Good morning.

I like to call this round table to order.

Today is Thursday, April 2nd, 2026.

The time is 9 32 AM.

We are in room four twelve of the Johnny Wilson building.

Um, and we're also available on the Zoom internet platform.

I'm at large council member Christina Henderson, chair of the committee on health.

Today we will hear from two excuse me, two nominees to the board of nursing and one to the board of funeral directors.

Um first, we're gonna talk a little bit about each of the boards.

The board of funeral directors um is a newly assigned board under the committee on health.

It regulates licensed funeral directors and funeral home establishments.

The board consists of five members appointed by the mayor, four must hold a funeral director license and have practice a minimum of three years.

One must be a non-licensed funeral director representing consumers.

PR twenty-six dash five four eight, the board of funeral directors, Casey Martin um confirmation resolution of twenty twenty-six nominates Casey Martin to the board as a funeral director for a term to end March first, twenty twenty-nine.

She is the manager and director of a funeral home that provides traditional and islamic services in the district and has served in the capacity for twenty-three years.

As a funeral director, she has provided the district's Muslim community with funeral services such as burials, memorials, and funerals.

Um the practice of advanced registered nursing registered okay.

Public Health Service Commander with 20 years of federal service.

She currently serves as a behavioral health and wellness officer at NOAA, the National Weather Service, and is the emotional wellness co-lead at US PHS.

She holds her DPN from Jess Queen.

Duquesne, Duquesne University, and as a board certified psychiatric mental nurse health practitioner.

In 2025, she was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, one of the highest nursing honors.

She also runs a private psychiatric practice.

Wellness takes fortitude and has taught at Washington Advanced University as well as American University, and she's award for a resident.

PR 26-556, the Board of Nursing, Dr.

Tyrus Ford confirmation resolution of 2026 nominates Tyrus Ford to the Board of Nursing as a registered nurse filling a vacant seat formally held by Michelle.

There's no last name for the remainder of an unexpired term to end July 21st, 2026.

And for a subsequent term to end July 21st, 2029.

Dr.

Ford is a board certified family nurse practitioner and doctor of nurse practice, specializing in primary care, HIV prevention and treatment, LGBTQ health.

He currently serves as full-time and primary care nurse NP and HIV specialist at CCI Health Services and part-time as the medical director of trust in the journey wellness, his own practice in Washington, D.C.

He has over eight years of nursing experience across critical care, community health, and clinical leadership settings, and has been an active speaker and advocate on HIV prevention and health equity issues across the DMV.

He is currently pursuing a PMHNP postgraduate certificate at George Washington, or excuse me, Georgetown University, and it's expected in December.

He is a Ward 7 resident.

Sorry about that.

Do some edits next time.

If any of my colleagues join us, we'll certainly join.

But Ms.

Martin, Dr.

Cooper, and Dr.

Ford, if you want to come to the table, so I can swear you in and we can get started.

Okay.

If you all can raise your right hand, do you swear or affirm under penalty of law that the testimony you're about to provide to the council of the District of Columbia and this committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Great.

Okay.

Ms.

Martin, you can start.

You just need to uh turn your mic on.

There's a little button.

There you go.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Chairperson Henderson and members of the committee.

I want to thank Mayor Bowser for nominating me to continue my service on the board of funeral directors and the committee for considering for my nomination.

It is an honor and a pleasure to be considered for such an esteemed position.

I have been a funeral director since 2003.

I currently hold a funeral director's license in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

My father opened the first Muslim-owned funeral home establishment in 1988 and have been working with my father as the first female Muslim funeral director in the DMV since 2003.

Following in my father's footsteps, I'm well-known member of Masjid Muhammad in the nation's Moss community and many of the surrounding Islamic communities.

The community is familiar with our work, and we have been teaching about Islamic funeral services for over 30 years here in the DMV.

My father laid an awesome foundation that I strive daily to uphold and maintain.

My work requires me to compassionately serve families of predominantly Christian and Muslim faiths, often guiding them through deeply emotional and sacred moments.

In doing so, I recognize the importance of bridging gaps and understanding, particularly when religious practices are unfamiliar.

I believe education and transparency are essential to ensuring dignity, respect, and trust for every family we serve.

My religious foundation, combined with over 20 years of professional experience in the funeral industry allows me to bring a unique and necessary perspective to the board.

Respect, dignity, and exceptional service are not just my values, they are the cornerstone of my work.

I believe I am a strong nominee because I lead with both compassion and accountability.

I understand the responsibility that comes with serving the public, especially during their most vulnerable moments.

My vision for the board includes several key priorities.

Evaluating and strengthening the district's burial assistance program to ensure equitable access and clear processes for families in need, mentorship and outreach, particularly to young women to expand awareness of opportunities within the funeral profession, and encourage greater representation in this traditionally male-dominated field.

Upholding professional standards and regulatory integrity, ensuring legislation, policies, and enforcement practices protect both consumers and the credibility of the industry.

As a licensed professional, holding multiple credentials, I have earned the respect of my peers and my community leaders.

I understand that effective governance requires clarity, consistency, and accountability.

The board plays a critical role in establishing and enforcing standards that safeguard the public.

At its core, its work is about people.

People deserve protection.

People deserve transparency, and people deserve to be served with integrity, especially at the end of life.

I am committed to continuing my contributions while serving on the board and focusing on those principles to strengthen trust with our community.

Thank you again, Chairperson Henderson and members of the committee, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

Dr.

Cooper.

Good morning, Chairperson Henderson, members of the committee.

My name is Dr.

Cami Cooper, and it's an honor to be before you today for consideration of my reappointment to the DC Board of Nursing.

I'm grateful to Mayor Muriel Bowser for the nomination and thankful for the opportunity to continue serving the residents of DC.

I'm currently, as mentioned, an active duty officer in the U.S.

Public Health Service Commission Corps, serving at the rank of commander, detailed over to NOAA to provide behavioral health and wellness support for the entirety of National Weather Service.

In this role, I lead initiatives focused on workforce mental health, resilience, and wellness across a nationwide workforce.

In addition to my federal service, I own a nurse-led practice, wellness takes fortitude, focusing on individual mental health care and wellness services, as well as organizational wellness support as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

I'm also completing additional clinical training through an adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner program at William Patterson University of New Jersey, which I complete next month.

Nursing has shaped both my professional and my personal life.

My mother is a nurse, and from a very young age, I understood the responsibility and privilege that comes with caring for others.

That sense of responsibility continues to guide my work today.

I currently serve as chair of the board's discipline committee, a role that I take very seriously because the work of the board ultimately centers on protecting health and safety of the residents here in DC.

While we need skilled professionals in our health care system, we must also ensure that those caring for patients demonstrate competence, ethical integrity, and compassion.

Patients are often at their most vulnerable when they enter the health care system.

And it's our responsibility as a regulatory body to ensure that the professionals entrusted with their care meet the standards required to protect them.

Serving on the board allows me to contribute to that responsibility.

I value the opportunity to work alongside the dedicated members of the board and the professional staff who support its mission.

Together, we work to uphold the integrity of this profession while ensuring the safety of the public that we serve.

If reappointed, I will continue to approach this role with the same sense of responsibility and commitment that has guided my service thus far.

My focus will remain on protecting the public while supporting a strong and accountable health care workforce in DC who care for our residents every single day.

The board's work extends beyond nursing alone.

Our oversight also includes medical assistants, home health aids, long-term care administrators, all professionals who provide essential services across hospitals, clinics, community settings, and long term care settings throughout the district.

And ensuring that these professionals meet those standards of training, competence, and ethical practice, it's critical to maintain that public trust in our health care system.

I also believe that it's important that the board continues to foster a professional environment where high standards, ethical practice, and accountability are upheld while recognizing that all of these different individuals play a really strong role in delivering the care to our to our system.

It's been an honor to serve on the DC Board of Nursing, and especially humbling to be volunt to serve as the chair of the discipline committee, and again, humbled, and I would be grateful for the opportunity to continue contributing to the board's work.

Thank you, Chairperson Henderson, for the opportunity to testify before you and the committee.

And of course, I would be happy to respond to any questions from you and the other members.

Thank you, Dr.

Cooper.

We all have experiences of being volunteered to do things.

Dr.

Ford.

Good morning, Chairperson Henderson, members of the committee, and members of the council.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and thank you to Mayor Mario Bowser for nominating me to serve on the DC Board of Nursing.

It's an honor to be considered for this role.

My name is Dr.

Tyrus Ford.

I am a doctorally prepared family nurse practitioner and HIV specialist, credentialed as a doctor of nursing practice, advanced practice registered nurse, and board certified family nurse practitioner, and a certain certified and HIV care.

I have over eight years of nursing experience with my early career in critical care and medical surgical nursing.

In the past five years focused on primary care and HIV prevention and treatment and community-based health as a nurse practitioner here in the district in the surrounding areas.

My work in Washington, D.C.

has centered on improving access to culturally responsive affirming care for black LGBTQ and other priority populations, including Black women, Latin communities, and those navigating mental health challenges.

I have led quality improvement initiatives, developed integrated clinical programs that bring together behavioral health, sexual health, and primary care, and trained more than 500 health care professionals in evidence-based person-centered care.

I also taught nursing students and mentored nurse practitioners in the region, modeling exemplary nursing leadership and commitment to lifelong learning.

I live by the statement, prevention starts here and wellness lives here, which reflects my personal commitment to advancing the health and well-being of DC residents, both inside and outside of the clinical setting.

I'm deeply committed to advancing the health equity, health equity, strengthening the nursing workforce, and promoting safe, high-quality, culturally responsive care in the District of Columbia.

Serving on the board is a meaningful way for me to contribute my clinical experience, educational background, and systems level perspective to the regulatory body that safeguards the public and supports our profession.

My professional background aligns closely with the mission and responsibilities of the board.

As a nurse practitioner, I've designed and implemented clinical workflows, quality improvement programs, and continued education initiatives that reinforce evidence-based standards of care and nursing confidence.

As an HIV specialist in primary care, I've had first experience, firsthand experience with the complex health and social needs of residents across the district, living those particularly navigating stigma, discrimination, and structural barriers to care.

A healthcare equity lens that prioritizes culturally responsive and trauma-informed and affirming care for historically marginalized communities, leadership experience on professional boards and advisory committees focusing on nursing education, workforce development, and culturally competent care.

I want to volunteer my time for this board because I see nursing as a cent as a central as central to the health of our city.

The board shapes not only our licensure and discipline, but also the standards and expectations that influence how nurses learn, practice, and care for our community.

Serving on this board is an opportunity to help ensure that regulatory framework both protects and support nurses in delivering excellent and equitable care.

Looking ahead, my vision is for serving on the board is grounded in three core priorities promoting safe and high quality nursing practice, advancing health HIV-centered and status neutral care within nursing and health equity and culturally responsive care, and strengthening person-centered mental health integration into workforce well-being.

First, I aim to support the board's work in upholding rigorous evidence-based standards of practice and ethical conduct across all nursing roles.

I will bring my experience with quality improvement and clinical program development to the board's review of policies, regulations, and disciplinary matters, always centering patient safety, professional accountability, and fairness.

Second, I'm committed to elevating HIV as a core nursing competency in the district.

This includes supporting the efforts to encourage continuing education and competency standards that equip nurses at all levels to provide affirming evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment, particularly for communities disproportionately impacted by HIV.

Promote a status neutral approach.

HIV-centered care includes robust HIV screening, PrEP, MPEP, rapid linkage to treatment, and long-term management and primary care.

And lastly, align policies where appropriate with national HIV nursing competencies and professional expectations for HIV-related care.

I believe the board has an important role to play in fostering the nursing workforce that reflects the community we serve and that is equipped to providing affirming trauma-informed and equitable care.

Lastly, I want to integrate mental health into the nursing practice and support the well-being of the nurses and also the communities we care for.

I look forward to supporting education and standards that prepare nurses to recognize, assess, and address mental health and substance use conditions across settings, including HIV and primary care.

Encourage trauma-informed, stigma reducing approaches in nursing that address the intersection of mental health, HIV, and other chronic conditions, promote policies and initiatives that acknowledge the emotional and psychological demands of nursing and support resilience, supervision, and access to mental health resources for nurses themselves.

I would seek to build on what the board is already doing well, such as maintaining high standards for licensure while protecting the public through our oversight, oversight and enforcement, and collaborating with other regulatory professionals.

I also want to assist with ensuring that our regulatory framework keeps the pace at the evolving models of HIV prevention and treatment, integrated behavioral health, telehealth, and emerging technologies and whole person-centered care.

I would approach this work with humility, collaboration, and willingness to listen to my fellow board members and to nurses across the district and to the community that we serve.

In closing, my testimony reflects that who I am as a nurse, a clinician, and a resident of DC.

Someone committed to prevention, wellness, equity, and excellence in nursing practice.

I am eager to contribute my clinical expertise, regulatory and educational experience and passion for nursing leadership in this important work for the board.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you to the nominees for your testimony.

And let me say at the top, thank you so much for your willingness to serve the district as well as serve your peers.

I give my little PSA.

But serving on board and commission, particularly when you're doing a professional board.

It's a time commitment.

It is, you know, you all have your professional lives, and then you do this after that fact.

And but we're always looking for people who want to serve.

We've got some vacancies.

So if you're watching this and you're feeling inspired by the testimony, go to the mayor's Office of Talent and Appointments website and see what we have open.

Okay.

I have some questions for you all.

Ms.

Martin, I'm going to start with you because Dr.

Ford and Dr.

Cooper are for the same board, so I can ask them questions sort of interchangeably.

Was there anything in particular that you learned during your first term that surprised you that was unique, or just overall what you plan to sort of bring into your second term?

Well, what I learned was um coming together as a body of people to um hold up the accountability and responsibility of consumers as well as the um people that we serve as well as ourselves, you know, as funeral directors.

I find so much of what we deal with that we don't necessarily get to speak about.

And I wanted to be able to be on the board so that I could see how to help myself as well as other funeral directors.

You know, a lot of times people don't always say what questions they have, concerns they have, um, how to continue to commit to be regulated and and to do things um appropriately within our industry.

Um, but also, you know, what we're doing when it comes to people and and human beings and the consumers.

And so it, you know, giving myself the opportunity and and and uh you all allowing me to be on this board gives me the opportunity to see a full perspective and spectrum um of my industry, and I'm grateful.

Right.

Um I um the board of funeral directors is is new to our committee, so I've tried very hard to learn a lot in a very short period of time.

Um we had a hearing a couple of weeks ago.

What's a couple of weeks ago?

It was like a week ago.

I don't know.

What is time?

Uh-huh.

Time is time.

Um, but uh Chair McGuire testified at that hearing.

Right.

Um, and uh there were two bills.

Um one was uh an update on funeral director licensing, and another was around um a uh green alternative if you will, and using alkaline hydrolysis, etc.

Um the I wanted to ask you a question though about the um the licensing reform bill, which would split the funeral director's license into a funeral director and an embalmer.

And uh Chair McGuire said something that even now I still remember he said um while some may be skilled as an embalmer, they may not have the personality to be a funeral director.

Correct.

Um and I was just curious to what your perspective on that proposal was, um, especially given I think your license in all three jurisdictions, and Maryland and Virginia have already moved on this.

Um well, as as far as being a funeral director and an embalmer, um, is I do know all aspects of it, and I really do think that anybody that says that they're a funeral director and embalmer, to me, um it's a it's a whole total perspective, you know.

Because I am a um a person that works the funeral business majority totally daily on my own in doing everything.

Um I believe that it's it's a great thing to encompass all aspects of knowledge about it.

Um thing that my father said in the beginning of uh, you know, because I do mostly paperwork handling families, um, but he said you must know this industry totally.

You must know what's going on behind closed doors as an embalmer so that you will know what you're looking for to do and not to do and allow someone to do or not to do.

But if I'm only a funeral director and I only know paperwork myself as an owner that wants to know the whole total perspective, I don't know what to tell someone what to do and not to do as an embalmer.

So my perspective really is the full compassing encompassing perspective.

Um I do know that especially like if you were to work for corporation, your position as I am in as a funeral director, I only handle families.

This is what I take care of.

I'm taking care of the consumer, the client, versus one that is majority in the prep room is just an embalmer and does not do that aspect at all, and they don't interchange.

But to me, that is the aspect of someone that can be in corporate and just working for a funeral home.

My perspective just is a little different because I encompass it all of it, you know, and need to know all of it as uh a director as a potential owner, you know, for for the future.

I think we're trying to sort of think about it from the perspective of uh making sure DC isn't left behind, especially as some of um the community colleges and otherwise are starting to offer just embalming only programs, right?

So they're not necessarily doing the full mortuary science.

I think I think you're right.

Um, especially if you're gonna be a funeral director, if you're gonna be the owner of the business, you need to understand all aspects of what's happening under your roof because at the end of the day, your license is on the line.

If someone makes a mistake, you were supposed to be the person who's sort of supervising.

But I just wanted to get a different perspective on that.

May I ask a question?

Sure.

Is it a shorter amount of time for licensing and going to school for the funeral director license versus the embalmers?

I don't believe so.

At least the ones that we have seen.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

We see that you have served on the Maryland board of morticians and funeral directors.

Are there any practices or approaches from Maryland's board that you believe that the district's board should be adopting?

Really, no, they they are very similar.

One one thing that I really did like, I love the aspect of having an attorney on hand at all times.

So that if there's any questions people have that they have the ability to get that insight from that attorney, but it it is the same both ways.

I know they are considering now to have more people on the board here in the district.

Because there's a lot of people on my board.

Um and it just gives the ability to have more perspective.

Um I think one of the reasons why they wanted me on that board was because I was Muslim and a funeral director and a woman.

Um and so they're Jewish people on that board, and I think they wanted to um there's also um I don't know if they you know, please forgive me as far as LGBTQ, but there is um another woman that's on the board that is um um giving her perspective of LGBTQ.

Yeah, the diversity of perspectives of all branches.

That diverse perspective is is great.

Yeah.

That that I would say if if anything, that diverse perspective is is the thing that makes it uh a great, a greater perspective.

Yeah.

Um the licensing reform bill does add two additional seats, um, which is kind of funny because you're sitting next to the board of nursing where I think there's like, I don't know, there's a gripper y'all, like the board of nursing is like 15 deep or something to that effect.

Obviously, uh they have more um professionals who are licensed than in in the industry, but um I I feel like five is small.

It is, uh so that diverse intimate, I guess.

Yeah, if you would just keep that in mind, having a diverse perspective, which is what I think it needs.

Yeah, and your to your point around the attorney piece.

Um we're also kind of I'm again, like I said, I'm learning in terms of the board of funeral directors because um our health licensing boards, they do have access to an attorney.

Um, and so we're trying to get now DLCP to get on board because I was like, uh that's a that's key.

It is, it really is, especially when when you're there on a panel and people don't really know, and then you can't go back and flip through a law, you know, to to know whether or not you're saying something correct or not having someone that's on hand that knows at all times is essential.

Okay.

Um one last well, not it's not the last last question, but one last question for you specifically.

Um so the district currently has 29 funeral homes that are licensed to operate here.

I kind of think that's a lot for a city of our size, but nonetheless.

Um Pardon me, say then.

I said I think that's kind of a lot for a city of our size, but you know, yeah, it's fine.

Um, however, we did learn that um most of the funeral directors plan to retire within the next five years.

Um what factors do you think are driving this trend?

And what else can we be doing to encourage more folks to enter the profession?

So you mean why do we have 29 funeral directors and funeral homes?

Um no, no, no.

Why do we have of the licensees of funeral director licensees?

We have a lot who are intending to retire within the next five years, and I was wondering why that was a trend.

Is it just that the profession tends trends older, but also what should we be doing to help encourage more folks to enter the profession, younger folks to enter the profession?

Um I would assume that that sounds like an answer that um that comes from a questionnaire of some sort, right?

So someone can can look at themselves and say, what do I want to be doing in the future within the next five years and will I retire?

A lot of people have been in the industry for a long time.

And if they're not making the money sometimes that they want to make, then you know, because in this industry, um it's not a great um salary.

It's not a human, you know, you have to really own the business in order to um look forward to a great salary and a great lifestyle.

Um it definitely is a humbling one and and definitely one that you can definitely have a livelihood off of, but I would say that it's it's it needs to have more money attached to it.

Um it's almost like being a teacher, right?

It's an essential thing, it's something that you need, and it's something that is going to have an effect on the human and and what we do here in in our world because a teacher is an essential person in a child's life.

We are essential to the end of life, but it doesn't necessarily have a salary that's attached to it, and people can't necessarily withstand the fortitude with longevity.

You know, you need to be able to look at it retirement, and and they don't really offer that in uh funeral homes.

They don't always offer a full compassing encompassing, they do in corporations, right?

You've got your um your life insurance, your your retirement and all of those things that are connected to it.

And so it's just it doesn't have the robustness that it needs working at individual funeral homes.

I hope I answered that question.

Yeah, no, I mean I think it's you know, sometimes it's about exposure to for rec um recruiting a younger generation.

What are the career possibilities that are available to you?

Um it's not always what you see on TikTok and Instagram, right?

Like and so how we encourage younger folks to enter the profession, it's the same one that we have with nursing.

Um I've got a nursing shortage, I need some certified nurse assistance, I got all these different things.

Um but if you don't mind me saying then, um, you know, it would be immediate that you would see someone that is has a nursing booth at a career.

Um, you know, when you have the career fairs in the city, you don't have funeral directors tables that are at career fairs, so inviting us to career fairs will be essential.

Okay.

And there's also science involved.

Yeah, you know, it's all depends.

There's a really great industry.

Okay.

Um Dr.

Cooper, uh, thank you for your willingness to serve again.

Yay.

Even if it was a voluntal situation, that's okay.

No.

Um, you know, I I think your professional experience is um super interesting in terms of the work that you're doing with the US public health US public health service core, um, but particularly um at NOAA.

Um has your professional or how has your professional experience sort of informed your work serving on the board in your first term?

Yeah.

Um really mental health is a part of every day.

Um and that's the point of my life where I am right now in this nursing career that takes you in a million different ways.

Mental health is my focus.

Um, and so oftentimes when individuals come before the disciplinary committee, um, you know, you also have to question their wellness and how we can best serve them.

It's not just about um, you know, handing out ethical training requirements or here's a fee that you have to pay.

Um it's really about making sure that people are coming to the table is their their best selves, the best version of themselves.

Um again, I said it in my testimony, but this profession is about serving other people.

Um it's you know, I tell the folks at Noel and National Weather Service all the time.

Um, you have to be your best version of you when you come to the table because every day we walk into any room, we have our own bags, as does the person next to us on both sides and the person in front of us.

And so um I think just kind of bringing that perspective to the table helps to inform decisions and and how we guide other individuals, trainings that we are going to recommend for disciplinary practices, et cetera.

Um, so yeah.

And also I have a full history of nursing, and so I've seen things from a lot of different perspectives.

Um is there anything that you were hoping to accomplish in your next term of service that you weren't able to do this last go around?

The particular areas of interest that you hope that the board focus on.

Um, you know, I think one of the big things that we are working on, it's not that we haven't gotten to it yet, but um we're starting to kind of define these practices is um having a sense of of stability, you know, like our common practices.

If you do this, then you do this, and um we do a lot of folks uh the ones who appear before the boards who kind of give their their testimony um and and be heard and feel understood.

Um and so just want to make sure that we're not creating this space for kind of like that emotional decision making, rather we have standards of practice in place, right?

Um and we can also individualize it.

Um and the only the other thing that I hope we can do more of um in the coming years is innovation.

We have to be ahead of things, um, be ahead of things and not responding to things because of what other states are doing.

Um, you know, we're a small but mighty um place, and so we we really have the opportunity to forward think and look at where trends are taking us and where we want the trends to take us.

Okay.

Um I have one clarifying question that I have to ask.

Okay, so the biographical summary that the mayor's office um submitted states that you earned your bachelor's of science and nursing from the University of Cincinnati.

But your C V and your package says Hampton was your institution.

So which one is correct?

I am a Hamptonian.

Okay.

That is not a good one.

She said it with Brad.

What do they call it?

Something by the C home by the C.

Okay, yeah.

I don't want any smoke from the Howard folks about who is the real H U.

We're both HUs, that's all I have for Dr.

Ford.

Um, this is your first time serving on the board.

You're filling a vacant seat.

Um just curious.

Did you apply or are you recruited?

I definitely was recruited and applied.

Well, yes, obviously you had to apply, but I'm just curious if there was something that you came to on your own and you were like, hey, this would be cool.

Let me do this.

Somebody suggested that I could apply.

Oh, I see, I see.

Okay, okay.

Um you said a lot in your testimony in terms of some of the things that you hope to work on.

Um, you know, elevating HIV care as a core competency of nursing.

Do you want to say more about that?

Yeah, absolutely.

You know, um, HIV uh since 2016 when the CDC came out with that statistic that one in uh two gay black males would acquire HIV in their lifetime, that just stuck with me for a long time, which propelled me into family medicine to be able to provide for my community.

Um that's me, my brother, my friend, and it shouldn't happen.

And so um, you know, being that HIV is kind of what I do as my specialty, I would love to bring that perspective on how we can destigmatize individuals living um with HIV, how we can support them and make them feel seen, make them feel heard, get them in to care because many individuals living with HIV don't know that they're living with HIV and they don't seek care because they still have medical mistrust.

And I think DC is so uniquely positioned because we get so many people coming into DC and leaving out of DC, right?

And then we also are adjacent to Prince George's County, which we know has a high prevalence of HIV, um also Mount Gomery County.

We have our pockets where um HIV um lives and we need support.

So I think we just have um to bring that perspective.

I would just love to make sure that we're prioritizing it.

Not to say that we're doing not doing well, because I think we're we're blessed to be here in the case.

Well, just say for the record, DC did hit a great milestone um last year.

We had the lowest number of new cases, um, you know, since we've sort of since we have been tracking, which was huge.

We've had some challenges in that once you hit these great milestones, then the federal government likes to try to take back their money.

Um but we're working through that, and um, we just did legislation on um on prep and um PEP.

So we're we're we're trying in that best way.

Um your updated TV shows that you're currently enrolled in a postgraduate certificate program at Georgetown.

Yes.

You one of those uh degree degree collectives.

I think this is gonna be my last certification for a long time.

Um you got a doctorate.

What else do you need?

So it's a uh psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certification.

Okay, that's good.

Goes along with the work that I'm doing, especially in HIV.

We know that those individuals um some also have mental health issues that they um navigate on a day-to-day basis, and then also um just offering a whole person perspective is what I'm always about being person-centered.

So, you know, mental health is what we do every day, and so I want to make sure that I can provide that that support.

Great.

I mean, and it's also an area where we do need more professionals, so I was giving you a hard time about that.

But I was just like, he's still in school.

Oh, trust me, I I think this is gonna be my last go around.

Okay.

Um, so you have three certifications.

Um, otherwise, um, A and P, the A and C C and then HIV specialist certification.

Our records are showing that all of these are currently in the process for renewal.

Yes.

Um, can you give us a sense on where they stand and when you expect them to be finalized?

Oh, yes, they'll be finalized actually this week.

So um, I should I just renew them, I believe, on the twenty eighth.

Okay.

So yeah, um, and I can provide those records to you all.

Okay.

Um, one thing that I have to ask everyone, and I have to hear an affirmative.

So I'm going to assume that you've had conversations with um either the agency staff, etc.

about the time commitment for your boards.

Um, we don't want to approve someone who then doesn't show up to the meetings um for the reappointments.

Um, both Ms.

Martin and Dr.

Cooper, we checked your attendance records before we decided to move forward with your um review.

So I just need to hear that you all understand the time commitment um and that you're uh willing to show up and be an active participant in um your respective boards.

Yes.

Yes.

Okay.

All right.

Um, is there anything that you want to share for the record that I haven't asked yet?

Oh, I do want to share one thing.

Um with the HIV certification, we uh the test examination is only um offered once a year.

So I applied for it.

Um, but the exam opens up in September.

Okay.

So then I'll be able to re-certify at that time, officially get the certification.

Just want to put that on a record.

Okay, thank you for that clarification.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Well, that's all I have for you today.

Um, so I want to thank you again for your willingness to serve.

Um, the committee on um health will consider um you vote on your nominations next week.

Okay.

Next week.

Um, the committee will hold its next um meeting, not considering these nominations, but just in general, on April 6th on Monday at nine AM.

Um, we're going to hear from um invited witnesses on matters related to Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, operations compliance and community impact.

Uh the time is ten seventeen A.M.

and this round table is adjourned.

Thank you.