New nurses are born all the time, and the New Jersey Nurse readership is growing and changing with each edition. Allow us to reintroduce Healthy Nurse Healthy New Jersey in this shiny, new issue, and explain how to benefit from our initiative.
From 2013-2016 the American Nurses Association collected data on the health of over 10,000 US nurses, reporting their findings in the Executive Summary of the American Nurses Association Health Risk Appraisal (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2017). For nearly every indicator in their study, the health of nurses was worse than that of the average American (ANA, 2017). And so Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation™ was born. The overarching goal of this campaign is to raise awareness and engagement to ultimately improve the health of the country’s 5.2 million nurses. HNHN focuses on six health domains: quality of life, physical activity, nutrition, rest, mental health, and safety (ANA, 2024). A healthier nursing workforce could lead to an increase in health role models and ultimately more effective, safe, and sustainable healthcare. Check out Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation’s Celebrating Five Years report at hnhn.org (ANA, 2023).
In New Jersey, we are working towards these same goals. In 2017, under the guidance of Dr. Susan Weaver, New Jersey won the ANA’s Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation Grand Challenge and a $10,000 prize for having the state with the most nurses to take the Healthy Nurse Pledge. While the New Jersey State Nurses Association strives to improve working conditions for nurses throughout the state, Healthy Nurse Healthy New Jersey encourages nurses to prioritize their own mental, physical, and spiritual health. Through a core group of dedicated nurses and a network of nurse experts, HNHNJ offers programming and contests throughout the year. If you would like to become a member of our group and to contribute your through journalism, time, or expertise, please email us at healthynurse@njsna.org
Keep an eye out for invitations to fall and winter Healthy Nurse talks, gatherings, and contests which will come to you through NJSNA eblasts and articles in New Jersey Nurse. We will be tackling topics like nurse fatigue (a silent epidemic), health maintenance, sustainable living, work-life balance, delicious healthy eating, and more. Come enhance our 1K strong Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/NJStateNursesHealthyNurse/
Take the Healthy Nurse Pledge at https://njsna.org/healthy-nurse/ and join the latest challenges at hnhn.org
Warmly,
Lisa Ertle, MSN, RN and the 2024 Healthy Nurse Healthy New Jersey Team (Sheila Caldwell, Linda Corigliano, Sandra Foley, Terri-Ann Kelly, Mary Ellen Levine, Tracey Jaworski-Lucas, Joseph Treimel and Susan Weaver)
References
American Nurses Association (2017). Executive summary of the American Nurses Association health risk appraisal. https://www.nursingworld.org/~4aeeeb/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/work-environment/health–safety/ana-healthriskappraisalsummary_2013-2016.pdf
American Nurse Association (2024). About HNHN. https://www.healthynursehealthynation.org/about/about-hnhn/
American Nurses Association (2023). Celebrating 5 years. https://www.healthynursehealthynation.org/~497fe5/globalassets/hnhn-assets/all-images-view-with-media/about/2023-hnhn_5-years_final.pdf
