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Complexities in Providing Care: Making Space for All
Compassionate Connections and Support for Every Patient Journey
Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey – The Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative today led an effort to further guide the region’s healthcare community and law enforcement agencies on providing optimal, equitable care for patients with complex needs, with special consideration to unique and sensitive patient circumstances in an ever evolving healthcare landscape.
"We know every patient journey is distinctly different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to care,” said Helen Hannigan, MGA, Executive Director of Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative. “As the state-licensed maternal and child health consortium for Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties, we have both data and an acute awareness of varying patient experiences among our diverse population and the urgency to adapt treatments tailored to the unique needs of each individual,” added Hannigan.
Staff from the Cooperative’s Clinical & Professional Education program assembled a panel of experts in the fields of mental health, social work, higher education and law enforcement for an in-person conference entitled: Complexities in Providing Care: Making Space for All - Compassionate Connections and Support for Every Patient Journey, held at the Rowan College at Burlington County Student Success Center in Mount Laurel Township.
“As clinicians, we know we are better professionals and caregivers when we have a more thorough understanding of the lived experiences of our patients so we can shape better and more effective outcomes,” said Jennie Sherlock-Loeb, MSN, RNC-OB, Director of Clinical & Professional Education at Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative. “It’s our professional duty and a fundamental tenet of care to ensure we create an inclusive space to make each
patient feel heard and understood, which enables us to craft more effective courses of action to improve the patient experience. Convening these professionals and sharing their expertise with our peers in this forum is an important step towards achieving that critical objective.”
The conference featured the following subject areas by respected experts from across New Jersey:
Antiracist Addiction Treatment – Harm Reduction & Decriminalization - presented by Sandy Gibson, PhD, LCSW, LCADC, Professor, The College of New Jersey
Human Trafficking: Stakeholder Collaboration to Uncover the Why - presented by Amanda Leese, MA, Senior Vice President of Reentry and Navigator Programs, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley and Christopher Winters, Chief of Police, Pine Hill Police Department
Termination of Pregnancy for Medical Reasons: A Unique Grief - presented by Erica Goldblatt Hyatt, DSW, LCSW, MBE, Associate Teaching Professor and Assistant Director of DSW Program, Rutgers University and Associate Professor, Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center
Self-Care, Wellness and Resilience: Being Prepared for 21st Century Challenges - presented by Martin Manno, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC, Assistant Teaching Professor, Rutgers University
“These are vitally important topics of discussion, and there are real world implications for those who identify as patient or victim in our dynamic environment,” added Hannigan. “These learning opportunities help our professional partners keep pace with fast-moving societal changes and the impact on our population.”
The goals of this conference are to raise awareness and bring attention to today’s multi-faceted and nuanced patient needs. The materials presented at this event were prepared for a target audience that includes South Jersey nurses, doctors, advanced practice nurses, social workers, addiction counselors, community health workers and law enforcement officers.
“It’s our hope that our professional partners will take the lessons they learned from today’s conference back to their practices where they will implement meaningful change for those they serve and connect those individuals to needed resources,” noted Sherlock-Loeb. “We also want to ensure our providers know they are supported with self-care tools so they may remain resilient and nimble in a challenging environment.”
Click here for video/b-roll of conference
Click on links below for video interviews with: o Helen Hannigan, MGA, Executive Director, Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative – click here
Jennie Sherlock-Loeb, MSN, RNC-OB, Director, Clinical & Professional Education, Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative – click here
Sandy Gibson, PhD, LCSW, LCADC, Professor, The College of New Jersey – click here
Amanda Leese, MA, Senior Vice President of Reentry and Navigator Programs, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley – click here
Erica Goldblatt Hyatt, DSW, LCSW, MBE, Associate Teaching Professor and Assistant Director of DSW Program, Rutgers University and Associate Professor, Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center – click here
Martin Manno, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC, Assistant Teaching Professor, Rutgers University - click here