Louisiana Human Trafficking Prevention Commission Chair Judge Joy Lobrano has asked Katherine Carter, DNP, PHCNS-BC, coordinator BSN-DNP Public/Community Health Nursing and instructor of Clinical Nursing; and Deborah St. Germain, DNP, RN, CEN, CNE, assistant professor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, to serve on the commission’s Healthcare Subgroup.
The legislatively created commission is charged with developing and coordinating human trafficking prevention programs; identifying gaps in prevention and intervention services; increasing coordination among public and private programs; developing a state needs assessment and a comprehensive and integrated service delivery approach; establishing a method to transition human trafficking service providers toward evidence-based national best practices; developing a plan that ensures that Louisiana laws on human trafficking are properly implemented; provide training to law enforcement, the judiciary, and service providers; making recommendations on legislation to further anti-trafficking efforts; and developing mechanisms to promote public awareness of human trafficking.
Carter is a certified clinical nurse specialist in public health and serves as a clinical and theory faculty member in the population-focused nursing courses in both the traditional and RN-BSN programs at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. She has experience in orthopedics, pediatrics, and medical-surgical nursing, along with extensive experience in home health and hospice. Carter has served as a health facilities surveyor in the Health Standards Section for the Louisiana Department of Health. She is active in her community senior centers and local homeless shelter.
St. Germain's primary areas of practice are emergency nursing, forensic nursing, and intensive care nursing. She has many years of experience in a level I trauma center in the emergency department and trauma step-down unit. Also, she has worked as a death investigator in a local coroner's office, a practitioner in a local child abuse evaluation center, and legal nurse consultant. Current areas of undergraduate teaching are emergency nursing, forensic nursing, medical-surgical, and critical care nursing. Past areas of teaching have included pediatric nursing, nursing management in healthcare, foundations in nursing, health assessment, and psychiatric nursing.