Patients often recognize that a nurse is the health care professional with whom they and their families have the most direct contact. But they might not realize that nurses also are leaders in improving the quality of care and expanding access to care. That’s why May 6-12 is celebrated as National Nurses Week, an annual opportunity for communities to recognize the full range of nurses’ contributions.
This year’s theme, “Nurses: Leading the Way,” recognizes nurses as leaders at the bedside, in the boardroom, throughout communities and in the halls of government. The public holds nurses in high regard and trusts them to advocate for patients. For the past 12 years, the public has ranked nursing as the top profession for honesty and ethics in an annual Gallup survey.
Beginning with National Nurses Day on May 6, nurses are being honored as leaders who improve the quality of health care. Nurses practice in diverse roles, such as clinicians, administrators, researchers, educators and policymakers.
“All nurses are leaders, whether they are in direct patient care, administrative roles, or meeting consumers’ needs in new roles such as care coordinators or wellness coaches,” said ANA President Karen A. Daley, PhD, RN, FAAN. “This week, we acknowledge nurses’ vast contributions and how they are leading the way in improving health care and ultimately, the health of the nation.”
Nurses are leading initiatives to increase access to care and improve outcomes by focusing on primary care, prevention, wellness, chronic disease management and the coordination of care among health care providers and settings.  These are areas in which nurses excel given their education and experience.
As the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, nurses will be more crucial than ever, leading efforts to expand primary care at community-based clinics and deliver more efficient and cost-effective care as members of collaborative health care teams. Consider that:
• Nursing is the nation’s largest health care profession, with nearly three million employed professionals.
• Nursing is projected to grow faster than all other occupations: The federal government projects more than one million new RNs will be needed by 2022 to fill new jobs and replace RNs who leave the profession.
• Demand for nursing care will grow rapidly as Baby Boomers swell Medicare enrollment by 50 percent by 2025 and millions of individuals obtain new or better access to care under the health care reform law.
• Nurses are rapidly creating and expanding new job roles – such as nurse navigators, care coordinator specialists, and nurse wellness coaches – to help patients secure resources, obtain seamless comprehensive care, and develop healthy lifestyle practices.
Wherever health care is provided, a nurse is likely to be there – hospitals, ambulatory care centers, private practices, retail and urgent care clinics, nurse-managed health centers, homes, schools, nursing homes, and public and nonprofit agencies.
Increasingly, nurses with advanced degrees, such as nurse practitioners, are providing primary care services and managing chronic illnesses. Studies show patients are highly satisfied with their services and are experiencing outcomes comparable to those of physician services.

 MONTGOMERY – Alabama’s nearly 9,000 patient care physicians fulfill a vital role in the state’s economy by supporting 83,095 jobs and generating $11.2 billion in economic activity, according to a new report released online by the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) and the American Medical Association (AMA).
“Urban or rural, large group or solo practitioner, Alabama physicians are major economic engines,” MASA President Michael Flanagan, MD, said. “While we are healers first, this study shows physicians can improve both patient health and the economy.”
The report focused on doctors of medicine (MDs) and doctors of osteopathy (DOs) who are engaged in treating patients as opposed to those who focus on research or teaching.
“Physicians carry tremendous responsibility as skilled healers charged with safeguarding healthy communities, but their positive impact isn’t confined to the exam room,” said AMA President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD. “The new study illustrates that physicians are strong economic drivers that are woven into their local communities by the economic growth, opportunity and prosperity they generate.”
With the changing health care environment, it is increasingly important to quantify the economic impact physicians have on our society. To provide lawmakers, regulators and policymakers with reliable information, the report measured the economic impact of Alabama’s physicians according to four key economic barometers. The overall findings in Alabama include:

•    Jobs: Each physician supported an average of 9.5 jobs, including his/her own, and contributed to a total of 83,095 jobs statewide.

•    Output: Each physician supported an average of $1.3 million in economic output and contributed to a total of $11.2 billion in economic output statewide.

•    Wages and Benefits: Each physician supported an average of $758,744 in total wages and benefits and contributed to a total of $6.7 billion in wages and benefits statewide.

•    Tax Revenues: Each physician supported $46,148 in local and state tax revenues and contributed to a total of $404.9 million in local and state tax revenues statewide.

The study found that, in comparison to other industries, patient care physicians contribute as much or more to the state economy than higher education, home health care, legal services, nursing and residential care.

The Medical Association of the State of Alabama exists to serve, lead and unite physicians in promoting the highest quality of healthcare for the people of Alabama through advocacy, information and education.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (BlackNews.com) – A typical story played over and over again in African-American families all over the country, which involves the drowning of African-American children, yet it goes un-noticed, and under-reported. It may be a swimming pool, a lake, a river or the ocean, all too often, are places of no return for a disproportionate number of African-American children. The following story is true, however, at least partially typical. The bad news is, that this story ends in the death, and destruction of a typical African-American family. The good news is, that a possible remedy was born out of this tragedy. This tragic beginning led to the birth of the Alfred Jones Anti-Distress Device (AJADD) U.S Patent # 8,659,435 B2 issued Feb. 24, 2014, the first true swim safety system.
In the fall of 2009 there was a swimming party for children which was given by a middle-class African-American family with two children, one 9 years old, and one 15 years old, that were using their home as a fun house for children of various economic backgrounds. One of the children, named Albert who was 7 years old, came from Los Angeles to San Diego, with his two sisters all under the age of 14, were brought by the sister-in-law of the homeowners. The sister-in-law’s name was Muriel. Months earlier, Muriel who was Albert’s teacher noticed that Albert’s clothes where un-kept and that he seemed to be always hungry. Muriel inquired, and did her own investigation, and found that Albert’s family was living in a car. Muriel at that point, approached Albert’s mother and offered her home as a temporary residence. Muriel saw this as an opportunity, and introduced the children to Disneyland, Magic Mountain, and many fun parks and places that the children had never been. During this particular party, the children were having great fun, playing water games, diving, and having fun with water toys. Interestingly the homeowner had been throwing swimming parties for over 10 years without incident.
As happened to be the case, Muriel, who was also a professional lifeguard, kept a somewhat watchful eye on the pool along with a designated parent on duty to make sure that the utmost safety was observed. The party was held at the home of George and Wendy McKinney who were the homeowners. Wendy was Muriel’s sister. During the party Muriel and Wendy where frying fish, and fries for everyone. During the party, the kids were playing dead man float, and as fate would have it, Albert got in trouble, yet no one noticed, and before anyone caught on, Albert was at the bottom of the pool. Once discovered, Wendy, and her 9-year-old son Tyler, along with Muriel, immediately dove to the bottom of the pool, and brought Albert to the pool’s edge, began to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation(CPR), as one of the parents called 911. George who was in another part of the house, relaxing and listening to music, was unaware of the events that had just taken place. It wasn’t until George heard the cries of Albert’s sister on the stairway, that he realized that something had gone wrong, very wrong. Instinctively George knew it had something to do with the children in the pool, which created terrifying scenarios in his mind. George rushed to the pool, and observed Wendy, and sister-in-law performing CPR on Albert.
The fire department was only a mile from their home and the paramedics were there in minutes. George remembered that the paramedics rushed Albert to the hospital. George and Muriel left from the home devastated with a friend, and fellow parent named Barbara, who drove them to the hospital. When they got there, they were greeted by a member of the hospital staff who whisked them off to a special room. George remembered how his friend Barbara, who had a similar experience just a few years ago, said that, ” this doesn’t look good, and they are getting ready to give us some bad news.” Well, they were all asked to sit down, and designated hospital staff began to tell them how their medical team had tried desperately to save Albert, but, “he was gone.” George, Muriel and Barbara were devastated. In fact, Muriel and George had to be checked into the hospital because their blood pressures sky-rocketed. George remained almost overnight until his blood pressure was under control. The devastation to Albert’s family and to all that were there could easily occupy a 2,000-page novel.
Through this experience George was motivated to do research on drowning and its effects on households. He found that drowning is the second highest cause of accidental death among children, and that African-American children, had the highest death toll among all, was reported at triple the rate of Caucasian children. A cause was born, and as a result of this experience, George reportedly had a vision, which led to the creation of AJADD. George envisioned a underwater distress signal device in the form of a watch or hand instrument which would be worn on the body, which would be coupled with GPS, vitality monitoring, and swimmer identification technologies, which together would form the solution. George’s device, recently named AJADD after Albert, would add a layer of protection by allowing a swimmer to send and receive signals to a lifeguard, or a caretaker, on land, or on by ship. So, if a swimmer was in distress, the swimmer would be able to transmit vitality information, or other needed information to a lifeguard, or caretaker. The beauty of this system would be that it allows the lifeguard or caretaker to monitor the activities of several swimmers in real-time, at the same time.
The applications of this device could be far-reaching, including use in swimming pools, rivers, lakes and in the ocean. George’s proposed device could also be used on cruise ships, oil rigs, and by the U.S. Military. He is looking for investors to help complete his first prototype. He has already assembled a team of electrical, mechanical engineers and doctors to assemble the prototype, but he is looking for qualified investors, and of course, they will share in the future profits of the company. George says that a percentage of the proceeds that will be designated to help children and families affected by drowning, and for swim lessons for impoverished youth.
Interested in contacting George McKinney, call (619) 517-6729 or visit www.betterlifetechnologiesgroup.com for more info.