active in alternating its monthly chapter meetings between a hospital and a school of nursing. We ensure to cover both the Northern and Southern regions of the State since these counties comprise the largest number of Hispanic residents. Garden State NAHN also stays true to its motto by contributing to each town or city that hosts its monthly chapter meeting. Community service is at the essence of caring for our most vulnerable populations. We do this on an on-going basis through various community events such as Food Drives – helping to restock the shelves at a local food pantry, serving hot meals at local soup kitchens, collecting granola bars and juice packs to donate to a local after-school program, or by gathering baby items to donate to a women’s local prenatal clinic. These joint efforts allow us to provide bilingual health education, and much needed resources directly to the most vulnerable communities in our State. It has also provided us a forum to promote nursing as a profession for our youth thus helping to increase diversity in nursing as well as promoting a culture of health for all Hispanics.These are just a few examples of activities completed to date by the Garden State NAHN team members. Additionally, Garden State NAHN has partnered with Johnson & Johnson the Campaign for Nursing’s Future to offer scholarship opportunities to NJ nursing students. Striving to increase diversity and advance nursing education; Garden State NAHN will offer five scholarship awards at its first annual “Education Symposium, Scholarship Awards Luncheon & Cultural Celebration”. This event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 17th at the Prudential Center in Newark. We welcome hospitals, schools of nursing, community partners and local businesses to showcase their products and services at our event’s exhibit hall.
Garden State NAHN is committed to being inclusive and it welcomes all nurses, healthcare providers and affiliate stakeholders to join the Garden State NAHN chapter. We recognize that nurses and health care providers from diverse backgrounds care for Hispanic patients [and their families] and we invite them to share their insight by joining us! To learn more, visit us at www.gardenstate-nahn.org or follow us via LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Diversity in Nursing. (2015, March 16). Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/diversity-in-nursing
New Jersey QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (2010). Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html
