We are so excited to share the below article on Everyday Heroes Kids by Nationally Certified School Nurse, Robin Cogan; author of The Relentless School Nurse blog, Johnson & Johnson Fellow, Sesame Communities Hero and Everyday Hero. www.ehkidshealth.com
What if we asked families what they needed to strengthen their relationships with their healthcare providers and what if we acted on it? This was the driving thought behind the Community Cafe Initiative. This change project was the result of my team participation in the 2015 Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program.
Community Cafes are small group gatherings where structured conversations around specific topics are held and community-based solutions are identified. It is a participant-driven discussion that empowers community members by asking about their experiences or solutions to specific topics.
For example, a Community Cafe can focus on parents’ perceptions around their children’s health care experience, or their understanding of the impact of chronic absenteeism on student success. The point is that the discussion is community-driven. Asking the experts, our families, to create community-driven solutions empowers them by giving their perspective a voice.
Hosting Community Cafes to understand the family perspective in their healthcare experience can create a synergy that leads to sustainable change. The most rewarding and exceptional outcome of the Community Cafe Initiative is that a grassroots collaboration has formed that includes the voices of families, community members, providers and school nurses. What began as a conversation has grown into a method to address barriers to care for our most vulnerable population, our children.
To find out more about hosting your own Community Cafe, please contact us!
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 19th year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Legislative Co-chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association (NJSSNA). She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. She has been recognized in her home state of New Jersey and nationally for her community-based initiative called “The Community Café: A Conversation That Matters.” Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Specialty Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University — Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. She also has a monthly column in American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association (ANA). You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan. www.relentlessschoolnurse.com #EverydayHero #Healthcareheroes #JohnsonandJohnson
Everyday Heroes Kids facilitates the connection between families and pediatric professionals in health, mental health and education with the goal of saving time, money and stress for caregivers and encouraging earlier intervention for better outcomes in kids. www.ehkidshealth.com
