The New England Regional Black Nurses Association (NERBNA), in collaboration with seven partners of the New England Minority Nurse Leadership Conference (NEMNLC), received a $10,000 award from the Network of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NNLM NER) to implement “The New England Minority Nursing Collaborative: Promoting Access to Health Information” project. The project is in collaboration with the Northern Connecticut Black Nurses Association, Southern Connecticut Black Nurses Association, Western Massachusetts Black Nurses Association, National Association of Hispanic Nurses Western Massachusetts, National Association of Hispanic Nurses Massachusetts, and National Association of Hispanic Nurses Hartford. These seven New England Chapters of the National Black Nurses Association, Inc. (NBNA) and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) have been conference partners for the past four years.

The NEMNLC, established in 2014, by three Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows (RWJENF), Alumni (Lisa Davis, Debra Washington, Gaurdia Banister), has gained recognition for its commitment to leadership through organizational networking, collaboration, mentorship, and advocacy related to health disparities. The NEMNLC is a collaboration of a total of ten New England Chapters including the Cape Verdean Nurses Association and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses.

The purpose collaboration is multi-faceted. Aimed to engage community organizations, health care providers, community organizations, and the general public, the project focuses on several areas of significance associated with access to health information. These areas of significance include: 1) increase awareness of health information to underserved populations, 2) utilization of health information to nursing students, nurses and other minority professionals in healthcare, and 3) access to professional development opportunities in order to increase cultural competency with respect to health information access.

​The NNLM NER / NEMNLC’s comprehensive approach on how to access and utilize health information resources will utilize expert speakers, virtual educational sessions, and NNLM online publications to maximize
the distribution of knowledge and expertise relevant to reducing health disparities. These strategies will serve to educate individuals and communities on reliable health information resources that are publicly available and disseminated through online platforms. The incorporation of educational outreach by educators, community members, and collaborative partners in the New England region, aims to provide participants with knowledge on how to effectively access health information to make informed healthcare decisions, reduce health disparities, and become a prepared healthcare workforce to meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations.