The geriatric nursing program in the UCSF School of Nursing has received a key grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation to continue its work in educating nurse scientists.
Through a grant from the foundation in 2001, the school launched the UCSF/John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence under the leadership of Jeanie Kayser-Jones, RN, PhD, FAAN. She has been the director of the center for the past 5 years.
The UCSF center is one of only five specializing in geriatric nursing in the US funded by the foundation.
The renewal award for $1,050,000 over the next five years will allow the UCSF center to continue its mission of preparing an exceptional cadre of nurse scientists who will provide academic leadership in the teaching, research and practice of geriatric nursing.
"This new grant makes it possible for us to build on our strengths and accomplishments and to expand our reach to make use of resources throughout the Bay Area in carrying out our mission," said Margaret Wallhagen, RN, PhD, who will become director of the Center in January 2006.
"As our senior population continues to grow, there is increasing demand to meet the complex needs of older adults with acute and chronic conditions across a spectrum of settings. We are working to prepare an adequate supply of gerontological nurses to meet the demand, and this means educating future leaders and practitioners in this field," she added.
To achieve this goal, the new funding will support strategic initiatives in three target areas of the UCSF center:
• Master's and doctoral program expansion: Recruit more than 22 students each year for five years, maintain and enhance cultural diversity in the student population, and develop formal educational opportunities for students in palliative care and gero-psychiatry.
• Community and professional outreach: Collaborate with the Northern California Geriatric Education Center as well as hospitals, nursing homes, and home care agencies in the region to share faculty expertise and web-based courses in the gerontology field.
• Leadership development for graduate students in gerontological nursing: Provide structured leadership development experiences, assist students in developing the skills to present papers at professional meetings, and collaborate with the UCSF Institute for Health Policy Studies to help students incorporate policy issues into their future research, practice, and career goals.
Founded in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation is committed to training, research and service system innovations that promote the health and independence of America's older adults.
Through its grant awards, the foundation seeks to strengthen the nation's capacity to provide effective, affordable care to this rapidly increasing older population by educating "aging prepared" health professionals--physicians, nurses, social workers--and developing innovations that improve and better integrate health and supportive services.
In addition to UCSF, the Foundation funds geriatric nursing centers at the Oregon Health Sciences University, University of Arkansas, University of Iowa, and University of Pennsylvania.
Source: Corinna Kaarlela
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