A Unified Body of Voices

While pursuing her doctoral degree at Indiana University, Shannon Kunberger, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, took a class on health policy, legislation and advocacy with an expert in the field.

“The instructor’s engagement in health policy initiatives enlightened me about how I can use my voice as a nurse on so many different levels,” says Kunberger, Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer of Cleveland Clinic Euclid Hospital. “I’m committed to advocacy and want to empower other nurses to find and use their voices as one unified body.”

That commitment led Kunberger to accept the role of executive sponsor of the Nursing Institute’s Legislative and Healthcare Policy Council in 2023. The council supports Cleveland Clinic’s advocacy at the local, state and federal levels.

“As nurses, we can move the dial on so many important issues by sharing our voices, our opinions and our expertise,” she says.

The mission and issues

The Zielony Nursing Institute launched the Legislative and Healthcare Policy Council a decade ago. After a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rejuvenated last year under Kunberger’s leadership. The council, which meets six times a year, strives to:

• Educate nursing caregivers about legislative policy and processes.

• Communicate information on active legislation impacting healthcare.

• Provide access to resources to facilitate informed decision-making.

• Collaborate with Cleveland Clinic Government Relations for a shared purpose and message.

• Inform nurses on how to engage on policy and legislative issues in compliance with Cleveland Clinic Government Relations’ policy.

Nearly 200 nursing caregivers participated in the first few meetings in 2024. Early meetings set the foundation for the council, with a representative from Government Relations explaining the department’s role and the legislative process.

Topics in subsequent meetings included Ohio legislation on workplace violence and staffing mandates. House Bill 452, aimed at reducing violence in healthcare settings, was passed earlier this year by the Ohio House of Representatives and forwarded to the Senate.

During the May meeting of the Legislative and Healthcare Policy Council, a Government Relations spokesperson discussed the bill and Erica Shields, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, Executive Director and Associate Chief Nursing Officer of Emergency Services/Behavioral Health, shared Cleveland Clinic’s strategies for protecting nurses in the workplace. (A July 2024 episode of the Nurse Essentials podcast features insight from Shields on preventing workplace violence.)

“I had my own experience of aggression and assault early in my career while working in emergency medicine,” says Kunberger. “I want to do everything I can to protect our caregivers, so they don’t have a similar experience.”

Academic partners for advocacy

Lisa Baszynski, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Executive Director and Associate Chief Nursing Officer of Education and Professional Development, joined the council to help ensure that nurses have a say in legislation and policies that impact them.

“If we don’t have nurse leaders and clinical nurses at the table making decisions about practice and healthcare, then somebody else will be making the decisions for us,” she says.

Baszynski also chairs the Deans’ Roundtable, a collaborative group of local nursing school deans, directors or delegates who meet with Cleveland Clinic nursing leaders to strengthen academic and practice partner relationships. She is introducing the Legislative and Healthcare Policy Council’s work to members of the Deans’ Roundtable and encouraging them to become involved in policy and legislation.

During meetings with academic partners, Cleveland Clinic nursing leaders have been addressing clinical and academic faculty shortages, which impact the student-faculty experience, preparation of new graduate students and the pipeline of nurses.

“While we’re looking at the issue locally, we began to wonder how we could make changes on a bigger level,” says Baszynski. Kunberger attended the Deans’ Roundtable earlier this year to discuss ways its members can become agents of change at the local, state and federal level. Other guests included leaders from the Ohio Council of Deans and Directors of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Nursing Programs and the chair of the National League for Nursing.

Ohio State Representative Rachel Baker, PhD, a nurse researcher, made a virtual appearance at the Deans’ Roundtable in August to share her story of becoming involved in legislation and provide advice on how to get started.

“There is so much energy around legislation, policy and advocacy among our Deans’ Roundtable,” says Baszynski. “We are still in the discovery phase, exploring how we can come together with the Legislative and Healthcare Policy Council and tackle issues related to faculty and nursing shortages. But we are ready for action-item discussions.”

Inspiring the next generation

Kunberger welcomes collaboration with members of the Deans’
Roundtable not only to connect with academic leaders, but also to
reach their students.

“There is a great opportunity for nursing students to learn about
advocacy,” she says. “I was a doctoral candidate when I learned
about it. Imagine if we expose students earlier and include the
voices of the younger generation to help drive our profession and
changes in healthcare policy?”