The past three months have been eye opening for me. The CNA Board meeting in July was the first with me as Executive Director. Margaret Bishop and I had a good conversation with some of the Board members on some needed changes as we moved forward. A couple of months later, there have been ANT, DNA, SIG, GAPP, and NPAC meetings. (I know I am using outdated language, but please indulge me as some of these groups transition.) There have also been some “inaugural” meetings including a re-forming of DNA 7, now called the Southwest Colorado Nurses Association and DNA 16, which might be known as Nurses in Action by the time you read this. Margaret and I also represented CNA in a meeting with the Colorado Hospital Association and most recently with the members of the Colorado Organization of Nurse Leaders.

Two photographs accompany this “ED Corner.”  The first is “The Great Divide.” Most of you know the continental divide runs through the Rocky Mountains, directing water east or west from the peaks. When I saw this sign, it made me think of how we often feel divided. I hear from nurses in rural settings who talk about the lack of resources in their area as compared to more urban hospitals. I hear from nurses in long term care who feel disrespected by nurses in acute care. I hear from nurse leaders who are frustrated that the nurses don’t understand why some things can’t be done and I hear from those nurses who feel the nurse leaders don’t take their ideas into consideration. I also hear from non-nursing patient advocacy groups who want to remind me that their patients matter too. The takeaway from all these meetings is while these different groups – nursing and not – often have the same goal of providing safe nursing care, we might have different backgrounds, different ideas on how to get there, and even a history of not working well together. Those differences should lead to communication, not division, as we strive to better understand each other and reach compromises.

That brings me to the second picture. Mary Satre snapped this photo of Karen Zink handing over the “Super District Award” for DNA 7 from 1980 to Christy Deem, CNA Board member and current leader of the DNA 7 turned Southwest Colorado Nurses Association (the first of our renamed DNAs). At that meeting, we heard many of the same struggles experienced by those nurses in Durango and the surrounding area. The same forces push them away from the bedside. But also, the belief that we are stronger together, and through CNA – and each of us aligned with a common goal – we can make a difference.

With the legislative session about to start as you read through these pages, I hope each of you will be looking for our emails, calls to action, informational posts on the website, weekly newsletter, and even this quarterly journal to recognize the potential divide, but pull together to improve nursing, and with it, healthcare.