Bookmark & Share

Favorites	Google
Digg	Del.icio.us
Twitter	Facebook

>> More...

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) have announced plans to partner on an initiative that will highlight the potential role of nurses in transforming health care, Modern Healthcare reports. As part of the initiative, the IOM has convened a committee tasked with identifying how nursing leaders and the "widespread use of nursing care solutions" could be leveraged to improve care quality, lower costs and improve access to health care. Specifically, the committee will examine innovative models of nursing care and education and hold town hall meetings in an effort to gather expert opinions to create a clear agenda and formulate a blueprint for action. The agenda, which will be highlighted in a report slated for release in fall 2010, is expected to address a range of national-, state- and local-level system changes, including innovative strategies to improve health care quality and bolster the nursing workforce. According to a release, the agenda could include proposals to reconceptualize the role of nurses within the context of the entire workforce, the shortage, and current and future technology; strategies to ensure a continuous pipeline of nursing talent for numerous care settings; and models for leveraging nursing service delivery to improve care delivery and health professional education. The project will be chaired by Donna E. Shalala, Ph.D., who is the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and current president of the University of Miami. Meanwhile, Linda Burnes Bolton, Dr.P.H., R.N., FAAN, vice president for nursing, chief nursing officer and director of nursing research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, will serve as the committee's vice-chair. In light of nationwide efforts to improve access to and quality of care, Shalala notes that the project "couldn't be more timely," adding that "it is absolutely essential to actively engage nurses for their leadership, expertise and proven solutions," and that "nurses and their concerns must be part of our national discussion about health reform, and viewed as a key to the solution." Echoing her sentiments, RWJF President and Chief Executive Officer Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., notes that "for health reform to succeed, and for patients to receive better care at a cost we can afford, we must change the way health care is delivered. And nursing is at the heart of patient care." (Carlson, Modern Healthcare, 7/14/09 [subscription required]; RWJF release, 7/14/09; IOM project overview).