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NASN joins Nursing Collaborative on Climate Change and Health to Advance Climate Solutions and Promote Child Health. Get Involved and Join the Nurses Drawdown

By Kathy Reiner, MPH, BSN, RN, AE-C, FNASN posted 06-25-2020 15:35

  

“There is nothing more important to the health of our children than the health of our planet.”.   With this assertion, Janis Hogan, Maine’s National Association of School Nurses, (NASN), Director, captures the connection between the vision of NASN, that all students are healthy, safe, and ready to learn, and the urgency for school nurses to fully engage in the effort to reduce and mitigate the damaging health effects of climate change.  Recognizing this as an imperative, NASN joined the Nursing Collaborative on Climate Change and Health, to amplify recognition among school nurses that climate change is a public health crisis. The Nursing Collaborative is a partnership between the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Climate for Health, and national nursing organizations with the aim of building visible nursing leadership in addressing climate change as a health imperative. NASN is the preeminent professional organization for school nurses and is the authoritative resource for evidence based educational, policy, advocacy, and practice support. Joining other prominent nursing organizations in the Collaborative provides knowledge and influence to school nurses so they can, in turn, provide support and education to students, families and communities regarding climate change health effects, response, and mitigation.  


Climate change poses threats to human health, safety and security. School nurses recognize that children, especially children of color, those living in poverty, and those with chronic diseases are at highest risk from the damaging health effects of climate change.  Current conditions in our country, including the COVID-19 pandemic and historic and present day injustices due to racism, have exposed the unequal consequences that environmental and health threats can have.  Addressing these disparities is essential to the NASN goal of advancing health and educational equity. Nurses are the most trusted professionals and school nurses are ideally positioned to inform and engage their communities about the health effects of climate change and advocate for climate solutions. Working upstream and addressing the conditions where our students live, learn, and play has the largest impact on health. Immediate, comprehensive, and bold action is needed to avoid the most catastrophic effects of the changing climate. NASN is excited and hopeful that fully engaging school nurses in bold action via the Nursing Collaborative will have a meaningful impact on the goal of social, educational, and health equity for our communities.   

Climate change can be overwhelming!  Individual school nurses can get involved and make evidence-based impacts to address climate change health by joining the Nurse's Drawdown and taking simple actions in their lives and communities!

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Learn more about the Nursing Collaborative on Climate Change and Health and view the full list of member organizations here

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Thank you Lydia.

08-25-2020 13:20

I am so happy and proud that NASN is taking the stance that you can't have happy, healthy children, and population in an un-healthy word. We only have to look at places like Flint MI, to see the truth of that. It is important that this should not be a political issue, but a health, and mental health issue.