ANA Enterprise to Launch New Initiative to Transform Health of America’s Nurses

SILVER SPRING, MD – The ANA Enterprise today announced that it will launch the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation™(HNHN) Grand Challenge, a new initiative designed to transform the health of the nation by improving the health of America’s 3.6 million registered nurses, on May 1. Sage Products (a part of Stryker Medical) is a corporate sponsor of the HNHN Grand Challenge.

“The ANA Enterprise has a long-standing commitment to ensuring the health and wellness of the nation, and we want nurses to be role models of good health,” said ANA Enterprise CEO Marla J. Weston, PhD, RN, FAAN.  “Nurses are committed to caring for their patients, and they often put their own health aside. As a result, nurses are less healthy than the average American due to the demands of shift work, higher levels of stress, and lack of access to healthy food.”

The HNHN Grand Challenge will connect and engage individual nurses, employers of nurses, state nurses associations, and specialty nurses associations to take action to improve their health in five key areas:  physical activity, rest, nutrition, quality of life, and safety.  The HNHN Grand Challenge will also provide a web platform to inspire action, cultivate friendly competition, provide content and resources to users, gather user data, and serve to connect nurses with each other, and with employers and organizations. There will also be health challenges related to the key areas, such as a quality of life challenge with daily tips to reduce stress, in May, and a safety challenge with tips on safe patient handling and mobility in June.

Seventy state nurses associations, hospitals, nursing schools, and other healthcare organizations have already signed up as partners and committed to a variety to health goals, from increasing physical activity and improving nutrition to preventing burnout. Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, for example, started a “Tender Loving Care” Cart to reduce stress, compassion fatigue and depression among nurses by offering massages, aromatherapy, Reiki, healing touch, and nutritional support, and the Missouri Nurses Association is organizing a “Show Me Healthy Nurses” 5K run. 

Both individuals and organizational partners can get information and sign up for the HNHN Grand Challenge by visiting www.healthynursehealthynation.org.

The launch of the HNHN Grand Challenge precedes the annual National Nurses Week (May 6-12), which celebrates the many contributions nurses make to keep America healthy.  Nurses, hospitals, and other health care stakeholders are encouraged to download the National Nurses Week Resource Toolkit, which includes materials to help promote this annual observance in local communities and in the media.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has designated 2017 as the "Year of the Healthy Nurse," with the tagline, “Nursing: the Balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit.” Each month, ANA will highlight various health, safety, and wellness topics to help guide nurses on their journey toward their best health ever.