AONL’s King speaks at AARP Health Equity Summit

AONL Board of Directors Treasurer Simmy King, DNP, RN, spoke last month at the Building Equity in Nursing and Health Care Leadership Summit. Sponsored by AARP and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, the summit focused on actions nurses can take to improve health equity. King, the nursing director of clinical information systems and professional development at Children’s National in Washington, D.C., described steps AONL has taken to prioritize diversity and belonging. In 2020, AONL hired a consultant who recommended changes to make the organization’s leadership more diverse. In 2022, AONL’s candidate slate for board positions was larger because its nomination committee sought to make more candidates feel comfortable to run for office. As a result, the elected board was AONL’s most diverse. “We need to diversify thought as we propel into the future and not be exclusive about who can be on the team,” King said. The Campaign for Action offers a Health Equity Toolkit and Action Hub to help individuals and organizations prioritize health equity. (Campaign for Action video, 12/16/22)