The tiny arm clinging onto her father’s neck struggling to hold on was not enough to save this father and daughter from a most horrific death. Desperation clearly drove this father’s decision to cross the Rio Grande to bring his daughter to a country that he believed promised a better life. But their scramble to cross the river ended in a double tragedy.
We are a country of immigrants and asylum seekers. That is our history, have we become amnesiac to what our country was built upon? I know that there are legions of Americans who are as totally sickened and outraged as I am. There are national groups of healthcare professionals speaking out, raising their voices in outrage at the barbaric treatment of children and families. But outrage is not a strategy! Action is…
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 19th year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Legislative Chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. She has been recognized in her home state of New Jersey and nationally for her community-based initiative called “The Community Café: A Conversation That Matters.” Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN