Julie-ann Greenhalgh, BSN,RN,CNOR (emeritus)
As a long term member of both RISNA and AORN I feel I have the qualifications to forefill this roll. I have previously served as Secretary of RISNA. I have a working knowledge of the government affairs of nurses in todays workforce as it pertains to government issues. I was instrumental with the help of RISNA and the AORN to lobby and assist with the 'Smoke Evacuation Bill" for OR nurses and personnel. this bill was put into practice January 2019, making RI the first state in the Country to activate this law. This is now current practice in 11 states with 10 more states having bills in committees. I look forward to serving RISNA and the nurses of RI as we work to make RI nurses the BEST.
Janelle Amoako, APRN, CNP
I want to express my gratitude for considering my return to the board of ANA RI. I previously held a Director-at-Large position from 2016-2019.
My involvement with ANA - RI began in 2015, soon after graduating from nursing school. As I entered the nursing workforce, I sought a supportive community and found it through ANA RI, especially among the wonderful nurse colleagues that I had the pleasure of getting to know!
I have worked in various areas such as global health, academia, med-surg, and urgent care; however, community health has always been what I come back to! My passion lies in empowering underserved populations with the tools they need to manage their own health outcomes successfully.
In addition to my clinical work, advocacy is another area where I am deeply committed – not only concerning patient care but also advancing the nursing profession. This commitment has been demonstrated through various employment roles as well as active participation within ANA-RI. Specifically, I have served on the Government Affairs committee and led the Membership Committee as Chair for several years. These opportunities enabled me to co-lead/organize events focused on social engagement, political advocacy, and nursing resilience for our members and the larger Rhode Island community.
I firmly believe in nurturing nursing leadership and envisioning continued advancement despite the uncertainties we see in healthcare today. If there’s any place that can make this happen, I believe it is here in little Rhody! Thank you for your time and consideration!
Tracey Bock, BSN, RN, MBA
I’ve been a registered nurse for over twelve years with 7 years in nursing leadership. My passion is Community Health - providing high quality care to underserved populations. Providing care to our patients begins with nurses who are passionate about the work and well supported by their organization. I’m a strong proponent of adequate training and education, a work environment that limits burnout, providing ongoing educational opportunities, and keeping nurses engaged with the community they serve. I want to be able to contribute to the support of our state nurses on a higher level including representing RI nurses in state legislatures. I am currently an Assistant Health Center Director at one of RI’s largest FQHCs, Providence Community Health Center, where I’ve worked as as a clinical nurse and nurse leader/administrator for ten years. I’d love an opportunity to serve as a board member for RI-ANA so I can contribute my experience and skills in improving the culture and profession of nursing.
Chinwendu (Jenny) Chukwudike, DNP; PMHNP-BC; FNP-BC
I am very passionate about nursing, as a double certified nurse practitioner, I've had experience managing and treating medical and psychiatric patients. My goal is to break barriers associated with treating patients with medical and psychiatric illnesses. I am a member of Sigma Theta Tau.
Joanne Borodemos, RN
I share a passion and commitment with my fellow members for the protection of our leadership role in healthcare and the advancement of the profession that I chose over 50 years ago and still dearly love. Currently, I hold a position as a staff nurse at Butler Hospital and I am very proud of the work we do there.
Over the course of my long career, I have served in a variety of areas and roles in Nursing, taking advantage of the many options available to us as nurses. Some of these include Long Term Care where I challenged regulators with creative staffing to better serve the
patients, Infection Control/Epidemiology where I was one of the original clinicians in this field locally. I saw the first MRSA case and the first case of what came to be called AIDS here in RI. I educed IV change times from every 48 to every 72 hours based on in house studies, I identified outbreaks and promoted public health measures like the then new Hepatitis B and Influenza vaccinations.
Our patients are not receiving the care and attention they need and are suffering from the effects of being left in bed too long, equipment and supplies are unavailable for us and the patients, there is no time for teaching because typing and clicking are now the priority. The list goes on. Nursing leadership has left the building. It has been redirected away from the basics of nursing care to an alternate reality where we are practically required to ask “would you like fries with that? “. We need to do more than write about these problems ad- nauseum. Staffing ratios is not the answer. We have serious systemic issues in healthcare. As the most trusted profession, I believe we should seek legislative support for our authority and autonomy to care and advocate for our patients as we once did.
I believe we need “staff” nurses on this board and on the hospital boards. My goals if elected will be to do more outreach in the field this term, strive for more unity among nurses, encourage legislative action to protect and validate our profession and encourage Nurses (and ANA) to advocate for a “Medicare for All “system because health insurance is not healthcare, and it has created a fragmented nightmare. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.