May 6, 2024
– By Gabrielle Lamplugh –
Throughout our ENI communities, nurses play a critical role in improving community health. This May, in honor of National Nurses Month, we are excited to share about the crucial role of nurses in advancing health equity from the perspective of Adrian Holloway, ENI Community Liaison in LaFayette.
For Adrian, who has served as a nurse for over two decades, the career was a natural fit. A servant leader, she knew nursing would allow her to not just serve others but help them feel better as well. Adrian also appreciates that nursing allows her to work holistically with patients. Each day, she has the opportunity to help people feel better not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. To her, that’s what makes the role of a nurse so unique.
“Nurses play a very instrumental role,” Adrian shared. “You’ll find that nurses spend a larger amount of direct time with patients. The nurses are there all day, but the doctors come in and out – nurses have more of an opportunity to really develop relationships with people.”
Moving health equity forward requires having relationships.
Adrian Holloway, ENI Community Liaison in Lafayette
According to Adrian, it is these relationships that help health professionals better know their patients. And, by better knowing their patients, health professionals can better serve their needs.
“Once you develop relationships you peel back some layers and can identify areas people are struggling in or need additional attention in,” Adrian explained. “Moving health equity forward requires having relationships.”
Nurses serve as bridge builders and connectors. According to Adrian, they also play the important role of educators. For many patients, nurses are the first professionals to field their questions or concerns. Nurses also relay information upward to their colleagues. Oftentimes nurses serve an important role in informing physicians of community health issues.
This is especially true in Adrian’s line of nursing – home health care. She shared that providing care inside a patient’s home often provides extra insight. When a nurse visits a patient at home, they see firsthand the challenges and inequities they face.
“We truly meet patients where they are,” Adrian said. “You get an opportunity to actually go into their environment and see what it’s like.”
“I may have no idea what it’s like until I get to meet these people where they live, ” Adrian continued. “I often find myself in a home that does not have simple things that I may take for granted.”
Connecting with patients through home health is one reason why Adrian is so passionate about addressing health equity. Her experience has deeply influenced her philosophy on healthcare.
“Perhaps patients aren’t doing the things that they should do, but when you get an opportunity to meet them where they are you recognize that people are doing the very best they can with what they have,” Adrian emphasized. “If providers can offer them more resources or connect them to more resources then we can create healthier communities.”
Adrian shared that the opportunity to network with and educate others on health equity has been one of the most rewarding aspects of ENI. She has already seen the positive outcomes of working alongside her ENI teammates to address health equity issues.
“ENI to me has helped remove the blinders to the lack of health equity and really encouraged and push providers to make sure that everyone has access to adequate healthcare,” Adrian shared.
“We’ve been able to identify where these health gaps are and then take the initiative to address them,” Adrian continued. “From health resource directories to connecting people in specific communities to the health resources they need.”
This May, please join us in celebrating Adrian and all the nurses who are working to improve health equity across Alabama!
