September 6, 2013 – As part of its overall mission to support the health needs of the community through Oregon nurses, the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) announced in August the formation of the Nursing Equity Coalition, a group focused on creating a more inclusive healthcare workforce and to help nurses improve their care for a variety of populations.
Originally formed as the Nursing Workforce Diversity Steering Committee in 2005, the Nursing Equity Coalition is tasked with creating equitable and patient-centered care through creating a more inclusive, diverse, and culturally-responsive nurse workforce. The group is comprised of educators, recruiters, nursing students, mentors, and other health advocates and meets every other month to share information, produce projects relevant to practicing and student nurses.
“The Nursing Workforce Diversity Steering Committee focused mostly on increasing overall diversity in schools and workplaces,” said Anastasia Sofranac, Program Manager at OCN. “Our work over the past 10 years has shown us the need to include culturally-responsive practices as well as diversity. This reflects the expansion of work to eliminate health care access and treatment gaps from multiple points of view.”
Sofranac said the coalition serves as an excellent opportunity for nurses to be involved in finding solutions to health disparities and underrepresentation of minority groups in the nursing profession. “We want to make sure people from all demographics have the opportunity to become nurses and for all nurses provide quality care to all people,” she said.
Visit The Oregon Center for Nursing at: www.oregoncenterfornursing.org to see updates on the Nursing Equity Coalition. If you would like to be involved, please e-mail Anastasia Sofranac at [email protected].
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The Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) is a non-profit organization, established by the nursing leaders in 2002 with a mission to promote a well-prepared nursing workforce dedicated to providing care and leading change to meet the health needs of our communities. OCN fulfills its mission by educating nurses to embrace leadership opportunities, developing certainty through research, advocating for effective outcomes and stimulating collaborative innovation.
