An increasing awareness of the challenges facing the Midwest’s geriatric nursing workforce is the driving force behind a new partnership among several state and local foundations and organizations.
Aging baby boomers will create a burgeoning demand for quality long-term care facilities in the years ahead. But inadequate educational preparation in geriatric nursing care and nursing management contributes to high turnover and vacancy rates, which create barriers to ensuring quality patient care.
A $500,000, two-year grant will fund the Midwest Geriatric Nursing Quality Improvement program to improve care in regional long-term care facilities through furthering geriatric care education for registered nurses and leadership development for nurse managers.
The Vetter Foundation of Nebraska is the lead foundation for the project and the UNMC College of Nursing is the lead organizational partner.
Funding partners include the Vetter Foundation, UNMC College of Nursing, Vetter Health Services, Inc., Nebraska Health Care Foundation, Nebraska Methodist Hospital, NYE Senior Services, Tabitha Health Care Services, Golden Living, Iowa West Foundation, the Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Foundation, UNMC College of Nursing Class of 1960 (in memory of classmate Nancy Schneckloth), and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska. Organizational partners include the Nebraska Health Care Association, Nebraska Methodist College, the Nebraska Geriatric Education Center, and the Nebraska Center for Nursing.
The grant is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Northwest Health Foundation’s (NWHF) Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future grant program, a unique national initiative to help address the long-term shortage of nurses across the country. The program is in its fourth year of providing support to local foundations to develop strategies for creating and sustaining a viable nursing workforce.
The RWJF and NWHF matched $250,000 in funds raised by the University of Nebraska Foundation through 13 local funding partners.
Kathy Wolfe, director of development, University of Nebraska Foundation, said the foundation’s proposal for the grant was strengthened by the generosity and diversity of the funding partners. “They join us in this effort to enhance long-term nursing care in our region. It is an honor to work with them on this important initiative,” she said.
Glenn Van Ekeren, executive vice president of the Vetter Foundation, is co-principal investigator of the grant and will lead foundation efforts. Mary Cramer, Ph.D., associate professor from UNMC College of Nursing, also is co-principal investigator and will lead the organizational effort.
Dr. Cramer said the grant will improve the quality of patient care, family and staff satisfaction, retention of registered nurses and administrators, and the work environment.
“The population is aging at a time when there is a critical shortage of nurses trained in geriatric care,” Dr. Cramer said. “Nebraska’s elderly population – an estimated 13.5 percent in the state and about 18.4 percent in rural areas — is expected to increase 62 percent by 2030.”
She said only two schools of nursing in Nebraska require gerontology as a separate course in nursing school. Estimates say only 36 percent of Nebraska nurses have had any kind of geriatric education.
“There are many registered nurses generally not prepared to work with older adults,” Dr. Cramer said. “The older person isn’t the same as a middle age person. They have a whole host of unique problems and generally live with multiple chronic conditions that complicate care. The grant will raise the bar for quality.”
Van Ekeren said ensuring a highly prepared nursing workforce in long-term care facilities supports the educational mission of the Vetter Foundation. “The quality of life and quality of care of our seniors will undoubtedly be enriched by nurses specifically trained in geriatric care and leadership practices.”
Through the grant, 96 registered nurses in the 56 facilities owned by the four long-term care companies involved in the grant, will enroll in a 10-week, interactive course that will provide continuing education in geriatric nursing care. They include nurses from Tabitha Health Care Services, Golden Living, Nye Senior Services, and Vetter Health Services. Most of the facilities are located in Nebraska, with a handful in Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming.
About 70 registered nurses — charge nurses, directors of nursing, and nursing administrators in long-term care facilities, will enroll in leadership and management classes that will provide leadership training. Some will pursue a national nurse executive certification. A Geriatric Leadership Academy also will be created to establish best practice standards in long-term care and to recognize excellence in nurse leadership.
Long-term care facilities involved in the grant will institute a Career Ladder program that will include providing financial incentives to nurses who become certified in gerontology and/or earn bachelor’s degrees, which is expected to improve recruitment and retention of registered nurses in long-term care.
“Nurses are the nation’s most direct link to patient safety and quality of care. We are committed to helping find the most innovative solutions to the nursing shortage so we can protect patients now and over the long-term,” said Susan Hassmiller, Ph.D., senior adviser for nursing at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This unique partnership of the philanthropic community helps identify new approaches that go well beyond what any one foundation could do alone.”
For more information about Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future, go to www.PartnersinNursing.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.
Founded in 1997, the Northwest Health Foundation is an independent, charitable foundation committed to advancing, supporting, and promoting the health of the people of Oregon and southwest Washington. Embracing its role as the community’s partner for better health, the Foundation achieves its mission primarily through grantmaking and support for advocacy efforts that influence public policy. See www.nwhf.org.
The Vetter Foundation is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization founded in 1992 by Jack and Eldora Vetter to improve the quality of education in health care and to support the various needs of organizations serving the less fortunate.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources exceeds $100 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 3,200 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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