From the earliest days of the pandemic, the ANA Enterprise was a consistent and credible voice on behalf of nurses and the nursing experience, and a thoughtful and respected public presence on COVID-19 matters. Through advocacy, media and social channels, we pressed the case for nurses on a broad range of issues, from increasing the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and bolstering work safety during the pandemic to curbing workplace violence.
The ANA Enterprise’s rapid public response to the changing environment kept our voice visible in more than 1,000 news stories, ensuring nursing’s perspective was part of the national dialogue.

“It is our hope that the survey findings serve as both a wake-up call and an opportunity to make swift change for the future now, as we plan for a second surge and ongoing challenges in the years ahead.”

APRIL 24, 2020

 “Now is the time … to look to the future and begin to rebuild our formerly strong public health infrastructure and workforce, where public health nurses serve as the first line of prevention in mitigating threats to the health of the U.S. population.” 

JUNE 24, 2020

 “Now is the time … to look to the future and begin to rebuild our formerly strong public health infrastructure and workforce, where public health nurses serve as the first line of prevention in mitigating threats to the health of the U.S. population.” 

JUNE 24, 2020

“We will continue to work with Congress and the incoming Administration as the nation’s nursing workforce will play a critical role in education and administration of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to the public.”

DECEMBER 22, 2020
We shared updates and developments as they happened 24/7 via our social media channels, reaching more than 200 MILLION PEOPLE and record engagement.

LEGISLATIVE AND
REGULATORY ADVOCACY

THE CARES ACT

ANA lobbied Congress and the Trump administration to address the dire lack of PPE across the country, enhance access to care, and boost public health preparedness. Enacted in 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act included more than $2 trillion in spending.

$1.5 BILLION TO STATES FOR PPE

CONTACT TRACING TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL CASES

PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS ACTIVITIES

$16 BILLION FOR THE STRATEGIC NATIONAL STOCKPILE FOR CRITICAL MEDICAL SUPPLIES

PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION FOR APRNS TO ORDER AND PROVIDE HOME HEALTH CARE TO MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE PATIENTS

2020 CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

ANA relentlessly advocated on behalf of nurses, delivering testimony about PPE and the reliability of the supply chain, preparedness, planning, pandemic response, and COVID-19 disparities in communities of color.

July 30, 2020 Testimony from ANA President Ernest Grant to the Senate Finance Committee Regarding Personal Protective Equipment

June 26, 2020ANA Responds to Questions from Chairman Alexander Re: Planning for the Next Pandemic

June 3, 2020Testimony from President Grant to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

May 27, 2020Testimony from ANA President Ernest Grant to House Ways & Means Committee Regarding COVID-19 Disparities in Communities of Color

POLICY AND REGULATORY ADVOCACY LETTERS

In 2020, ANA made policy recommendations to numerous federal agencies through letters, meetings and by serving on coalitions.

And through our RNAction advocates, our voices were heard!

  • 119,500 new advocates joined the RNAction community, an increase of 185%
  • Nurses and advocates sent nearly 500,000 letters to Congress, an increase of 458% from 2019
  • RNAction SMS (phone text) advocates grew to almost 40,000, an increase of 188% from 2019

The American Nurses Foundation, in collaboration with funding partners, developed the Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses, a multi-faceted package of resources to meet nurses’ needs during the pandemic. In total, donors have contributed $16.5 million to help nurses in their time of need.

The Response Fund provided:

  • Mental health and well-being support
  • Direct financial assistance
  • Education & evidence-based information
  • Advocacy
  • Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses COVID-19 Survey Series

APRN INITIATIVES

In 2020, ANCC launched APRN Initiatives to meet the special professional needs of APRNs. This effort creates a focus across the ANA Enterprise on providing practice, policy and regulation resources for APRNs and opportunities to engage with and enhance the visibility of APRNs.

AMANDA BUECHEL, BSN, RN, CCRN, ILLINOIS

“Because a family member couldn’t be there, you needed to be that person. Sometimes I would just sit there for hours, sweating under the PPE.”

SHERAN OKE, DIRECTOR OF NURSING, MIDWIFERY, AND PATIENT SERVICES, NORTHAMPTON HOSPITAL, UNITED KINGDOM

“Like everybody in the world we’ve had a rough time over the course of the last 18 months with the pandemic and looking after each other and looking after our patients so that they get the best possible care. But I have to say Pathway is our recovery. It’s the way in which we’re coming out as nurses and midwives — stronger and better and getting back on our Pathway journey together.”


ANA-Illinois member Amanda Buechel, volunteered in mid-March to care for COVID-19 patients admitted to her Chicago-area hospital. The first patients she saw were critically ill, needing ventilator support and other life-saving interventions. 

“It was pretty unnerving,” said Buechel, who normally provides care to young, surgical trauma patients in her ICU. “These [COVID-19] patients would come to the ER because they didn’t feel well. They were walking and talking, and then deteriorated within hours.”

Nurses had to have urgent conversations with patients who didn’t have advance directives. “We’d have to talk with them about COVID-19, what could happen, and what they wanted to do regarding end-of life interventions,” Buechel said. “They were scared.”

Buechel said that, over time, she and nurses from many types of units were taking care of patients with COVID-19 who didn’t need ventilator support but did need intense emotional support. “A patient would put the call light on at 2 a.m. because he or she was having a hard time breathing and was scared,” she said. “Because a family member couldn’t be there, you had to be that person. Sometimes I would just sit in the room for hours, sweating under the PPE.”

Although successful patient discharges were celebrated, Buechel said nurses were still witnessing the agony of family members and patient deaths that were difficult to process.

“I don’t cry a lot at work, but I’m human,” Buechel added. “Nurses should know it’s OK to not be OK.”

This story was originally published in the September 2020 issue of ANA’s official journal, American Nurse in ANA on the Frontline