Trump Order to Criminalize Homelessness Sparks Alarm
New Policy Reduces Housing First While Favoring Enforcement and Involuntary Treatment. That Could Worsen Homelessness, LDI Experts Warn
In Their Own Words
Elevating Nurses is Key to Fixing Health Care
Amid Rising Violent Incidents and Cost Pressures, Nursing Must Lead Reform for Better Access and Outcomes
Print:
The following excerpt was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on January 5, 2026.
The more than four million registered nurses practicing in the United States and the patients and families who relied on their care found themselves unexpectedly challenged by the federal government in 2025.
Among those challenges were a threat of closure to the National Institute of Nursing Research, placing nursing science at risk; a question as to whether nursing was a “profession,” limiting nurses’ capacity to fund the advanced education required to further develop their skills and teach future nurses; and a pullback in the minimal staffing rule for nursing homes, which deprives the growing population of vulnerable patients with registered nurse expertise.
These multiple assaults on nursing inspired us to take stock and unify around our profession’s need to collectively speak up and help federal decision-makers better understand the work of nursing and what it contributes to society.
Read the full op-ed here.
Authors
Connie Ulrich, PhD, RN
Professor, Biobehavioral Health Sciences, Penn Nursing; Professor, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine
Mary Naylor, PhD, RN
Marian S. Ware Professor, Gerontology and Director, NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, Penn Nursing
Martha A.Q. Curley, PhD, RN, FAAN
Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
More from LDI
Debate Continues Over H.R. 1 Medicaid Changes as Millions Risk Losing Coverage
Will Implementation Create Sweeping Losses or a Return to Balance and Self-Sufficiency?
Three Penn LDI Senior Fellow Win 2026 SGIM Awards
Rachel Werner, Eric Roberts, Joseph Nwadiuko Cited for Their Health Services Research Work
In Philly Emergency Departments, Text Messages Helped Patients Seek Public Benefits More Often
Follow-Up Texts, Not Paper Flyers, Drove Real Action on Unclaimed Benefits Like Heating, Child Care, Tax Rebates, and Children’s Health
Penn LDI Lecture Highlights Persistent Gaps in Knee Replacement Care
Decades of Research Show Minority Patients Less Likely to Receive Surgery, Even When Equally Indicated
Penn Study Faults Federal Maternal Morbidity Statistics
Comparison to Commercial All-Payer Database Documents Wide Discrepancies