The University of Wyoming’s Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing has been chosen to participate in an initiative aimed at transforming nursing education in the United States.
The school’s Wyoming Center for Nursing and Health Care Partnerships is one of the organizations, in only 20 states, selected to be part of the $3 million initiative, called the Future of Nursing State Implementation Program. The program is designed to help states prepare the nursing profession to address the nation’s most pressing health care challenges -- access, quality and cost -- amidst an aging and more diverse population.
“Our focus is on transformation of nursing education that will truly enhance health care in Wyoming, and this was a key factor in being selected,” says Mary Burman, dean of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing. “We are part of a powerful movement working to shape the future of health care for all Americans. We are very grateful for this support, which will strengthen our work.”
Burman notes that the Wyoming Center for Nursing and Health Care Partnerships plans to focus on enhancing clinical education for all Wyoming schools of nursing.
The Future of Nursing State Implementation Program bolsters efforts already under way in 50 states and the District of Columbia -- the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action -- to transform health care through nursing. A joint initiative of AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Campaign for Action works to implement the Institute of Medicine’s evidence-based recommendations on the future of nursing.
The campaign provides a voice and a vehicle for nurses, at all levels, to lead system change to improve care for patients and families by collaborating with business, consumer and other health professional organizations.
The initiative will provide two-year grants of up to $150,000 to 20 state-based coalitions that have developed or made substantial progress toward the implementation of the Institute of Medicine recommendations.
“This grant is designed to spur progress in Wyoming, which already is doing impressive work to transform nursing education, practice and leadership,” says Susan B. Hassmiller, senior adviser for nursing for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “The foundation is committed to helping states build a more highly educated, diverse nursing workforce that will improve health outcomes for patients, families and communities.”
The Center to Champion Nursing in America, an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, serves as the national program office for the Future of Nursing State Implementation Program.
“This new program will help action coalitions get the strategic and technical support required to advance their goals,” says Susan Reinhard, senior vice president of the AARP Public Policy Institute. “Our hope is that, with this support, Wyoming will be even more effective in improving health outcomes for patients, families and communities.”
