DRAFT ANHE Mission, Structure and Function Document
Below is the current draft of ANHE’s mission, tag line, and thinking on structure and process.
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Bringing Science and Passion to Environmental Health Issues
The mission of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is to promote healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence based practice and influencing policy.
Coordination and Communications
1. A steering committee will be established with two representatives (two concurrent co-chairs) from each of the core workgroups (Research, Practice, Education, Policy/Advocacy, Development, and Structure/Function) and each Association member will have the right to one seat (and a proxy) on the Alliance Steering Committee. In addition, each ad-hoc Workgroup will have a representative on the Steering Committee until such time as the workgroup’s charge is completed.
2. The Steering Committee will elect an executive committee from their membership.
3. Alliance Association members must meet a basic level of commitment, which include:
a. Assigning an organizational liaison to the steering committee.
b. Placing a link to ANHE’s website (or e-commons?) on their website.
c. Communicating with their members and their Executive Boards about ANHE action items.
d. Others?
4. It is the intention of the ANHE Steering Committee to release communications such as sign-on letters or testimony jointly, on behalf of the Alliance membership. However, individual organizational members may decline to sign on to specific documents.
5. Individual Alliance members communicating with the public on behalf of their organization on issues of special concern to ANHE will attempt to appraise the steering committee of the proposed communication thus allowing an opportunity for ANHE to support or prepare a response to the communication.
6. Public communications about ANHE’s mission or action items by any individual Alliance member will draw from agreed-upon talking points developed by the Alliance.
7. Decisions made by the steering committee will be posted to e-commons.
8. The steering committee of ANHE acknowledges the leadership of the Environmental Health Education Center of the University of Maryland School of Nursing as the facilitator of the steering committee.
Policy and Strategy Decisions
1. The steering committee will strive for consensus in determining policies, strategies and tactics.
2. Each organizational liaison and proxy to the steering committee will be responsible for staying current on ANHE issues and for understanding and communicating their organizations perspective.
3. If after serious attempts to contact an association’s representative or their proxy, neither is available when a decision is being made that affects the overall strategy or any other important activity of the Alliance, decisions will move forward.
4. When necessary to take a vote in order to move an issue forward every attempt will be made to seek the full steering committees input. Absent steering committee members will have an opportunity to cast their vote within 24 hours of the call for a vote. The vote will be considered approved by a ¾ vote in favor at the end of the 24 hour period.
