Global Health

At this year’s Aspen Ideas: Health Festival, Johnson & Johnson sponsored two sessions that invited healthcare innovators and changemakers from around the world to share their stories of why and how they’re shaping a world where everyone can thrive.

With over 36 million people living with HIV globally and over one million new infections each year, the disease remains one of the greatest global health threats of our time. In an effort to combat this ongoing public health crisis, Johnson & Johnson is committed to continued innovation in the fields of prevention, treatment, and cure; in fact, Johnson & Johnson has a 25-year legacy in its work around HIV.

Sheri Sawchuk, DNP, APRN, NP-C, CNE, fell into nursing by providence – she attended an informational session for a local nursing program after driving a friend there and ultimately enrolled in classes herself for the following semester. In 2013, Sheri first learned of the Global Health Education Program (GHEP) at Chamberlain University from the program’s founder, Susan Fletcher, EdD, MSN, BSN. Today, after finding her passion at the intersection of nursing, education, and global health, and with 15 years of international relief work under her belt, Sheri leads nursing students on international GHEP trips to help up-and-coming nurses identify their nursing passions.

Through bravery, compassion, and ingenuity, front line health workers, including nurses, increase access to essential care for millions of people every day. Despite the long strides made in recent years to help recruit, educate, and foster leadership, there are still not enough front line health workers. Additionally, those that exist are in need of more training and resources, while communities around the world continue to suffer from a lack of access to essential health services.

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program has worked to support the reconstruction of affected areas by providing educational programs for Japanese nursing students interested in further developing their skills in disaster medicine. Launched in 2015, the program has successfully provided learning opportunities for a total of 28 nursing students and is scheduled to continue through the year 2020.

As the first nurse to be selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and The Lemelson Foundation as an AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador, Rachel Walker, PhD, RN, is intimately familiar with nurse-driven innovation and the significant impact it has on healthcare. Dr. Walker is a nurse inventor, former rural emergency medical and disaster relief worker, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst College of Nursing, and advocate for nurses as leaders in healthcare innovation and improvement.

As an assistant professor at the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) and recipient of a 2017-18 Fulbright Global Scholar Award, Lori A. Spies, PhD, RN, exemplifies how a career in nursing can create additional opportunities to change the world at the global scale.

While working for Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids, Mich., Lauran Hardin, MSN, RN-BC, CNL, met one patient whose complex social issues and challenging life circumstances led to his frequent visits to the emergency room — not because he was injured or sick, but because he needed somewhere to go to feel safe. She realized that there is much more complexity to every patient than just their medical conditions, and healthcare providers can make a difference for these vulnerable people.

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe every idea has the potential to transform lives. The world’s most pressing health challenges can’t be tackled alone—which is where CaringCrowd® comes in.

Johnson & Johnson sees the threat of infectious disease as one of the most pressing, yet addressable, public health challenges. Over two million are infected with HIV each year — mothers, fathers, children, men and women, gay and straight, on every continent — and over one million die each year.