The College's Director of Nurse Practitioner Education, Jennifer Clifton, has been named as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) liaison to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) Board of Directors.
In the past, NCCHC's board membership was dominated by national organizations and physicians. Clifton says having a seat on the board will allow her to represent nurse practitioners on a national level.
"I've got a lot I want to do," she says. "But most importantly, I want to make nurse practitioners more visible in this organization."
As a board member, Clifton intends to work with NCCHC to: (1) ensure NCCHC standards are more inclusive of Advance Practice Nurses and their scope of practice, (2) increase collaboration among and visibility of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the correctional health field; and (3) ensure that NPs have a permanent presence in the national discussion of correctional health care.
"We're thrilled to have the voice of nurse practitioners--and one of our nurse practitioner leaders--represented at this national organization," says Dean Trish Morton.
This is the first time AANP has held a position on the NCCHC Board. NCCHC sets national health care standards for incarcerated individuals. NCCHC also provides accreditation for facilities that meet these standards. Accreditation signals a constitutionally acceptable level of care for a facility’s inmates, which translates into improved health status, fewer grievances and lawsuits, and reduced health risk to the community when inmates are released.