COVID-19

Lynda Benton, Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives at Johnson & Johnson, reflects on the way forward for the nursing profession as we celebrate this year’s National Nurses Month.

Two years ago, when COVID-19 patients began arriving in her hospital, Lisa Kilgard, BSN, RN-BC, raised her hand to move full-time to that unit, where she thought she could learn something new and take care of vulnerable members of her community.

ICYMI: Get inspired! Check out what happened during the latest NurseHack4Health hackathon. From improving onboarding for new nurses to addressing burnout, the winning innovations from the weekend had one common denominator: creating a more sustainable workforce for nurses.

The COVID Vaccine Facts for Nurses campaign, led by the American Nurses Association in partnership with 22 other leading nursing organizations and sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, has reached and supported nurses with culturally relevant, critical information and expert perspectives about the safety, efficacy and importance of vaccines.

A crucial takeaway from the Accelerating Nursing, Transforming Healthcare report was the mental health strain nurses experience and methods of reducing it. From trauma-informed group sessions to songwriting, check out the innovative strategies supporting nurses’ mental health and reducing stigmas.

Both before and during the pandemic, information has been vital—to identify best practices for taking care of patients, pinpoint resource needs, predict and plan, and stay nimble during constant change. The nursing workforce has been key to this work, applying the innovative use of data and informatics to streamline systems and practices.

Shawna Butler, RN, MBA is a nurse economist, health tech catalyst, host of the SEE YOU NOW podcast, and above all—a relentless advocate for nurses everywhere. We spoke with Shawna about her career path, how she leverages her nursing expertise in a wide range of roles, and why she is so enthusiastic about the SEE YOU NOW podcast.

These stories are just a small snapshot of the many ways in which nurses are innovating and leading to improve care delivery in communities. Johnson & Johnson is committed to advocating for, elevating and empowering nurses as they transform healthcare and change human health for the better.

For nearly 30 years, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and dentistry students and more have taken healthcare to their surrounding community, perhaps where it’s needed most. The Farmworker Family Health Program, launched by a nurse leader at Georgia State in 1993, and carried on by Emory University in 2001, provides various students an opportunity to offer basic care for the underserved migrant farmworkers of Colquitt, Cook, Brooks, and Tift counties in southwest, GA. Learn about its inception and how it grew to a nurse-led, community-focused effort.

The role of the nurse has evolved greatly over the past century, but nurses’ innovative and compassionate spirit has remained a constant. Meet Nurse Kevin Moore, BSN, RN, who serves in a unique role dedicated to patient advocacy, equity and improving the patient experience for the LGBTQIA+ community at NYU Langone Health in New York City.