(crowd cheering) (applause)
Thank you so much, welcome back!
This hour we are celebrating the extraordinary nurses
who care for us during the toughest of times.
And our next guest is no exception.
She is a nurse, innovator and advocate
for her fellow nurses, addressing health disparities
for underserved people, and she is truly amazing.
So let's take a peak at Andrea's story.
(uplifting music)
Hi, my name is Andrea Jaramillo and I am a hospice nurse,
a clinical research nurse, a consultant
for a wellness startup, and a nurse farmer.
I was born in Ecuador and grew up never knowing
a single nurse.
I moved to the US when I was 16 and became an interpreter
for the National Institute of Health.
It was there where I saw the strength and power of nurses
in a patient's life, and I knew that I wanted to care
for people in the same way.
Working with underserved communities is very important
for me because I was one of the patients who did not
have access to care at one point, so giving back
to the community, it's very rewarding for me.
Nurses are the cornerstone of every healthcare system,
and immigrants are the backbone of American society.
I think of nurses as activists, advocates,
but most importantly, as catalyst for change.
That's why I always felt compelled to bring my own chair
to the table.
After years of being a registered nurse,
I realized how quickly nurses could burn out,
which was exacerbated even more with the onset of COVID.
Nurses are natural problem solvers, and because we spend
so much time caring for patients directly,
we're always seeing ways to improve our systems of care,
but we get frustrated, because for many nurses,
there is no clear way to raise and implement
these amazing ideas, and we want to be a part
of the solution.
That is why I became involved
in the Society Of Nurse Scientists, Innovators,
Entrepreneurs, and Leaders, or SONSIEL for short.
There we provide a community for nurses
with innovative ideas to come together
and support each other.
We want to empower nurses to make an impact
as the innovators and pioneers that we are.
SONSIEL has given me permission to define what nursing means
to me, and allow me to rediscover my love for caring
for others without losing myself.
I want to continue to help nurses discover the same thing.
(applause) (crowd cheering)
Please everybody, give a warm welcome to nurse
Andrea Jaramillo!
Hi, thank you.
I am so excited to celebrate you.
Okay, so you worked very hard to become a nurse.
Is this correct?
This is correct.
It took me about 10 years.
You know, I applied to almost all the schools
in the New England area.
I had seven rejections and eventually I got into this
really great university, UMass Boston,
where I graduated on 2017 with honors.
(applause)
How wonderful.
Well you can show them, "See, you accepted me,
and look what I did"
And SONSIEL was started in 2019,
but you and your team have already been
to the United Nations? Yes. (chuckling)
We did.
We got a team of nurses, a group,
and we showed up to learn how we can be part
of these committees where decisions are being made.
Nurses, we are experts.
We need to bring our expertise to the table.
We need to bring our voices, and I think there's 28 million
nurses, roughly, around the world,
and we are underrepresented where decisions are being made.
So I think this is the main thing we want to bring,
we want to bring our chair and sit at those tables
because if we're not, you know, at the table,
we're on the menu, and I think it's important.
(Drew sighs) (applause)
Because we are teaming up with Johnson & Johnson
to honor nurses, I wanted to invite a friend,
a new friend of mine, to join us.
Please welcome Johnson and Johnson
executive vice president, Michael Sneed.
(crowd cheers) (applause)
Hello, Michael.
Hello!
Good to see you.
I love your jacket.
(crowd cheering) (applause)
This is fantastic.
So much of what you've done has made this possible,
really and truly.
We're indebted to you with gratitude
that is honestly not able to be put into words,
and what I'd like to ask you is, you know,
you've decided to make it a company mission and a priority
to advocate for support and to empower nurses.
Why did that come about?
What is it that spoke to you and why did you say,
"This is what we need to do"?
Well look, Johnson & Johnson, it's certainly a priority
for us when it comes to nursing, but Drew,
it's also a personal priority for me.
Over the last several months, I've actually traveled
the country, talking to nurses in communities
and really hearing their stories.
And it's been tough, you know, the nurses around the US
have been dealing with the pandemic.
They've been trying to work to close the health gap
in their communities.
And oftentimes they're feeling burned out,
they're feeling neglected, as Andrea talked about,
but at the same time, I've heard some great stories
that have been so uplifting.
You know, when I see these nurses and I hear their stories,
what I can tell you about nurses is that they are
problem solvers.
I can tell you that they are advocates for their patients.
I can tell you that they're innovators.
I can tell you that they are leaders in the community.
Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system,
and so when we lift them up,
it's better for us, it's better for all of us,
and certainly better for our health.
And it's one of the reasons why Johnson & Johnson
has been such a supporter of nurses for the last 125 years.
And it's because we see their ability to really
be advocates, to have the ability to empower themselves
and each other, to be able to educate people,
and when you think about superheroes,
that's what superheros do.
And so that's what all these nurses do every single day.
(applause)
Now, I think you might have a little surprise for Andrea.
Is this correct?
As you know, you talked about her organization, SONSIEL,
which is a tremendous organization, by the way,
doing amazing things.
But the great thing about it is that SONSIEL
is an organization that empowers so many other nurses
when it comes to what they do in terms of being a nurse.
They're scientists and all the things that they do.
So on behalf of Johnson & Johnson,
we want to present to you a grant of $25,000
to help you continue the work that you do.
(applause)
(crowd cheering) (applause continues)
I'd love to get in on this.
I'm also gonna do a little something for you,
because again, all I have to offer, all I make
are things that, you know, I want to improve life with
and spark joy.
So I would also like to send you
with all the beautiful appliances,
the Flower hair tools and the Flower beauty,
as a woman to woman gift.
(crowd cheers) (applause)
It's amazing, thank you, Drew.
Well, thank you.
Andrea Jaramillo, and thank you
to the executive vice president of Johnson & Johnson,
Michael Sneed.
What you do for the world is incredible,
and thank you for being a part of this show and this hour.
We will be right back.
Thank you so much.
(upbeat music)