Readiness for Care: Capital Area Community Nursing Network

Committee Sponsor - Michigan State University College of Nursing

  

Mission Statement

The Capital Area Community Nursing Network intentionally addresses nursing practice and community needs in the Capital Area through communication, collaboration and advocacy to build action alliances.

Strategic Priority Focus 2023

Address Readiness for Care, including preparation for leadership, clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills, dynamic health systems, and coaching new generations of nurses. Strategies include:
  1. Community Education Forums for Nursing Students
  2. Millennial Nurses Speaker Bureau
  3. Leadership/ Mentoring Model
Model emerging Readiness for Care collaboration: as CACNN works on Readiness for Care and nursing leadership initiatives, create a model for collaboration to inspire and inform efforts of other Capital Area professionals.

    Health Equity and Whole Person Care Survey 2020

    CACNN is linking its activities with CAHA’s focus areas of Health Equity and Whole Person Care. Using information from the ADA IFDHE Equity of Care Toolkit and other sources, CACCN has developed a Health Equity and Whole Person Care Survey of Chief Nursing Officers in the region, to learn about their organizations’ work to address health inequities and provide person-centered care. It was sent to Chief Nursing Officers of hospitals and long-term care facilities in the tri-county area in July 2020.

    Review of survey responses demonstrate the nearly unanimous belief that workforce diversity is lacking at multiple levels of healthcare organizations, that workforces do not reflect the populations they serve or the community at large, and that implicit bias training is much needed.

    Several ideas and themes have emerged from survey results, with issues being identified that will be discussed further both by CACNN and the Whole Person Care Group:
    • Training and policies are needed to promote understanding of the LBGTQIA+ population.
    • Handoffs across levels of care have always been challenging but are more so during this time when family caregivers are not as engaged in the process.  
    • Our caregivers can be the targets of racism, sexism and LGBTQIA+ discrimination, and safe spaces are needed for them to have conversations about those experiences.
    • We need to learn from each other, and share policies, best practices, and resources with each other, such as position descriptions for a diversity and inclusion officer, and policies and processes to accommodate the needs of diverse populations.
    CACNN’s next step is to determine how to use the information from the survey to identify actions that are feasible for CAHA and have potential to impact the community.

    To see the full results of the survey, please click here.
     


    Millennial Speaker Bureau 2019

    On March 19, 2019, CACNN’s Millennial Speaker Bureau launched its first panel presentation.  Angela Ackley*, MSN, RN; Ashley Benjamin**, RN; and Antigoni Tzumakas***, BSN, RN; provided a 60-minute presentation featuring their role and professional sites in rural health, long term care, and community case management practice. More than eighty nursing students preparing to graduate in May 2019 from Michigan State University’s Baccalaureate Nursing (BSN) program attended. Following the presentation, the students, enrolled in NUR 460, Leadership in Clinical Practice, engaged in a question and answer period to learn about hiring, benefits of staffing at these practice sites, tuition forgiveness, and the supports established for new practitioners.

    The Millennial Speaker Bureau is an outcome of the CACNN "Readiness for Practice" initiative with the goal to provide an example of alternatives to acute care practice attractive to young nurses. The speaker panel is comprised of Millennial-aged nurses in a variety of practice settings. Speaking engagements are currently being scheduled. Please contact CAHA at connect@cahealthalliance.org if you are interested in this group.

    *Angela Ackley, MSN, RN is the Manager of the Emergency Department at Eaton Rapids Medical Center, a rural community hospital in Eaton Rapids, MI.
    **Ashley Benjamin, RN is the Assistant Director of Nursing and Staff Development Coordinator at Holt Senior Care and Rehabilitation Center in Holt, MI.
    ***Antigoni Tzumakas, BSN, RN is a Nurse Case Manager providing community services to elderly individuals through the Tri-County Office on Aging.
     

    Community Education Forum 2019: Launch Your Nursing Career

     
    On April 13, 2019, CACNN kicked off the pilot of its first educational forum Launch Your Nursing Career: Tips & Strategies for that First Nursing Job. The purpose of the event was for nursing students to explore a variety of practice environments, career planning tips and strategies for successful employment as a registered nurse. Nursing students attended from area programs including Baker College, Davenport University, Lansing Community College and Michigan State University. Volunteer representatives from Michigan State University College of Nursing (MSU-CON); McLaren of Greater Lansing; Sparrow Health System; Holt Senior Care & Rehab; VA Medical Center; Davenport University, and ANA-MI provided presentations.
     
    Topics included resume and interviewing tips; working in hospice, long- term care and rehab, behavioral health, and ambulatory care; communicating with physicians/colleagues; time management & prioritization; and advocacy/professionalism. Each attendee will complete an evaluation and provide feedback to inform the development of the larger forum in October.

    To access the PowerPoint presentations from the forum, please contact CAHA:
    • Alphabet Soup of Nursing Degrees, Kathleen Poindexter, PhD, RN, CNE
    • Ambulatory Care Nursing, Michelle Milam RN, BSN, CCM
    • Long-Term Care and Subacute Rehabilitation, Ashley Benjamin, RN
    • Prioritization and Time Management, Aleta A. Pillai, PhD, RN & Vickie K. Welton, MSN, RN
    • Resume and Interviewing Tips & Tricks, Jessica Blood
    • You Can Walk the Walk, but Can You Talk to the Doc? Chastity Warren, DNP, MSN/Ed, RN, CCRN-K
     
     

    Upcoming Meetings

    • December 13, 2023, 11:00 a.m. (via Zoom)
    • February 14, 2024, 11:00 a.m. (via Zoom)
    • April 10, 2024, 11:00 a.m. (via Zoom)

    CACNN meets bimonthly, on the second Wednesday of alternate months. To join a meeting, or be added to the meeting distribution list, please email connect@cahealthalliance.org.

    Past Meeting Minutes