January 31, 2019
The start of 2019 came with a new opportunity for the Orthodox nurses of Chicago. There was a gathering at the home of Raina Leon, MSN RN, to kickstart a Chicago division of the Orthodox Jewish Nurses Association (OJNA). The OJNA was founded in 2008 in Maryland, and since its inception has reached over 2,000 nurses spanning across the USA and even reaching Canada and Israel. OJNA events have been hosted in New York, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Ohio. The OJNA has established an annual conference in New York which has been very successful and well attended. Their first mini-conference for advance practice nurses was held in NYC on January 6, 2019 and attended by over 60 nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and some physician’s assistants. The mission of OJNA is to provide a forum to discuss professional issues related to Orthodox Jewish nurses, arrange networking and educational events, and to offer mentorship to the next generation of nurses. After the OJNA meeting in Chicago, the nurses resolved to make a mentoring partnership with the Blistein Institute, to hold local networking events for its members, to attempt to bring an OJNA conference to the Midwest, and to focus on nursing-related halacha shiurim and Q&A’s. OJNA is open to nurses, nursing students, and advanced practice nurses. For more information about OJNA go to https://jewishnurses.org or email OJNABoard@gmail.com. For information on nursing in Chicago, contact Raina Leon at Raina.leon1@gmail.com.