Dr. Halli Carr Represented Texas Nurses Association at National Assembly
The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) recognized Dr. Halli Carr, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CNE, Clinical Associate Professor, who was elected statewide by Texas nurses to represent the Texas Nurses Association at the 130th Anniversary American Nurses Association (ANA) Membership Assembly in Washington, DC, June 25-27. More than 500 nurse leaders gathered to strategize the future of the nursing and industry challenges.
“We are proud of Dr. Carr for her dedication to Texas nursing education and practice workforce needs,” said Dr. Tanya Sudia, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, Dean and Professor of the LHSON. “Collaborating with regional and national colleagues, Dr. Carr is engaged in forward thinking dialogue for nursing sustainability.”
Prior to the ANA Assembly, over 500 nurses traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for legislation that included, Nursing Is a Professional Degree Act and show their support for stricter workplace violence protections. In addition, members passed the Professional Policy Committee Report to shape ANA’s legislative priorities and affirm nurses' rights to advocate for safer staffing approaches. “Nursing represents the largest group of healthcare professionals and when we put our voices together we can make change happen,” said Dr. Carr.
“Currently, one of the biggest issues facing nursing is the change to the professional funding designation for graduate nursing education within the governmental loan programs. This change in designation would cut the funding in half for nurses who wish to go back to school to get their Master's or Doctoral degrees,” said Dr. Carr. “We are actively lobbying to have this professional funding designation restored,” said Dr. Carr.
“Traveling to Washington DC to represent Texas nurses was a full-circle moment for me. I grew up on a dairy farm in East Texas. As a first-generation college graduate whose education was fully funded by federal loans and partially repaid by Title VIII HRSA funds, it was particularly meaningful to me to speak on behalf of students like myself who depend on governmental funding to be able to attend nursing school,” recalls Dr. Carr.
“Another important issue we are facing is the increasing incidence of workplace violence toward nurses,” said Dr. Carr. “Across the U.S., nurses face physical, verbal, and emotional assaults from patients, families, and visitors within their healthcare settings,” explains Dr. Carr. “These assaults often result in nurses leaving the bedside further contributing to the nursing shortage. To address this critical issue, we are working with our professional nursing organizations to pursue legislation to increase workplace safety initiatives and hold healthcare organizations accountable for keeping their staff safe.”