Four UCSF Nurse-Scholars Earn Prestigious Hartford Scholarships

Four nurse-scholars with the UCSF/John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence have been awarded scholarships of $100,000 or fellowships of $125,000 to allow them to make a two-year, full-time commitment to research, teaching and leadership in geriatric nursing. The awards are part of the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) program sponsored by the John A. Hartford Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies. BAGNC is one of several initiatives based on the John A. Hartford Foundation trustees' recognition of the centrality of nurses to the care of older adults. Abraham Brody, RN, and Mary Kay McKown, RN, MS, FNP, have been named Hartford Predoctoral Scholars, while postdoctoral students Wan Chen, PhD, RN, and Ann Mayo, RN, DNSc, have earned Claire M. Fagin Fellowships. Brody also was awarded an additional stipend contributed by the Mayday Fund for candidates whose research focus includes the study of pain in the elderly. With their awards, UCSF counts 11 predoctoral Hartford scholars and seven postdoctoral Hartford fellows among its students and alumni. "The scholars and fellows are at the core of the BAGNC program," said Meg Wallhagen, PhD, APRN, BC, GNP, AGSF, director of the UCSF/Hartford Center. "These women and men choose to apply and are selected because of their outstanding commitment to geriatric nursing and their recognized potential for future leadership. By producing expert academicians, practitioners and researchers who will lead the field of geriatric nursing, this effort ultimately will improve the care of elders in our society."

UCSF'S John A. Hartford Foundation BAGNC Scholars and Fellows 2006-2008 Predoctoral Scholars • Abraham Brody, RN Mary Kay • McKown, RN, MS, FNP 2006-2008 Claire M. Fagin Postdoctoral Fellows • Wan Chen, PhD, RN • Ann Mayo, RN, DNSc 2005-2007 JAHF BAGNC Predoctoral Scholars • Mary Louise Fleming, MSN, RN • Jennifer Merrilees, RN, MS • Ronald Walent, MS, RN, CNS, BC 2005-2007 Postdoctoral Fellow • Wen-Wen Li, RN, MS, PhD 2004-2006 JAHF BAGNC Predoctoral Scholars • Monika Pettross, RN, MSN, PHN • Robert Pope, RN, MSN • Debra Priest, RN, MSN, FNP 2004-2006 Postdoctoral Fellow • Mary Ellen Dellefield, PhD, RN 2003-2005 JAHF BAGNC Predoctoral Scholar • Tara Harriger, RN, BSN, PHN 2002-2004 JAHF BAGNC Predoctoral Scholar • Diane L. Norcio, RNC, GNP, MS, MPH 2002-2004 Postdoctoral Fellows • Alison Kris, PhD(c), RN, BSN • Nancy A. Stotts, EdD, RN, FAAN 2001-2003 JAHF BAGNC Predoctoral Scholar • Joyce Chan, RN, MS 2001-2003 Postdoctoral Fellow • Charon A. Pierson, PhD, APRN, GNP

The UCSF/John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence is one of five centers established by the Hartford Foundation at schools of nursing that have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the field of gerontological nursing, have outstanding capacity in research, practice and education, and have both current experience and future potential to build the next generation of gerontological nurses. UCSF's center offers master's and doctoral degrees in gerontological nursing, as well as opportunities for postdoctoral research. Faculty in the UCSF School of Nursing have been leaders in gerontology for 30 years, and founded the Institute for Health & Aging, a University of California Organized Research Unit, in 1979. A UCSF-Mount Zion fellowship in geriatric medicine was established that same year, and in 1998 the UCSF School of Medicine announced its Center of Excellence in Academic Geriatrics, also thanks to support from the John A. Hartford Foundation. The five-year grant to support UCSF's Center of Excellence recently was renewed through 2010. In addition to Wallhagen, a professor of physiological nursing, core faculty include Associate Director Charlene Harrington, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor of sociology and nursing, Associate Director Glenna A. Dowling, RN, PhD, professor and chair of physiological nursing, and Nancy Stotts, RN, EdD, FAAN, professor of physiological nursing. Jeanie Kayser-Jones, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor of physiological nursing, directed the center for its first five years. The John A. Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence are linked by a coordinating center at the American Academy of Nursing. The BAGNC scholarship-fellowship initiative works with these centers, plus seven additional university-based investment projects, and provides scholarships to build capacity in geriatric nursing education, leadership, research and best practices models. Since its creation in 2000, the BAGNC program has funded 59 predoctoral scholars, 43 postdoctoral fellows and four MBA scholars representing 39 schools of nursing in every geographic region. To date, the Hartford Foundation has invested more than $15 million in scholarships for nurses through BAGNC. Beginning in 1996 with the funding of the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, the foundation has committed more than $60 million to prepare gerontology nurse educators, researchers, practitioners and curricula. For further information regarding the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity program, go to www.geriatricnursing.org. For more about the UCSF/John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, go to http://nurseweb.ucsf.edu/www/hcgne.htm.