Black Nurse Community Calls For Culturally Informed Health Care In W.Va. – West Virginia Public Broadcasting

West Virginians face an above-average risk of death from strokes, heart disease and even injury. This leaves Black residents especially vulnerable, because they already face disproportionate risks in the U.S. health care system. But Black nurses are coming together to provide better care for patients and new opportunities for Black professionals. On Thursday, members of the Black Nurse Collaborative (BNC) set aside their scrubs for a visit to the Martinsburg VA Medical Center. The group, which is based in Bowie, Maryland, provides Black nurses identity-specific professional support. This week, they came to West Virginia to hold a panel on inclusion and racial inequity in their industry. Speakers’ stories often overlapped. Many recalled patients and coworkers doubting their qualifications simply because of their race. Nurses already face a power imbalance in health settings, because doctors have more authority over medical decisions. Together, these biases and professional barriers can make it hard for Black nurses to speak up when they disagree with something. For Meedie Bardonille, president and founder of the BNC, that is a problem. She said when a patient has a health care provider that looks like them, “it’s clearly documented from numerous studies that health care outcomes are positively...