In a special collaboration, the Pennsylvania Action Coalition joined forces with Kouvenda Media’s Obscured Journalism Initiative last year to host a thought-provoking panel discussion on law enforcement interactions within the community and the implementation of a harm reduction care model.
Our partners at Obscured captured the insights of our distinguished panelists in two parts, each shedding light on the diverse facets of harm reduction and effective strategies for addressing trauma resulting from interactions with law enforcement.
In this episode, we hear from Talitha Smith, BSN, RN, a nurse navigator with the Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health Clinic, RIvER (Rethinking Incarceration and Empowering Recovery). Talitha shares her insights about harm reduction and her passion for RIvER’s unique programming, which rapidly, effectively, and compassionately addresses the health needs of individuals post-release from incarceration.
Following Talitha's insights, we delve into the experiences of Chad Bruckner, a retired police detective who now owns and oversees a private investigator firm, Intercounty Investigations & Solutions, Inc. and is a coach and recovery specialist. Closing the discussion is Laurie A. Corbin, MSS, MLSP, who is the Managing Director for Community Engagement at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). She oversees a range of programs that provide social services, prevention, intervention, treatment, and education to at-risk individuals and their families.
Laurie Corbin is Managing Director for Community Engagement at Public Health Management Corporation and has worked for PHMC for 13 years. In this position, Ms. Corbin is responsible for a continuum of programs that provide social services prevention, intervention, treatment, and education to at risk individuals and their families. This includes responsibility for Forensic Services aka Forensic Intensive Recovery (FIR) Programs, which represents a continuum of programs or services that focus on the diversion and advance release from incarceration for justice- involved individuals. The Community-Based Outreach Programs (CBOP) include a treatment readiness/recovery support program, New Pathways Project and Philadelphia Hepatitis Outreach Project, a prevention education initiative for high-risk individuals. The Homeless and Social Service program area within the division includes a range of services which seek to provide comprehensive, integrated services to the most vulnerable populations. This includes services for chronically homeless adults, youth, and families on the street, and in emergency, transitional, and permanent supported housing. She also oversees PHMC’s Ryan White intermediary services programs, which provide individuals with HIV/AIDS with financial support including transportation, food voucher and utility assistance. Laurie A. Corbin, MSS, MLSP
Talitha Smith is a nurse navigator with the Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health clinic: Rethinking Incarceration and Empowering Recovery or RIvER. Ms. Smith has 25 years of experience working with marginalized populations and found her passion in community health after becoming a nurse as a second career. She actively promotes harm reduction and conducts related education, and advocates for access to comprehensive, quality health care for all. In 2008, Detective Bruckner joined the Lansdale Police Department in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and in 2012 he was promoted to the rank. of detective. He served as a senior field training officer, a squad leader, an undercover officer, and a coordinator for the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. After 13 years in law enforcement, Detective Bruckner retired in 2021. Since his certification in 2018, Detective Bruckner instructs cadets on various topics at Montgomery County Municipal Police Academy in Pennsylvania. He owns and oversees a private investigation firm, Intercounty Investigations & Solutions, Inc. He continues to serve his community as a part of the Montgomery County Crisis Intervention Stress Management team, and is a certified Mental Health Peer Advocate. Chad reflects on his policing experience in his first book that came out recently, called, The Holy Trinity of Successful and Healthy Police Organizations: Improving Leadership, Culture and Wellness.Talitha Smith, MA, BSN, RN
Detective Chad Bruckner (Ret.)
On September 28, 2023, the Pennsylvania Nurse Residency Collaborative (PA-NRC) hosted its fifth educational summit titled, You Can Have it All: Your Nurse Residency Program Return on Investment with participants hailing from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Illinois, and Tennessee. The Summit was in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders (PONL) and directly preceded their Annual Nursing Leadership Conference in Harrisburg, PA.
Summit programming included engaging presentations from Meg Ingram, MSN, RN, on Retention: A Signature Return on Investment and Robin George, BSN, RN, on Return on Investment: The Evidenced Based Practice Project. Nurse Residency Coordinators and Nurse Residents also showcased their nurse coordinator work and evidence-based practice projects during rapid-fire presentations.
| Retention: A Signature Return on Investment |
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| Examples of Nurse Residency Coordinator Work: Making a Difference to the Institution |
Nurse Residency and Respiratory Therapy Collaborative
Individual Learning Plan for Struggling Residents
Road Trip to the Museum: Igniting Essential Skills
Resiliency Education in NRP to Reduce Turnover
Through the Eyes of Our Elders: Health Literacy
Return on Investment: The Evidenced Based Practice Project
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| Examples of EBP: Making It Work For You |
Anxiety Reduction Through Music
Improving Perceived Stress with Aromatherapy
Say What Improving Nurse Communication with Patients
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Recording available below!
The PA-ACCEL Program Support Team hosted a virtual Information Session open to anyone interested in volunteering as a mentor. We provided an overview of program expectations and requirements. To view the recording please email Zaharaa Davood at or Namaijah Faison at for the password.
For more information about the PA-ACCEL Mentorship Program, visit the PA Action Coalition website. If you have any questions, please contact Senior PA-AC Manager, Zaharaa Davood at or Public Health Project Coordinator, Namaijah Faison at .
The PA-AC Cohort of Exchanged Learning (PA-ACCEL) is a mentorship program created by the Pennsylvania Action Coalition's Nurse Diversity Council. Mentors will work with nursing students from the Independence Blue Cross Foundation Healthcare Scholars Program to bolster their capacity to succeed in nursing school and in their transition to nursing practice. We are looking for nurses from all disciplines intent on expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workforce to mentor nursing students.
Mentors are asked for a 2-year or 4-year commitment depending on their student's nursing program length. Mentors can meet with mentees virtually or in person at least once a month. The program will begin in September and will include orientation to introduce you to the program, comprehensive resources we will provide for both mentors and mentees and the PA-ACCEL Program Support Team.
We encourage nursing professionals in any role to apply.
For more information about the PA-ACCEL Mentorship Program, visit the PA Action Coalition website. If you have any questions, please contact Senior PA-AC Manager, Zaharaa Davood at or Public Health Project Coordinator, Namaijah Faison at .
APPLY HERE!
To view the recording please email Zaharaa Davood at or Namaijah Faison at for the password.
In this episode, we speak with Kim Trout, PhD, RN, CNM, FACNM, FAAN and Saumya Ayyagari, MSN, MPH about nurse-led research on the lived experiences of sex workers who identify as women and their healthcare needs. We also hear insights from Blue Laurano, a harm reduction professional and MPH candidate at Temple University.
Trout and Ayyagari are two of the three researchers on the study, “In Our Own Voices: The Lived Experience of Sex Workers in Philadelphia who Identify as Women.” This study aimed to begin filling the gaps in our knowledge concerning how the lived experience of being a woman (i.e., a cisgender or transgender woman) sex worker affects her health, health preferences, health needs, and health care utilization.
Saumya Ayyagari is the Nursing Workforce Development Manager for the Pennsylvania Action Coalition. Prior to this, her nursing career focused on reproductive health and parental and child health. She is passionate about expanding access to health care in a manner that is empowering to communities.
Dr. Trout is an Associate Professor at the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University where she conducts research on health promotion, health equity, and maternal morbidity reduction through nursing and midwifery care.
Blue Laurano has worked in harm reduction for more than seven years. They are deeply committed to uplifting the voices of persons who use substances & educating people about the benefits of utilizing harm reduction in all spaces. They are currently pursuing a Master's in Public Health at Temple University.
In this episode, we are closing out our special vaccine confidence coverage with Letha Joseph, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC and Adeline Kline, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, NCSN who are members of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium’s Vaccine Confidence Advisory Committee. Kline and Joseph discuss the importance of relationship-building with community members to help promote health and wellness goals.
Letha Joseph is a nurse practitioner from Durham, North Carolina. She is also the Director of the Geriatric and Extended Care Nurse Practitioner Residency program at the Durham VA Healthcare System and consulting associate at the Duke University School of Nursing. Adeline Kline is a family nurse practitioner and clinical educator for Hawai’i Keiki, which is a partnership between the University of Hawai’i Mānoa School of Nursing and the Hawai‘i Department of Education.
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Our special vaccine confidence coverage continues as we discuss the latest vaccine confidence trends and lessons learned as we enter the third year of the COVID-19 public health emergency. In this episode, we speak to Monica J. Harmon, MSN, MPH, RN and Jayatri Das, Ph.D. about the role that non-traditional health settings and partnerships have played in recent years to promote vaccine confidence.
Harmon and Das have been involved in educational and public health outreach within the community since the beginning of the pandemic. Jayatri Das is the Chief Bioscientist at the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia that leads education programming and research efforts. She is also the Executive Producer of the Franklin Institute’s So Curious! Podcast. Das has helped oversee the Franklin Institute’s involvement with a nationwide initiative called Communities for Immunity to help educate and engage the public during the pandemic.
Monica J. Harmon is a public health nurse and holds various leadership roles. At Drexel University she is the Executive Director at the College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) Community Wellness HUB in addition to being an assistant clinical professor. She is also the Interim CNHP Services Director at the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services. Harmon serves as the Co-Chair for the Pennsylvania Action Coalition’s Nurse Diversity Council and is the chapter president of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Area Black Nurses Association (SEPABNA).
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Our special vaccine confidence coverage continues as we discuss the latest vaccine confidence trends and lessons learned along the way. In this episode, Annette Gadegbeku, M.D joins us for a community-health focused conversation about her work and active role in various vaccination and testing initiatives that helped serve the community at Drexel University. She shares some of the key community health lessons learned after rolling out these initiatives specifically at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships.
Annette Gadegbeku is a family physician and holds various leadership roles at Drexel University in addition to being an associate professor. She is the Chief of the Division of Community Health in the Department of Family, Community, & Preventive Medicine, the Associate Dean for the Office of Community Health & Health Equity, and the Medical Director of the Healing Hurt People Program in the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice.
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