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University of Minnesota Engaged Department Grant to establish the School of Nursing-Presbyterian Homes & Services Collaborative

Partnering to Improve Health for Older Adults

More than 35 million Americans are age 65 and older, with this number expected to rapidly increase as the 77 million Baby Boomers reach retirement age. This tsunami of aging adults who will require care will create a tremendous need for a well prepared nursing workforce that can develop effective interventions that maintain or improve the health of this population and that can effectively deliver care – especially for those who are at risk or more vulnerable. In the past decade, assisted living facilities and community-based services have emerged as preferred alternatives to nursing homes requiring new models of care delivery and professional nurses who are prepared to practice in these settings. With the advent of the School of Nursing’s redesigned baccalaureate and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs, different strategies for learning about the care of older adults were needed.

In order to help design new learning experiences for students at all levels of the curriculum (including the two pre-licensure programs: BSN and MN, and the DNP program), faculty from the center and Presbyterian Homes & Services, received a University of Minnesota Engaged Department Grant to establish the School of Nursing-Presbyterian Homes & Services Collaborative. This collaborative will create a model of excellence for community-based teaching and research to improve the health of at-risk older adults. Over the next 18 months, faculty and students from the School of Nursing with staff from the Presbyterian Homes & Community Services will develop a collaborative model for a long-term partnership for improving the health of older adults receiving home and community-based services offered by PHS. This model will involve co-designing learning experiences and research protocols to address the needs of the clients they serve.

For more information on this program and some words from Jean Wyman, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Cora Meidl Siehl Chair and director of the Center for Gerontological Nursing, please click HERE.