West Central Initiative Receives Grant to Address Regional Geriatric Nursing Shortage

U of M School of Nursing among consortium of schools and funders working to prepare nurses to care for a rapidly growing Minnesota aging population

   
Minneapolis/St. Paul (August 18, 2009) - West Central Initiative (WCI) announced today that it has been chosen as one of 19 foundations nationwide to receive funding from Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future, a unique national initiative led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation to help address the long-term shortage of available nurses across the country.

WCI was awarded $192,241 for its Building Faculty Capacity in Geriatric Nursing for Central Minnesota project, which aims to increase the number of competent registered nurses providing nursing care to elderly persons in a variety of settings in west central and central Minnesota.  WCI is collaborating with the Central Minnesota Academic Health Education Center and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing’s Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence to design and implement the program.

“The population [in west central and central Minnesota] between 60 and 85-plus years of age will grow by 25 percent, or nearly 12,000 people, from 2005 to 2015,” said Nate Dorr, regional labor market analyst for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Dorr explained that within a 20-year span, the numbers are even more dramatic, showing a 64 percent increase, or just over 30,000 people, from 2005 to 2025,The need for RNs who are highly trained in geriatric care is not just  critical, it’s urgent.

DEED’s studies also estimate that from 2004 to 2014 more than 3,000 health care jobs could be added in west central and central Minnesota alone, with a large portion of these focusing on care for the elderly.

From the aches and pains of stiffening joints to serious health complications, nurses need to be trained to handle all the needs of an aging population with skill and compassion. The primary strategy of the Building Faculty Capacity in Geriatric Nursing project is to help regional schools of nursing have an intentional focus on geriatric nursing in their curriculum. 

“We’re planning a ‘grow your own’ approach to nursing workforce development by increasing the number of faculty in west central and central Minnesota with expertise in teaching geriatric nursing,” said Christine Mueller, PhD, RN, BC, CNAA, FAAN, associate professor and chair of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing’s Adult and Gerontological Health Cooperative. Mueller is developing the curriculum for the project.

“A key factor in exciting nursing students about a career working with the elderly is ensuring they have diverse and exemplary geriatric-focused clinical experiences,” she said.  “Through the grant, we’ll be able to offer workshops to faculty from the schools of nursing in the region, and to representatives from health care organizations, who will help co-create these great clinical experiences for students.”

“What’s exciting about this project is that it puts attention on geriatrics, and that’s never been a big focus in nursing programs,” said Chere Rikimoto, administrator/CEO of Traverse Care Center in Wheaton, Minn. 

 Rikimoto pointed out that geriatric nursing skills are needed in nearly every health care setting, from clinics to hospital medical-surgical unit   “Nurses and nursing programs have often thought the only place you can use your complete skill set is in a hospital. That’s just not the case. RNs in a care center, home health or assisted living setting are doing assessments on a daily basis because there’s no doctor on duty. They are involved in complete care,” she said. “Schools of nursing see the need and realize it’s time to change.”

Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future is in its fourth year providing support to local foundations to act as catalysts in their own communities and develop strategies for creating and sustaining a viable nursing workforce. These foundations have forged local partnerships to apply for the competitive grant, raising awareness of the nursing shortage in their own communities. 

“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 B. Hassmiller, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., 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.

Additional funding partners for the Building Faculty Capacity in Geriatric Nursing for Central Minnesota project include Minnesota Area Health Education Center, Lake Region Healthcare Corporation, Frank W. Veden Charitable Trust, Minnesota Area Geriatric Education Center (MAGEC), MAGEC Central, The Initiative Foundation, Care Ventures, Otter Tail County Public Health, Wilkin County Public Health, West Central Initiative and an anonymous private donor.

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The University of Minnesota's School of Nursing, ranked among the nation's top nursing schools, is a leader in improving health care through research, education, and service. Its nationally and world-renowned scientists discover practical health care treatments and solutions people can use today to improve their daily lives. The oldest continuing university-based school of nursing in the nation, it now has a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of approximately 850 students. The school educates 55 percent of the faculty in Minnesota's public and private nursing schools, advanced practice nurses, and nurses who can assume leadership positions.

West Central Initiative is a public foundation serving Becker, Clay, Grant, Douglas, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse and Wilkin counties in west central Minnesota.  WCI provides programs and resources in the areas of business and employment, workers and their families, and communities and the region.  For more information about WCI programs or how you can be a partner/supporter of WCI, call 1-800-735-2239 or visit the WCI Web site at www.wcif.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