Lucia – thank you for sharing the progress/process that the NYS action coalition has taken! I particularly liked your statement above regarding nurses serving on boards and via the “culture of health” platform “now have a vision to impose” as a board member. That is a powerful statement and further strengthens all of our work as we move toward achieving both the IOM FON goals and the broader goal of creating a “culture of health”. Would love to hear from other state AC leaders as to their trajectory toward the “culture of health”.

We have done this by providing lectures, hosting fairs, moderating panels, and spreading wide messages via social media sources. What is most interesting and encouraging is that the conversation and the idea of “culture of health” has gathered much stronger momentum and understanding than our original focus on the Future of Nursing recommendations of the IOM.

Integrating the IOM recommendations with the lessons of culture of health and determinants of health (http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/our-approach) has also proven a promising impact to our nursing profession and to communities in need.

For example we focus on leadership here in NYS, specifically, we aim to get more nurses on boards. We have been successful and now they have a platform to use- a vision to impose- to help establish priorities that will improve health care delivery systems for many.

The integration of IOM recommendations of advancing nursing education and diversity has also been possible when we look at the culture of health action frame work https://www.cultureofhealth.org/en/about.html . When we intentionally teach and expose our students to equity, cross sector partnerships, and systems thinking-we are preparing them for the complex health care world they will enter- with this framework and all of it’s corresponding stories and recommendations- I believe we are providing students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds a vision for an improved society.

I look forward to working with many of you- to build sustainable solutions to broken systems throughout our nation.

Lucia Alfano

Chair, Communications

NYS Action Coalition

Assistant Professor of Nursing, Concordia College