East Texas non-profit ‘Black Nurses Rock’ empowers nurses and advocates in the black community

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the U.S. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, nearly 5.2 million Americans are registered nurses, but only six percent are black. The Tyler group, Black Nurses Rock helps dozens of nurses grow professionally but also brings awareness to basic health needs in black communities across East Texas. Ten nurses founded this non-profit, nearly a decade ago to address health disparities in the black community. “The need I saw here in Tyler were the statistics, hypertension, COPD, cancer,” said Lisa Williams the president of the non-profit, “also building the trust with health care because there’s not much trust.” Williams says due to biases in health care, black patients’ pain is often overlooked. “Infant mortality is one, black women die three times more than any other race,” said Williams. The non-profit educates people on ways to care for their health and their rights as patients. “Nobody should be judged when they’re seeking care they should be treated just like they want to be treated,” said Williams. To tackle multiple health challenges, the organization has over a dozen nurses with different job titles. “We have CPR instructors, we have...