“There is no Culture of Health, without Mental Health”
North Carolina Action Coalition member and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Public Health Nurse Leader, Connie Mele, MSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC, NE-BC, CARN-AP, FIAAN, is leading an exemplary project on how mental health plays a significant role in our culture of health. The project, Identifying Post-Partum Depression in Public Health Immunization and WIC Patients, aims to identify a depression screening tool for postpartum patients. In addressing the Future of Nursing Campaign pillar of Removing Barriers to Practice and Care, as well as the Culture of Health Action area of Strengthening Integration of Health Services and Systems, the project will help to increase awareness of postpartum depression and its effects on infant outcomes and the mother, tackle associated stigmas, and enhance the practice of integrated care.