American Nurses Association’s leader urges RFK Jr. to listen to nurses

The turnover within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has alarmed healthcare leaders and policymakers, and Jennifer Mensik Kennedy says the real dangers may be looming.

The president of the American Nurses Association, Mensik Kennedy issued a statement last week warning that the shakeup in CDC leadership weakens the agency’s ability to protect the public.

In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®, she says she’s worried about the CDC’s current capabilities and the possibility that emerging threats may be missed.

“This is our federal line of defense for diseases, and this really is about national security and keeping the public safe,” Mensik Kennedy says.

CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired less than a month after winning Senate confirmation, and she said she refused to rubber stamp reckless directives or fire qualified leaders. “The CDC can't fulfill its obligation to the American people if its leader can't demand proof in decision-making," Monarez wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.

The White House said Monarez wasn’t aligned with the goals of President Trump’s administration. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a Senate committee that she was untrustworthy and lying about her claims. Senators asked why Monarez, Trump’s choice for the job, went from unimpeachable to untrustworthy so quickly, and some called for Kennedy’s resignation or termination.

Mensik Kennedy talks about the need for the CDC to be able to track infectious diseases and advise hospitals and health systems. She talks about her hopes that the CDC can offer sound guidance on vaccines. She wants Kennedy to listen to nurses on America’s health care needs, and would like to meet with the health secretary.

“We just need to make sure we have stable leadership and that we have scientific integrity and the experts at the table to help guide us so that this country remains safe and healthy,” Mensik Kennedy says.

(See part of our conversation in this video. The story continues below.)

‘We need the CDC’

Mensik Kennedy cites the need for a strong CDC to respond to threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

But she says too many don’t remember the emergence of Ebola in Texas in 2014. One patient died, and two nurses were infected, but the CDC helped avert a potentially devastating outbreak.

“I think people forget about when Ebola came into the United States and Texas in 2014, and the rapid response that the CDC had in getting on the ground in Texas, helping to contain, decontaminate and trace, because Ebola is one of those things that is very deadly,” Mensik Kennedy says.

“This is why we need the CDC, because when we have diseases like this that come into the United States, particularly, every state and every hospital don't have these infectious disease experts in these things that we don't normally see, like Ebola,” she adds. “To have the CDC as a partner with us is absolutely critical. So when leadership is in turmoil, when there's a lot of turnover, we are not prepared to deal with the next pandemic or the next disease to come into this country, and that should be very concerning for everyone.”

Since the firing of Monarez as CDC director, healthcare organizations and advocacy groups are warning of the dangers to Americans if the agency lacks stability and strong leadership.

Mensik Kennedy is worried about the loss of expertise at the CDC. After Monarez’s firing, three top CDC officials resigned in protest.

Plus, hundreds of CDC workers have been terminated as part of thousands of layoffs within the Department of Health & Human Services.

“In any organization you have historical knowledge,” Mensik Kennedy says. “You have the understanding of how the organization works and when you have key leaders in key positions leave an organization, they take with them this information and this knowledge, so the CDC may be able to react, but they're not going to be able to react as timely and efficiently as they could have.”

Mensik Kennedy says that the Trump administration needs a better understanding of the CDC to fulfill its goals of making Americans healthier.

The CDC can certainly be strengthened, but simply disassembling the agency won’t improve public health, she says.

“You can't take the wings off the plane and keep flying it,” Mensik Kennedy says. “You need to continue to build it as you're moving parts around and doing stuff. And right now, what we see is whole areas are just being decimated, taken apart and dismantled, and really things being left undone.”

“You can't take things away and then leave giant gaps in glaring holes that protect the public,” she says.

With the firing of Monarez and the resignation of other top officials, scientists who may be well qualified to lead the CDC may have no interest in working for the agency now, she fears.

“This does not provide any comfort level to any future candidates or to the public when we could so quickly go through this process, confirm someone, and then remove them so quickly,” she says.

Vaccine confusion

Medical groups have faulted Kennedy for implementing guidance that will make it harder for some Americans to get vaccines, including COVID-19 shots.

While the federal government approved Covid vaccines for all seniors, the Food & Drug Administration is not recommending them for healthy adults and kids. Pharmacies say they won’t be able to give COVID-19 vaccines without a prescription, and some lawmakers have criticized Kennedy for reducing access.

Mensik Kennedy said she doesn’t understand why Kennedy would add obstacles to Americans who want the vaccine.

It’s also going to create new headaches for providers, she says.

“We're going to overwhelm the primary care system with people trying to get prescriptions and trying to get orders from their physicians,” she says.

Plus, there are some healthy Americans who live with spouses, children or parents with health conditions that could expose them to more complications from COVID-19. Mensik Kennedy says she hopes Kennedy will take another look at vaccine guidance.

“Part of this is being a good neighbor and taking care of others and protecting them by getting the vaccination, if you can,” she says.

Connecting with Kennedy

More than 20 medical societies have called for Kennedy to step down as health secretary in light of the CDC turbulence and changes in vaccine policies.

Rather than calling for his resignation, Mensik Kennedy is hoping for a conversation. She says she would like the chance to connect Kennedy with nurses.

“I would love to see Secretary Kennedy meet with nurses, meet with the American Nurses Association,” she says. “We are the most trusted profession.”

“Let us help give some guidance,” she continues. “And that would be a wonderful step, because we've been around. We know what needs to be done. We know how to help keep the public safe, and would love to be able to have those conversations with him to help give him the right information to make good decisions that strengthen the health of this country.”

The association has made overtures to the health department for a meeting with Kennedy, but it hasn’t happened yet.

“We have reached out, and we are waiting,” she says. “So if he's going to be listening to this, we're still waiting to get that meeting with him, and we look forward to having that conversation so that we can help partner in making America healthy.”

The nurses’ association has been reaching out to members of Congress in recent weeks to talk about changes in vaccine guidance and the government’s public health capabilities.

“Both sides of the aisle understand there's an issue, and are trying to get to the bottom of this,” she says. “And so I hope we can go back and really have stable leadership at the CDC, bring scientific integrity back to the table at the CDC and rebuild trust with the American public.”

The American Nurses Association represents more than 5 million registered nurses, with varying views on politics and government.

Mensik Kennedy says she’s received strong support from members as the association has spoken out about the CDC.

“Nurses are extremely concerned about the instability of the CDC,” she says.