Letter to Congressman Scalise

Jennifer Fernandez
University of Saint Mary

04/03/2015
The Honorable Steve Scalise
2338 Rayburn HOB
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Scalise:

As a nurse in our great state of Louisiana I have seen many issues relating to health
disparities. In our district we have a large volume of African American and Hispanic patients
who are currently underserved by the medical establishment due to poor health education and
easy access to sustainable medical care. According to Health Status 2020:
Louisiana ranks among states with the highest rates of death due to heart disease, stroke
and cancer, rates that are higher in the states sizeable black population. The death rate
due to influenza and pneumonia is among the highest in the nation. The state also ranks
among those with the worst levels of the presented health risk factors. Across these risk
factors, the states black population has substantially higher rates of high blood pressure,
obesity, and physical inactivity. Louisiana has one of the higher rates of recent routine
check-ups but one of the lowest rates for dental visits. It has one of the lower rates of
health insurance coverage in the U.S., particularly among its black and Hispanic
populations. (Health Status 2020).

As a nursing professional and educator, I know that there is a lot that can be done to help
alleviate these glaring deficiencies. Regarding health education, I suggest that we reach the
general public through the promotion of festivals, block parties, short informative PSAs on
television and radio, social media, signs, and in the newspapers. Although some news media
stations do weekly renditions of healthy choices, it isnt enough. We should not only have
festivals for strawberries and crawfish but also multiple free health fairs. In your congressional
district, there are numerous nursing schools and medical schools whose students could be
enlisted to present these fairs and administer health exams free of cost as part of their educational
outreach. Since all of the aforementioned schools receive federal aid, these programs could use a
gentle push from the government to mandate student and school participation in providing these
fairs.
It is not enough to stand by and watch our civilians get ill, we need to educate and
provide information that is on their learning level. Successful school nutrition programs are
essential to ending the pandemic of obesity and related illnesses borne by the condition. (McGee
& Johnson, 2014). The need for healthier and tasty food options, along with programs teaching
the students about making these healthy choices for themselves and what the possible health
complications can be if they dont choose a healthy lifestyle, are essential to ending the
pandemic.
Reaching the illiterate and poorly educated needs to be an essential part of the plan to
eradicate the current crisis in Louisiana. There is a direct correlation between lower reading
levels and increased risk for preventable illnesses whose primary cause is improper diet and
unhealthy lifestyle choices. (McGee, Richardson, Johnson & Johnson, 2014). This information
also needs to be made available to our public citizens that may not be able to read or read well.

Since Louisiana has a reading comprehension level lower than 43 states and jurisdictions,
according to the Nations Report Card, it is extremely important that we provide all health
information in a variety of ways that are understandable at and below a basic reading level. In
this regard, we must meet the patient where they are, not at our level.
The question that I pose to you, Representative Scalise, is how we can better meet the
needs of the poor, because the resources are available. What I see every day working as a nurse,
knowing that many patients illnesses are completely avoidable, is enough to make me firmly
convicted to seeing the ranking improve, thereby increasing the quality of life and healthcare in
our state. Are you willing to shake off the lackadaisical attention that has been given to this silent
tsunami of illness? If you would like to speak with me further, Im at your service.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Fernandez
RN BSN CPN
1236 Richmond Drive
Metairie, LA 70003
(504) 813-9785

References
American Nurses Association, & Fowler, M. D. M. (2008). Guide to the code of ethics for
nurses: Interpretation and application. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association.
Cowen, P.S. & Moorhead, S. (Eds.). (2011). Current issues in nursing (8th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby
Elsevier.
Health Status 2020. Retrieved from:
http://www.healthstatus2020.com/disparities/ChartBookData_list.asp
Mason, D.J., Leavitt, J.K., & Chaffee, M.W. (2014). Policy & politics in nursing and health care.
St. Louis: Elsevier/Saunders.
McGee, B., & Johnson, G. (2014). An adapted education program to increase adherence to the
dietary guidelines for Americans: a feasibility study (807.1). The FASEB Journal, 28(1
Supplement), 807-1.
McGee, B. B., Richardson, V., Johnson, G. S., & Johnson, C. (2014). Qualitative Study among
African American Parents to Inform an Intervention to Promote Adoption of the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans Food and Physical Activity Recommendations. Food and
Nutrition Sciences, 5(09), 835.
Nations Report Card. (2013). State of Louisiana. Retrieved from:
Http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2013/pdf/2014464LA4.pdf
Poole, M. K., Mundorf, A. R., Englar, N. K., & Rose, D. (2015). From Nutrition to Public
Policy: Improving Healthy Food Access by Enhancing Farm-to-Table Legislation in
Louisiana. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.