HJAR Mar/Apr 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAR / APR 2021 47 LaShannon Spencer Chief Executive Officer Community Health Centers of Arkansas hospital nurses are leaving their staff nurs- ing positions to become traveling nurses, which pays double their current salary or accept a nursing position in states border- ingArkansas for higher salaries. Yet, there is little to no focus on the impact of COVID-19 that addresses an individuals’ healthcare needs on a community health, public health and nursing home level, particularly as it relates to workforce issues. Community health focuses on physical and mental well-being in a specific geo- graphic region. This important subsection of public health includes preventive initia- tives to help people maintain and improve their health, prevent the spread of infectious diseases and prepare for natural disasters. Community health services are rendered within the numerous community health centers across the state and within long- term care facilities. Community health can have far-reaching and sometimes surprising impacts on individual health and beyond. Many community leaders give far too little attention to the overall health of the people they serve within their areas. COVID-19 has shown us that a com- munity’s health can be impacted by many factors: educational achievement, safety, a citizens’ ability to work, social distancing, infrastructure and life expectancy. There is a need to laser focus on building healthcare careers that will benefit com- munities in the future. This pandemic has highlighted the urgency for critical conver- sations, which start with being intentional, concerning building a better healthcare workforce pipeline, particularly within the nursing job sector. This pandemic has high- lighted the necessity to address health needs at a community level. We must showcase our community and public health nurses’ expertise by making timely, evidence-based decisions and providing a unified voice on behalf of the profession. Many clinicians are the front-line staff members in caring for patients, providing preventive health measures and listening to so many patients. Nurses are well equipped to address social determinants issues and provide the necessary leadership decisions that promote high-quality care. They care for the patient, and physicians help cure the patient. This pandemic has highlighted inequi- ties in health outcomes and presents new opportunities in care delivery that foster innovation for the future. As we begin to move forward past the pandemic and into the aftermath, we must think about the fu- ture and understand how the nation’s most demanding profession can be part of the solution to the long-existing issues we are now faced with. We must build and promote a pipeline of nurses who will work in the community and public health settings. Why not start with being intentional by building a workforce pipeline that offers high school students’classes and labs in the nursing field that will result in a licensed practical nurse (LPN) certificate after gradu- ating from high school? I realize this would call for bold changes within our legislative process and healthcare regulations, but we must be strategic and investigate the future. An LPN provides basic medical care under the direction of registered nurses and doc- tors. These services include checking blood pressure, listening to the patients’concerns, reporting patient status and concerns to the registered nurses and doctors, and provid- ing comfort to patients such as bathing or dressing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor “Over the last few years, many school districts across Arkansas have witnessed the value of partnering with companies to allow students to shadow staff members, to create apprenticeships and internship programs and to provide academic credit for students enrolled in career technical education courses.”