Laura Beth Brown, M.S.N., R.N.
VUSN’s Brown takes helm of Tennessee Nursing Assoc.
Laura Beth Brown, M.S.N., R.N., president of Vanderbilt Home Care Services, was recently installed as president of the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) during its annual convention in Knoxville.
Brown will serve a two-year term.
As president, Brown will serve as the official representative of the TNA and the nursing profession throughout the state and on the national level.
She will be involved in legislative issues, policy development and other areas of interest to the nursing profession, and will serve as the TNA spokesperson on matters of association policy and positions.
Brown holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1989), and a Master's in Health Systems Management from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (2004).
She also worked for 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry specializing in home infusion and respiratory services and oncology nursing for three years. She serves on the Alive Hospice Board of Directors.
“We must look to a restructured health care system, not just in Tennessee, but for the nation and the world through our association with the American Nurses Association and the International Council of Nurses,” said Brown. “We must focus our work on continued support of the Center for American Nurses' initiatives on workforce advocacy by constantly striving to improve employee and patient safety outcomes.
“We have an obligation to continue our work with Gov. Phil Bredesen to fully fund the Graduate Nursing Loan-Forgiveness Program in 2008,” Brown said.
“We will also work with our colleagues, the Governor and legislators to pass legislation that mandates the ANA's minimum nurse student ratio of one R.N. to 750 students in our schools.
“We have an obligation to our advanced practice nurses in Tennessee to implement change in the statute to allow APNs to own their own practices and to advance to the next level of collaboration in practice.”
The Tennessee Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization for the state's 68,000 registered nurses.