THE LOUISIANA ACTION COALITION ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP

BATON ROUGE, La. --The Louisiana Action Coalition is pleased to announce that the Louisiana Council of Administrators of Nursing Education (LACANE) will be its new leader alongside AARP Louisiana to advance the nursing profession to meet healthcare challenges ahead.

Dr. Lisa Hawthorne, Director of Nursing for Louisiana State University at Eunice, will represent LACANE and will provide leadership and strategic direction to the coalition in her executive role. A certified public health nurse and nurse instructor, Hawthorne holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of San Diego, Master of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix.

“Nurses make up the largest component of the health care workforce in Louisiana, and we are proud to have the state’s colleges and universities lead the way to advance nursing education and practice to transform healthcare,” said Denise Bottcher, State Director, AARP, and co-lead of the Louisiana Action Coalition.

“LACANE is excited to have this opportunity to lead an established coalition that has a proven record of improve healthcare delivery in Louisiana by strengthening the nursing profession,” said Hawthorne. “We must continue to look to the future – beyond our current healthcare emergency— and examine the capacity of the profession to meet the anticipated health and social care demands. Working to advance proven, solution-oriented ways to address the nursing and nurse faculty shortage in Louisiana will be a top priority.”

The coalition is a diverse group of stakeholders and professionals from both nursing and non-nursing organizations, working together to ensure that Louisianans have access to high-quality, patient-centered care in which nurses contribute as essential partners in system-wide transformation. Spearheaded in 2011 by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing - Center for Nursing, the coalition is one of 51 coalitions working nationwide to transform healthcare through nursing. Guided by evidence-based recommendations from the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 2010 report and the most recent report from the National Academy of Medicine – The Future of Nursing 2020-2030, the coalition works to ensure the nursing profession is prepared to meet the challenges in the next decade, to reduce health disparities and promote equity, and to foster a culture of health.

The coalition operates the Nurse Leader Institute, hosts the annual Culture of Health Summit and educates students about careers in nursing across the state.

The Louisiana State Board of Nursing through the Center for Nursing founded and led the coalition for ten years and will continue to serve in a leadership capacity with the coalition.

“It is with great gratitude for the leadership and vision at the state nursing board for the past ten years that we close one chapter and begin another—all working together to strengthen the nursing profession to bring about a culture of health for everyone,” said Bottcher. “I truly believe that our collective efforts have better prepared our nursing workforce for the global pandemic and the ones that may follow.”

Organizations also involved in the coalition include the Louisiana State Nurses Association, Louisiana Nurse Practitioners Association, Louisiana Hospital Association, Louisiana Nurses Foundation, Louisiana Association of Nurse Anesthetist, Louisiana Department of Health as well as several nurse leaders from across the state.