On my mind...

When I received the purple legacy book and the album from the May Gala, it made me reflect on my unending gratitude and of all who contributed my deanship.  I continue to be deeply touched by all the words, love and generosity. I am humbled to have been the recipient of the warmth and friendship of alumni, the board of overseers, colleagues, students and mentees. I consider myself the luckiest person in the whole world and I continue to bask in the support that this Penn institution has given the School and me all through my deanship. 

After the many intense collaborations and warm friendships I have forged, for numerous people, the question is, "What is she doing now?" Therefore, I decided to share a narrative of my first year post stepping up from the deanship. Here are some highlights of what I have been thinking about and doing:

• Spreading the message about interprofessional education and supporting the development of action plans for transforming education in Portugal, Colombia, Thailand, Turkey, Germany, Mexico and South Africa.

• Spreading the message about the vital role of partnerships and collaboration with other schools, organizations, boards of overseers and alumni locally and globally.

• Listening, dialoguing and exploring indications of progress in women’s health. For example reviewing policies against harassment and violence, identifying best strategies implemented by different countries to increase access of women to reproductive health as well as girls’ access to education, and listening to women’s voices.

• Examining progress in the education of nurses and in the policies that enhance their scope of practice.

• Here is an important development. Mahmoud has been able to accompany me and has been almost equally engaged with colleagues and students in most of these countries.

• Celebrating our 50^th wedding anniversary with our 5 grandchildren in Aruba.

• Joining Mahmoud in Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea in Egypt to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.

Finally, as much as I am grateful for my wonderful send off by you, I am also very appreciative of your generosity and warmth in welcoming our new dean, Dr. Antonia M. Villarruel. You are a gift to her and she is an incredible gift to our school.

Women’s Health is Everyone’s Business

Empowerment and health are intricately connected and one of the goals of our discipline is to empower individuals and communities to have a voice and to care for themselves. For women in particular, empowerment through good health enables women to reach their full potential, to manage their own lives, and to influence key decisions that shape their lives and families. Empowering women through good health requires equitable access to healthcare, and new preventive healthcare provisions outlined in the Affordable Care Act demonstrate that women’s health is everyone’s business.

The Affordable Care Act calls for important women’s preventive healthcare including mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer, and prenatal care to be offered at no cost to the patient. Notably, the Affordable Care Act also addresses the unique health needs of women throughout their lifespan in eight critical areas:

• Well-woman visits
• Screening for gestational diabetes
• Human papillomavirus testing
• Counseling for sexually transmitted infections
• Counseling and screening for HIV
• Contraceptive methods and counseling
• Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling
• Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence

These guidelines, developed by the Institute of Medicine and supported by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, will give women the benefits of comprehensive preventive services without the burden of co-payments, co-insurance, or deductibles starting in August 2012.

Recognition of the importance of women’s health is cresting. In April, the fifth Colloquium of University Presidents, meeting here at the University of Pennsylvania and hosted by President Amy Gutmann, addressed what universities and the United Nations can do to empower women to change the world.

“Women have the potential to be the world’s most powerful catalysts for change,” the group emphasized, and advocated that the United Nations consider women’s health a matter of global importance by stimulating “innovative programs for vulnerable women and girls . . . [working] to end violence, improve universal access to healthcare and education, eliminate gendered poverty, and improve employment opportunities of women.”

With the prominence of the health of girls and women in the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. is already engaged in creating healthier and more productive families, communities, and societies because the health of the female population is rightfully a priority.

Universities, particularly schools of nursing in our education of healthcare professionals, have a vital role in ensuring that women are well aware of their rights for healthcare, that we join women in developing a strong voice to ensure they have these rights, and that they are exercising the best practices to keep themselves healthy. There is perhaps no more important ingredient to empowerment than good health.