March 1, 2020
Press Release: ABNF Celebrates 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife
Chicago, IL – The Association of Black Nursing Faculty, Inc (ABNF) joins with many other professional nursing organizations in taking this opportunity to promote the contributions that nurses make daily, in the lives of the patients and communities we serve. Nurses constitute the largest group of health professionals in this country, providing care across the lifespan from the very beginning of life to the end. While numerous research studies document the effectiveness of nursing practice in improving patient outcomes, the impact of nurses’ work is not widely known nor reported in mainstream media. This despite the fact that, according to a recent Gallup poll, nursing is the most honest and trusted profession in America, and has topped this list for 18 consecutive years.Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in commemoration of the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of the nursing discipline. Currently, there are 22 million nurses and two million midwives worldwide, accounting for half of the global health workforce, according to WHO. It is estimated that 9 million more nurses and midwives will be needed before the end of the decade, if we are to realize universal health coverage, a mandate proposed by the United Nation High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage.When compared with other nations, globally the United States ranks significantly lower in healthcare outcomes than is documented by data reported by other high-income countries. Despite the trillions of dollars spent in healthcare, our maternal-infant death rates continue to soar, 98,000 patients die needlessly each year as a result of medical errors, and healthcare disparities negatively impact health outcomes in ethnically diverse populations. The discipline of nursing is well positioned to reverse these trends and to help build a transformed healthcare system, if permitted to engage at its full scope of practice.For over three decades, ABNF has disseminated the scientific work of minority nurses through its peer-reviewed publication, The ABNF Journal. The Association seeks to continue to do so in promoting the contributions and scholarly work of the minority nurse academician. We share the objective of the National Academy of Medicine Consensus Study on the Future of Nursing, to extend the vision for the nursing profession into 2030, to improve access, decrease costs, and reduce disparities.
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About ABNF, Inc
Founded in 1987 the vision of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty, Inc (ABNF) is to reduce healthcare disparities among minority communities by contributing to the global scholarly discourse. Its mission is to promote and widely disseminate the research and other scholarly works of the minority nurse academician. Its overall purpose is to form and maintain a group whereby Black professional nurse faculty with similar credentials, interest and concerns may work to promote health-related issues and educational interests for the benefit of themselves and the Black community. The scholarly works of ABNF members are published in The ABNF Journal, the official publication of the association. The ABNF Journal is a peer-reviewed publication that is published quarterly by Tucker Publications Inc. Each year the Association hosts an Annual Meeting and Scientific Conference at which scholarly poster and podium presentations disseminate timely information related to addressing the healthcare needs of underserved and culturally diverse populations. The Conference is held in host cities located around the country and abroad, sharing knowledge with national and international scientific audiences.
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