School of Nursing Launches Health Disparities Project

NEWS ADVISORY
For Immediate Release

U of M School of Nursing Launches Health Disparities Project
10 Minnesota Health Care Organizations Participate

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Oct. 6, 2003) - Could the size of a clinic examining room help a sick person heal?

Yes, if that patient happens to be Hmong and the room needs to accommodate several family members who will be involved in the patient's health care and decision-making.

But many health care providers aren't aware of cultural differences like this one that can play a critical role in healing.

Twenty Minnesota nursing leaders will gather at a four-day meeting sponsored by the University of Minnesota School of Nursing October 7 through 10 to launch changes to health care environments that will ultimately lead to improved health outcomes for local multicultural communities. The event will be held at the Oak Ridge Center, Chaska, Minn. Results of the yearlong project, Improving Health Care Environments for Multicultural Communities, will be made to other Minnesota health care organizations.

Reporters interested in attending the event or interviewing participants should call Mary Pattock at the School of Nursing, 612-624-0939.

"There is a great disparity between the health status of white and non-white communities in Minnesota," said Joanne Disch, Ph.D., R.N., executive director of the school's Katherine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership, which is sponsoring the event. "At this conference we'll introduce local nursing leaders to specific cultural differences we have in our community, and work together to develop clinical and organizational strategies to bridge them. Then we'll meet at intervals over almost a year to track progress and measure success."

Nurses are uniquely positioned to make these changes, Disch says, because their role in health care is to address patients holistically, including the social systems and environment that can play a determining role in their health status.

The training portion of the project is supported by contributions from Edwards Memorial Trust, Anna Heilmaier Charitable Foundation, and Children's Hospitals and Clinics. Its unusual evaluation feature is supported by a generous contribution from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation.

Participants are nursing leaders who have authority to implement changes in hospitals and residential care centers. They represent five metro area health care organizations: North Memorial Hospital, Fairview, HealthEast, Hennepin County Medical Center, Children's Hospital; and five rural health care organizations: Allina clinics in Owatonna and Buffalo, Austin Medical Center, and Rice Memorial Hospital and the ACMC clinic in Willmar.

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing is the world's oldest continuing university-based school of nursing. A leader in nursing research, it ranked 14th among 600 eligible nursing schools in 2001 grants from the National Institutes of Health. Approximately 200 undergraduate and 300 graduate students are enrolled in the School's B.S.N., M.S. and Ph.D. programs. It is the only school in Minnesota to award a nursing Ph.D., and it has the largest graduate program at the University of Minnesota. As the state's nursing flagship, the school cultivates leadership, producing 55 percent of the faculty in Minnesota's public and private nursing schools, advanced practice nurses, and nurses who can assume leadership positions.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota's seven health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes including the School of Nursing. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC mission is to prepare the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

-end-