Dr Cheryl Taylor reflects on death of Sen. Daniel Inouye

Southern University’s School of Nursing and Dr. Cheryl Taylor mourns the death of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii from Hawaii. 

Taylor, an associate professor and Director of the Office of Research, was a protégé and health policy intern of the late senator.

Taylor was chosen and served as a health policy analyst in Inouye’s Washington, D.C. office in 1989-90.  Inouye, a champion for nursing and nurses and health care died Dec 17. He was buried in Hawaii Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.

"It was an honor for me to be recommended by the American Nurses Association program led by Dr. Hattie Bessent to work with Senator Inouye for two internships 1989-90,” Taylor said. 

In May 2010, Inouye and Taylor received national awards from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for being Leadership Champions in Community Healthcare. 

“I will always remember the day Senator Inouye assigned me to represent him during a meeting at the Japanese Embassy, although I could not speak or write Japanese, he recognized my sense of integrity and capacity for communicating his views and the meeting went well,” Taylor said.  

“When I shared with Senator Inouye my research findings about homelessness and homeless women, he thought the findings were significant and reported them to fellow legislators for policy consideration in the U.S. Congressional Record – Senate Vol. 136 no. 39, 5738, June 5, 1990,” Taylor said.

“Senator Inouye truly cared about quality health care and led the way for many health innovations and best practice concepts that exist today.  His guidance prepared me to develop and teach the health policy courses and conduct health disparities research,” Taylor said.