Arkeelaua Henderson
July 2024
Arkeelaua
Henderson
,
RN, MSN
Ponce de Leon Center
National Black Nurses Association
College Park
,
GA
United States
Arkeelaua's leadership work with HIV and vulnerable populations aligns with NBNA, as she provides an environment and platform for Black nurses to advocate for and implement care and strategies, ensuring access to quality health care for persons of color living with chronic diseases.
The Atlanta Black Nurses Association is pleased to recognize Arkeelaua Henderson with this award. Prior to each chapter meeting, she reads ABNA mission statement to remind us why we do what we do. Her career as an HIV nurse in clinical and management roles has been tremendous. She was recently awarded a 2024 Grady Nurse of the Year Award. Her personal career statement is derived from her bio, CV, Grady, and ABNA colleagues. In summary, her personal philosophy is based upon servant leadership and the fortitude to treat and care for others with respect and dignity.
Since starting in her leadership role at the Ponce Center in August 2023, Arkeelaua has supported tremendous changes to instill a culture of safety in the work environment. One of the most remarkable changes witnessed under her leadership is how every member of her team feels empowered to own their responsibilities and make decisions independently, which attributed to the culture of psychological safety that she has developed within her team. She has a vision for the nursing team that is deeply aligned with clinical competence and confidence. She believes in cross-training in all clinical areas, and has made a huge contribution to the nursing profession by modeling how a registered nurse on the floor can transition into a supervisory and management role; therefore, shifting the role of the ambulatory registered nurse to that of an educator who provides oversight of their clinical areas.
Arkeelaua's leadership work with HIV and vulnerable populations aligns with NBNA, as she provides an environment and platform for Black nurses to advocate for and implement care and strategies, ensuring access to quality health care for persons of color living with chronic diseases. She prides herself on caring with dignity and compassion.
She believes in the mssion. The Atlanta Black Nurses Association has grown from the inside out, under her leadership. Since 2020, ABNA has averaged 30 new RNs annually, 2 LPNs, and 20 students as evidenced by our chapter awards. In the community, since 2020, ABNA expanded their community outreach and has donated or partnered with over 15 local organizations.
Her leadership and commitment to health promotion have resulted in chapter grant opportunities, each helping to mitigate health disparities. 1) Project First Line- funded for 1 year by ANA and CDC- focused on infection control processes; 2) AllofUs- ABNA funded for the past 3 years; 3) ACS Health Equity Ambassador- ABNA funded for the past 2 years-The Collaboration for Equitable Health is a collaboration between, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and American Diabetes Association supported by Bank of America, which aims to advance health outcomes for Black, Hispanic-Latino, Asian American, and Native American individuals, and communities; and 4) The High School to Higher Education Pipeline Program is a mentoring program that focuses on getting more Black men into nursing in the metro Atlanta area to increase culturally competent care.
Since starting in her leadership role at the Ponce Center in August 2023, Arkeelaua has supported tremendous changes to instill a culture of safety in the work environment. One of the most remarkable changes witnessed under her leadership is how every member of her team feels empowered to own their responsibilities and make decisions independently, which attributed to the culture of psychological safety that she has developed within her team. She has a vision for the nursing team that is deeply aligned with clinical competence and confidence. She believes in cross-training in all clinical areas, and has made a huge contribution to the nursing profession by modeling how a registered nurse on the floor can transition into a supervisory and management role; therefore, shifting the role of the ambulatory registered nurse to that of an educator who provides oversight of their clinical areas.
Arkeelaua's leadership work with HIV and vulnerable populations aligns with NBNA, as she provides an environment and platform for Black nurses to advocate for and implement care and strategies, ensuring access to quality health care for persons of color living with chronic diseases. She prides herself on caring with dignity and compassion.
She believes in the mssion. The Atlanta Black Nurses Association has grown from the inside out, under her leadership. Since 2020, ABNA has averaged 30 new RNs annually, 2 LPNs, and 20 students as evidenced by our chapter awards. In the community, since 2020, ABNA expanded their community outreach and has donated or partnered with over 15 local organizations.
Her leadership and commitment to health promotion have resulted in chapter grant opportunities, each helping to mitigate health disparities. 1) Project First Line- funded for 1 year by ANA and CDC- focused on infection control processes; 2) AllofUs- ABNA funded for the past 3 years; 3) ACS Health Equity Ambassador- ABNA funded for the past 2 years-The Collaboration for Equitable Health is a collaboration between, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and American Diabetes Association supported by Bank of America, which aims to advance health outcomes for Black, Hispanic-Latino, Asian American, and Native American individuals, and communities; and 4) The High School to Higher Education Pipeline Program is a mentoring program that focuses on getting more Black men into nursing in the metro Atlanta area to increase culturally competent care.