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Area Nurses Attend National Black Nurses Day on Capitol Hill

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Three members from Central Carolina Black Nurses Council, Inc. (CCBNC) attended the 29th National Black Nurses Association, Inc. (NBNA) Day on Capitol Hill on Feb. 2. This organization represents over 150,000 African-American registered nurses, licensed vocational/practical nurses, nursing students and retired nurses from the USA, Eastern Caribbean and Africa, with 92 chartered chapters in 35 states.  The theme for the day was “Addressing the Epidemic of Violence:  NBNA’s Call to Action – Addressing the Epidemic of Gun Violence.”

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Helen Horton, Connie Levister, Eric Williams (NBNA President) & Connie Kelley-Sidberry

Helen Horton, President, Connie Kelley-Sidberry and Connie Levister represented the two NBNA affiliate chapters in North Carolina at the one day event.  Packed full of opportunity, the event provided an opportunity for African-American nurses, students and supporters to hear expert and professional speakers discuss the critical issues that affects African-Americans and other underserved populations.  It also provided nurses the opportunity to become more knowledgeable of the political process and to express concerns about healthcare issues occurring in their states.

A few of the members of Congress also took the opportunity to stop by to address the group of about 300 (nurses, nursing students, supporters) to discuss their role in meeting the needs of all citizens regardless of the state they represent.  They were also encouraged, as a profession and as an organization, to get actively involved in the political process.   Members of NBNA were challenged to return to our individual states to either establish or continue dialog with our local, state and national legislators.

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(L-R) Helen Horton, Deborah Andrews, Connie Levister & Connie Kelley-Sidberry

At the end of the day nurses were given the opportunity to visit their perspective state legislators or their staffers to discuss issues discussed earlier during the day and to learn more about their perspective on specific topics.  The nurses also provided recommendations and support from NBNA.  Some of the issues and recommendations were related to the following:

  1. Patient protection and Affordable Care Act
  2. Behavioral Health and the Epidemic of Substance Abuse
  3. The Epidemic of Gun Violence
  4. Title VIII Nursing Workforce Revitalization Act

NBNA has two affiliate chapters in North Carolina – Central Carolina Black Nurses Council, Inc. (CCBNC) and Sandhills Black Nurses Association (SHBNA).

Submitted Photos