Dear Action Coalitions,

The two of us are thrilled to welcome Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action and other colleagues from across the country to continue work on implementing Institute of Medicine recommendations and building a Culture of Health in communities across the nation.

Kim is board president of the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence and co-chair of the New Mexico Action Coalition, and Nancy is dean of the University of New Mexico College of Nursing. The synergy between our two organizations is rich and is facilitating collaboration in moving the Culture of Health work forward in New Mexico. Together, we are proud to host “Building on the Campaign for Action Pillars to Create a Healthier America.” We hope this April 19-20 meeting is inspiring and useful to support your states’ Action Coalition efforts.

New Mexico is happy to celebrate our sixth year as an Action Coalition. Even as we look back at progress made toward the goals set by the Institute of Medicine, we will look ahead, too, at how we are tying pillar work with actions nurses can take to build health and well-being in their communities. We have an opportunity to engage in the important task, one that aspires to change the way we think about health—and about the protection and creation of health—in the larger political and societal context.

We look forward to a transformative two days filled with activities that show how nurses already contribute to a Culture of Health, and how, through collaboration, we can do even more.

Our Action Coalition co-leads are the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence and Bank of Albuquerque. That alliance is a snapshot of how nurses and community partners are collaborating to lead the way to a new understanding of health.

The following are our collaborative sponsors:

University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center

University of New Mexico College of Nursing

Presbyterian Healthcare Services

CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center – Santa Fe

Bank of Albuquerque

Central New Mexico Community College

CNM Foundation

Grand Canyon University

University of New Mexico Sigma Theta Tau International Chapter

Sincerely,

Kim McKinley, DNP, ACNP, INS, board president of the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence and assistant professor, University of New Mexico College of Nursing

and

Nancy Ridenour, PhD, RN, APRN, BC, FAAN, dean and professor, University of New Mexico College of Nursing, member of the Board of Directors for New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence