Grants Help Tackle Geriatrics Nursing Shortage
LITTLE ROCK – Grants totaling $450,000 will enable the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing to continue leading an innovative effort to strengthen the quality of nursing care in Arkansas nursing homes.
Announced today as part of a national initiative, Arkansas Community Foundation (ARCF), in partnership with UAMS, received $225,000 from Partners in Nursing’s Future (PIN), in addition to $225,000 raised locally. The three-year grant is being used to help increase the number of geriatric nurses in long-term care with a baccalaureate degree or higher.
The effort is driven by an existing shortfall in highly qualified geriatrics nurses and by projections that show Arkansas’ 65-and-older population will nearly double by 2025, from 13.9 percent to 24 percent. The percentage of people age 65 and older in Arkansas already is higher than the national average – 13.9 percent compared to 12.5 percent.
Of the 2.56 million registered nurses in the U.S., fewer than 15,000 (.005 percent) are certified gerontological nurses, and the shortage of registered nurses is expected to reach 29 percent by 2020.
“Our state’s geriatrics nursing shortage is both a significant health challenge and a workforce training issue. We see this grant as a means to address both problems,” said ARCF President and CEO Heather Larkin. “The streamlined educational pathway our partners are building for nurses will have an economic benefit for the individuals who are able to gain additional training. Additionally, our state’s seniors will benefit from the increase in highly trained nurses to provide quality health care.”
ARCF is one of 11 community foundations nationwide to receive grants from PIN, which is led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation. PIN invests in local partnerships that create innovative model projects that can be tested and, if successful, shared nationally. Now in its sixth year of funding, PIN leverages $14 million in grants by RWJF with more than $14 million in matching funds.
Arkansas’ local matching funds came from several sources, including Arkansas Workforce Services, the Arkansas Health Care Association, the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care.
The grant is a continuation of funding that was awarded by PIN in 2009, when ARCF, in partnership with UAMS, received a $250,000 grant that was matched by an equal amount from local sources. The additional $450,000 this year will allow the UAMS College of Nursing’s John A. Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence and its partners to continue work toward increasing the number of geriatrics nurses with baccalaureate and higher degrees. Much of the effort is focused on recruiting licensed practical nurses and registered nurses who work in long-term care programs.
In Arkansas, the bulk of the funding goes to the UAMS College of Nursing, whose partners also include the Arkansas Workforce Services, Arkansas State Board of Nursing, Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care and the Arkansas Health Care Association. Leaders from each organization have formed an executive committee that has begun piloting a plan for a geriatrics nursing education pathway.
UAMS’ Claudia Beverly, Ph.D., R.N., director of the John A. Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence who is overseeing the project, said the group has made strides unifying the state’s fragmented geriatrics nursing education system.
Collaborative relationships have been developed with the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges, the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, the Little Rock Workforce Investment Board, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, the state Department of Human Services and its Office of Long-Term Care, the Arkansas Department of Education’s Programs for Language Minority Students and the UAMS Area Health Education Centers.
“Nursing homes in Arkansas already are in great need of nurses with baccalaureate degrees and geriatrics expertise,” said Beverly, who also directs the Arkansas Aging Initiative, a program of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging that includes eight regional Centers on Aging across Arkansas. “Without significant effort, we risk neglecting a generation of seniors who will need those specially trained nurses. That’s why I am so excited about this grant. We have an opportunity to really strengthen the quality of care and quality of life in nursing homes through a better prepared geriatrics nurse workforce.”
Since 2009, strong relationships have been developed with long-term care facilities across Arkansas. Focus group trainings in these facilities have provided demographic data on more than 200 individuals who have expressed interest in obtaining registered nurse licenses.
A three-hour college credit course, Introduction to Gerontological Nursing, has been developed in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. The course is designed for certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses working in long-term care.
“There are people out there who will go back to school and become a registered nurse or get their bachelor’s degree if they just have a little bit of help,” Beverly said.
“All health care is local, and nurses are the cornerstone of our health care system,” said Judith Woodruff, J.D., director of workforce development at the Northwest Health Foundation and program director for Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future. “We need community solutions that address the challenges facing a changing health care system and that utilize local and regional experience. With this partnership, Arkansas is in the forefront helping to create a well-prepared nursing workforce.”
This new funding creates a total of 61 PIN projects in more than 37 states collaborating with more than 500 partners.
More information about the Arkansas Partners in Long Term Care Project and participating partners can be found at www.arpltc.com. More information about Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future can be found at www.PartnersinNursing.org.
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UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com.
Arkansas Community Foundation makes grants to improve the quality of life in our state and collaborates with individuals, families and organizations to build local communities through philanthropy. ARCF has more than $145 million in assets and has provided more than $80 million in grants since it began operation in 1976. Contributions to ARCF, its funds and any of its 27 local affiliate offices are fully tax deductible. Learn more at www.arcf.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable and timely change. For nearly 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.
Founded in 1997, Northwest Health Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that seeks to advance, support, and promote the health of the people of Oregon and southwest Washington. We achieve our mission through a variety of means, including grantmaking, technical assistance and training, convening, commissioning research, and supporting policy advocacy. See www.nwhf.org.