On June 10th, the first planning meeting of the Idaho Nursing Action Coalition (INAC) was held. The work of the day was framed around the need to advance nursing’s ability to respond to the challenges of a transformed health care system that improve access, quality and affordability. The coalition members, who are broadly representative of nurses and business leaders statewide from industry, education and regulation, reviewed the IOM recommendations of the report. Nursing education, Inter-professional collaboration & leadership,  and access to care were identified as the  the highest priorities for action in Idaho. Workgroups were established in priority areas and they began to set initial goals.  A smaller regionally representative leadership team which would coordinate the development and work of the 3 Action Teams was formed. From the leadership team, co-chairs for the 3 Action Teams were identified.

As an action coalition with the Campaign for Action, INAC and its three Action Teams receive regular communication and support from the Center to Champion Nursing in America and RWJF. CCNA's webinar series is a major component of the support for the Campaign, as a collaborative effort to implement solutions to the challenges facing the nursing profession, and to build upon nurse-based approaches to improving quality and transforming the way Americans receive health care. Webinars have focused on nursing education, leadership, practice and inter-professional collaboration. The webinars are archived and can be accessed at http://championnursing.org/webinars-ccna

Members of INAC continue to get the word out about the IOM report and the Campaign for Action through our monthly newsletters and articles and have spoken to groups of recently hired nurses, and nurse managers from hospitals and facilities in northern Idaho. INAC continues to recruit new members.

Through its efforts, INAC has successfully placed nurses on the Governors Health Care Council, and the Patient Centered Medical Home Collaborative. In addition, members of INAC have been selected to represent nursing on the Advisory Council for the Department of Labor’s Primary Care Workforce HRSA Planning Grant. In collaboration with our partners at the Nursing Workforce Data Center at Department of Labor, members of INAC are working with the Forum of Nursing Workforce Centers and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to collect and report nationally uniform nursing workforce data.