We congratulate Nancy Pontes, an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden, on her induction as a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice (NAP), an interprofessional, national organization that advises governmental bodies on health care delivery in the United States. A resident of Wenonah, Pontes was inducted into this prestigious fellowship during the NAP’s annual conference on March 18. During the Philadelphia meeting, she also was inducted as a distinguished practitioner and fellow of the Nursing Academy
The NAP Distinguished Fellowship is an honor that acknowledges Dr. Pontes’ outstanding achievements and contributions as an interprofessional health care leader, educator, researcher, and practitioner. Through her program of research and clinical practice, Dr. Pontes examines the social determinants of health and wellbeing in youth and families and is committed to advancing population health both locally and globally.
Early in her career, Dr. Pontes –who, since 1990, has served as a family nurse practitioner with an interest in global health– worked with interprofessional teams that provided complex care to children with spina bifida and other spinal dysraphisms. Later, Pontes directed a nurse-managed health center in an alternative court, serving a variety of complex and vulnerable populations including: homeless persons, immigrants, refugees, transgendered females, prisoners, and survivors of human trafficking. At Rutgers University–Camden, she worked collaboratively with the LEAP Academy University Charter School to establish a school-based health center for students in grades K-12. Currently, Pontes serves as the primary investigator on a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s International and Foreign Language office designed to strengthen Spanish language skills among students and faculty across multiple disciplines.
Established in 1981, NAP is comprised of distinguished practitioners and scholars elected by their peers from fourteen different health professions to join the only interprofessional group of health care practitioners and scholars dedicated to supporting affordable, accessible, coordinated quality healthcare for all. The annual NAP forum also serves to highlight the start of National Interprofessional Health Care Month in April.