Events/News

Events

• SAVE THE DATE: The Finger Lakes region is currently planning a Regional Conference for Saturday May 4th, 2013 at the Smith Opera House in Geneva. The target audience is nurses and nursing students. The conference focus will be sharing the toolkit resources and sharing effective strategies to communication with consumers and health care decision-makers about the Future of Nursing. More to follow about registration.


• Join the Pledge – The Metro NY Region has initiated a “Mentor Nurses Upward and Outward” campaign, headed by Wanda Montalvo, co-lead of the transformational leadership sub-committee for the Future of Nursing – NYS Action Coalition. This project encourages established leaders to mentor nurses in their area of expertise. The goal is to sign-up 150 leaders willing to mentor at least one nurse regardless whether the nurse is at the student, manager, director, or nurse executive level. To learn more about this initiative and to sign the pledge, please go to: www.pledgebank.com/MentorsForNurses
  
  
• The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the application process for the Nursing Scholarship Program. Scholarship details were discussed in a May 4 webcast; apply by visiting HRSA online.
  
  
• Health Affairs has a new journal section that examines the topics of aging and disability in the context of one’s full life experiences. It highlights innovations, issues, and trends that affect quality care for the elderly and the disabled. Get more information on appropriate topics, section objectives, and submission guidelines by visiting Health Affairs online.

News

• Barbara Zittel, RN, Ph.D. Appointed as the first nurse trustee at Ellis Medicine, Schenectady, NY
  The New York Action Coalition announces the appointment of Barbara Zittel, RN, Ph.D. to the Ellis Medicine Board of Trustees on April 2, 2013. Ellis Medicine is a 438-bed community and teaching healthcare system serving New York’s Capital Region. With four campuses – Ellis Hospital, Ellis Health Center, Bellevue Woman’s Center and Medical Center of Clifton Park – five additional service locations, more than 3,300 employees and more than 700 members of the health care staff, Ellis Medicine is proud to provide a lifetime of care for patients. Dr. Zittel’s appointment is believed to be the first instance in the 125 year history of Ellis Medicine in which an RN was appointed to the Board of Trustees. Zittel is an international nurse consultant and the immediate past executive secretary of the New York State Board for Nursing. She serves on the NY Action Coalition’s steering committee, as the co-chair of 80-20 subcommittee and as co-lead of the Academic Progression in Nursing (APIN) grant to increase the number of BS prepared nurses in NYS. Her appointment is consistent with the Institute of Medicine’s 2010 Future of Nursing key message that nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health care professional in redesigning health care in the United States.


• The NYS Action Coalition is one of nine states to recently receive a two-year, $300,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help improve the educational progression of nurses. The very successful 1+2+1 model, which sequences nurses to receive an Associate’s degree in three years with only one additional year required to obtain a bachelor’ degree, will help increase the number of bachelor’s prepared nurses statewide. LeMoyne College and St. Joseph’s College of Nursing hosted an all-day summit for project partners on October 22nd. An upcoming site visit from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation team will take place on February 25th at LeMoyne College in Syracuse.
  
  
• A Future of Nursing – NYS Action Coalition pamphlet has been developed and can be individualized by region with pictures of local nurses.
  
  
• Kathy Kelly, PhD, RN – member of the NE region AC & Sage professor recently reported at the Capital District Research Alliance meeting on the results of a RWJF funded project she completed with her colleague Kim Fredericks. The study was entitled Analyzing Stakeholder Perceptions and Social Network Connections Important for the Future of Nursing. It was a social network analysis of key stakeholders in reference to the implementation of the IOM recommendations. To read the report click here
  
  
• Deborah Hunt, nurse co-lead in the Northern Metropolitan Region, just published a book entitled The New Nurse Educator. Information was posted on the Future of Nursing Facebook page.
  
  
• The Coalition for Patients Rights recently issued a press release stressing the importance of the new health insurance exchanges extending payment to the full range of licensed and certified providers. The press release includes Registered Nurse First Assistants (RNFAs) as examples where reimbursement should be required. This information will be posted on Association of Perioperative Registered Nurse’s RNFA webpage.
  
  
• Read about how the Initiative on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine came about in this interview with Susan Hassmiller by Christine T. Kovner and Joanne Spetz. 


• The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) just announced a national campaign targeted toward Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Regulations. Click here to read more.


• The Foundation of New York State Nurses is pleased to announce that the St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association recently funded two proposals aimed at supporting the Future of Nursing initiative. One is to establish a Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund for nurses who demonstrate a commitment to nursing education and who want to pursue either a master’s or doctoral degree. This scholarship fund is in response to the critical need for nursing faculty outlined in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health”. Plans are currently underway to develop the criteria and timeline for implementation of the scholarship. The second grant will provide support for the Institute for Nursing staffing and operations necessary to carry out the Regional Action Coalition responsibilities.


• At the fifth anniversary of the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence the announcement came of the expansion of its Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars program by the addition of 100 nurse doctoral scholarships to be funded nationwide by 2012 with at least 25 going to members of the military who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.  To read more about this exciting news click here.