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TNA Exclusive Interview with Virginia Trotter Betts, MSN, JD, RN, FAAN
Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of
Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
Virginia (Ginna) Trotter Betts, a nurse leader in health and mental health policy arenas for more than 30 years, was appointed Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities by then Governor-elect Phil Bredesen in January.
“Ginna‘s years of dedicated work in the field of mental health speaks volumes about her abilities to lead this department,“ Gov. Phil Bredesen said. “She has boundless expertise and will develop mental health policies that will serve Tennesseans well for years to come.“
Prior to her appointment to Tennessee‘s Executive Branch of government, Betts served as Director for Health Policy and Professor of Nursing at the University of Tennessee (UT) Health Sciences Center in Memphis and is currently on an extended leave-of-absence from those positions.
Before joining the UTHSC, Betts served as the senior advisor on Nursing and Policy to the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this dual role, she advised the Secretary and other DHHS leaders on matters of federal legislation, regulation, and administrative processes that impact nursing and nurses in practice such as the scope of practice, professional autonomy, quality and safety of patient care, reimbursement, research and education.
Within the Office of Public Health, Betts was actively engaged in the Surgeon General‘s initiatives on mental health including the Surgeon General‘s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, Mental Health: a Report of the Surgeon General, and the national campaign to combat the stigma of mental illness.
Her political activism began immediately after she graduated from the University of Tennessee at Memphis College of Nursing in 1969. Betts served as TNA president from 1985-87, as first vice president of the American Nurses Association (ANA) from 1988-92, and as president of ANA from 1992-96.
TNA conducted the following exclusive interview with Betts just days after she assumed the position as Commissioner in January.
Question: What do you see for the future of nursing in Tennessee?
Response: “The future of nursing is incredibly bright, but one of the very big challenges we face is to make sure that the serious nursing shortage does not cause us to lose control over our scope of practice. I think that what the public needs and what nursing can provide are in such harmony. So many opportunities exist for the generalist nurse and the advanced practice nurse.
“In order to have the kind of opportunity to offer our services to the people who need them, we will have to be very political and achieve our public policy objectives for all professional nurses especially for advanced practice nurses, their scope, and their reimbursement.“
Question: What areas of expertise do you bring to the position of Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) that will help you accomplish your goals?
Response: “I think my role as a leader for this huge Department (whose primary mission is to provide mental health services to Tennesseans) is tremendously enhanced by the fact that I am a psychiatric nurse. Nursing’s historical clinical focus has always been on patient-centered services and the family and the community as client. I think this kind of “systems approach“ and “big picture view“ will allow me to bring a similar lens focus to this position.
“I am very confident that my experience as president of the American Nurses Association for four years has provided me with the skills and ability to develop practical public policy, articulate a clear vision for an organization, and then lead change processes in complex systems–all of which will be needed over the next few years at TDMHDD as the Bredesen team seeks to bring better government and services to our state.
“Clearly, with all the lawsuits in previous years brought against the Department, I think the fact that I am both a licensed professional nurse and an attorney will be especially helpful to the Department.
“I think that my recent experience as the senior health policy advisor for Dr. David Satcher, during which time we produced the first ever Surgeon General’s report on mental health, will help me bring new ideas and new science and apply them to care delivery and best practices in Tennessee.“
Question: Do you already have plans for initiatives as Commissioner?
Response: “It‘s too early to tell you for sure, as I am currently trying to learn about the Department from top to bottom and get my arms around something that‘s very huge, especially the people and resources I can bring to bear on mental health issues. I am at the same time trying to learn the mental health needs in Tennessee from east to west and match up what we offer with what the state needs and get to work on the gaps.
“One of the most important pieces that I plan to bring to the public discussion and to the Bredesen leadership team is that mental health is fundamental to health and if people don’t have access to appropriate mental health services, they will not be healthy, productive and successful. For far too long and without any rationale, mental health has been stigmatized in our health care system. I am definitely going to try to change that.
“I really look forward to working with the chief nurses at the five psychiatric institutes run by this Department and all nurses working in mental health throughout the state. In addition, I hope that my presence here will attract more nurses to choose mental health as their specialty area of nursing practice. Their expertise is so needed statewide and worldwide.“
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