NEWS
Tech’s Haskins earns prestigious spot in Rural Health Fellows program
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- BS, nursing, Northwestern State, 1987
- MS, psychiatric mental health, University of Texas-Arlington, 2007
- DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice), University of Tennessee (Memphis), Health Science Center, nursing practice in forensics, 2012
- Joined Louisiana Tech 2011, Lincoln General-Glenwood Endowed Professor, 2011
I’ve been a nurse since graduating from Northwestern in 1987. In healthcare, nursing fosters a connection with people unlike any other healthcare provider. Some of it is the amount of time we spend in conversations and direct patient care. But after 30 years of nursing, I believe it comes from being genuinely interested in an individual’s story in a holistic manner — physiological, psychological, sociological, environment, and economics. A patient can have the best of intentions to improve their health, but without the resources or support, they will stay on an endless cycle, never really improving their health. As a young nurse learning and growing in my profession, I focused on knowledge and giving the best acute care possible. As a much older and seasoned nurse, I am interested in impacting the healthcare system from a systems perspective, creating long-lasting improvements in healthcare policy for a larger population.
What does your job for the University involve?I teach nursing fundamentals and the neurological/psychosocial nursing course at our Division of Nursing. I also provide consultation through Louisiana Tech for the Bienville Parish School Board School Health program, which recently incorporated telehealth to serve the healthcare needs of students, teachers, staff, and families of Bienville Parish. It has been a great learning opportunity, working with this cutting-edge programming and returning to my roots in my home parish. I contribute twice monthly to the “Bienville Democrat” in my editorial column, “Healthy People, Healthy Parish,” to educate, inform, and improve the health for the residents of Bienville Parish on a wide range of healthcare topics. I serve as a community member of “Healthy Communities,” sponsored by the LSU Ag Center and aimed to improve the lives of residents of Ringgold in Bienville Parish. Rural healthcare, rural culture, and rural communities have been a threaded interest since my doctoral work.
What is NRHA?NRHA is a non-profit organization working to improve the health and well-being of rural Americans. It provides leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. NRHA’s membership is made up of more than 21,000 diverse individuals and organizations, all of whom share the common bond of an interest in rural health.
Tell us what you will be doing this year?This Fellowship begins Feb. 5 at the National Rural Health Association Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., with a week’s-worth of orientation, meetings, and advocacy training. Throughout the year, we will work with mentors, electronically and through conference calls, to work on projects, leadership instruction, and to get legislative updates. Teams will form based on expertise and areas of interest to work on policy development for rural America. We will all meet in May in New Orleans for the National NRHA conference to participate in constituency group meetings and continue our teamwork. This group of Fellows will graduate in February 2019 in Washington D.C. at the Policy Institute. The NRHA supports Fellows by providing registration for all three national meetings.
How will this opportunity help your students?I plan to bring my experiences to the classroom to link our roles as registered nurses to legislative advocacy and policy impact for healthcare, public health, and mental health.