Health Equity and Social Justice
Nurses’ advocacy for our profession, patients, and communities are interconnected. NYNSA members advocate for social, racial and economic justice because these struggles are inseparable from our fight for quality care for all patients.
Nurses’ advocacy for our profession, patients, and communities are interconnected. NYNSA members advocate for social, racial and economic justice because these struggles are inseparable from our fight for quality care for all patients.
The problems outside our healthcare facilities are often what bring our patients to us in the first place. Some patients might lack access to primary care, or live in areas burdened by decades of pollution and, as a result, high rates of asthma. Nurses have the responsibility to advocate for our patients—at the bedside and beyond— and that includes addressing patients’ social determinants of health. People cannot truly heal and thrive unless their underlying living conditions are addressed.
When union nurses come together, we can use our skills, our voices and our power to address the root causes of the problems our patients and communities face.
Climate Justice
Nurses know that the climate crisis is also a health crisis. As nurses committed to public health, we have an important role to play in reducing harm to our patients—and the planet.
