Nevada chosen to receive second grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help transform health care through nursing

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced that the Nevada Action Coalition is receiving a second two-year grant through the Future of Nursing State Implementation Program (SIP). The $8.85 million initiative is helping states prepare the nursing profession to promote healthy communities and address our nation’s most pressing health care challenges: access, quality, and cost.

Nevada is one of seven states that will receive a second two-year grant of up to $150,000; the others are Alabama, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. In addition, RWJF announced that Oregon is joining the SIP program this month, bringing the number of state Action Coalitions it supports to 34.
SIP grants bolster efforts already underway in 50 states and the District of Columbia — through the Future of Nursing:Campaign for Action — to build a Culture of Health through nursing. A joint initiative of AARP and RWJF, the Campaign is working to implement the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) evidence-based recommendations on the future of nursing. It provides a vehicle for nurses and nurse champions to lead change that will support healthy communities through collaboration with health care, business, consumer, and other stakeholders.

“SIP grants have already helped transform our health care system in ways that are making people and communities healthier,” said Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, RWJF senior adviser for nursing and director of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. “This new round of grants will do even more to help Action Coalitions expand access to care, strengthen nursing education, recruit and train a more diverse nursing workforce, and improve the quality of health care.”

“Our Action Coalition will use these new funds to focus on increasing the proportion of nurses with baccalaureate degrees to 80 percent by the year 2020 and to implement a nurse residency program throughout the state for new graduates and for registered nurses returning to practice after a significant absence,” said Debra Toney, PhD, MS, FAAN, chair of the Nevada Action Coalition Executive Committee. “The funds will also support the work to increase diversity in the nursing workforce.”

SIP grants support state-based Action Coalitions that have made substantial progress toward implementing the IOM recommendations. All SIP grantees must obtain matching funds and, to date, states with SIP grants have raised more than $12.6 million beyond their RWJF funding. The 51 Action Coalitions have leveraged more than $17 million beyond their RWJF grants.

“We are tremendously proud to be continuing with this program and we look forward to doing even more to implement the IOM’s Future of Nursing recommendations here in Nevada,” said Marcia Turner, PhD, vice chancellor, Health Sciences, Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). “We are fortunate to have generous partners in the state who helped us match the RWJF grant, including the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), which provided $75,000 in matching funds.”

“DETR is proud to partner with NSHE on this exciting grant opportunity to promote the nursing workforce in Nevada. This RWJF grant helps support Governor Brian Sandoval’s mission to encourage growth and development in key workforce areas such as nursing,” said Don Soderberg, JD, director of DETR.

The Nevada Action Coalition also gratefully accepted a $10,000 donation from the Nevada Hospital Association. Bill Welch, president and CEO of the Nevada Hospital Association, said, “The Nevada Hospital Association is excited to support this effort, which will prepare the next generation of nurses to meet greater demands and challenges under new models of care delivery and help ensure that patients get the care they need, when and where they need it. Our work to transform nursing improves health for all of us. We are grateful for this support.”

The Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA), an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation, and RWJF, serves as the national program office for the Future of Nursing State Implementation Program.

“We are so pleased that seven states have had their grants renewed and that Oregon is joining the SIP program,” said Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, senior vice president of the AARP Public Policy Institute and chief strategist at CCNA. “It has been a resounding success and we know this new funding will do even more to transform health care through nursing so we can improve health outcomes and well-being for individuals, families, and entire communities.”

About the Nevada Action Coalition

The Nevada Action Coalition is part of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, a nationwide movement to improve health and health care through nursing. An initiative of AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Campaign includes Action Coalitions in 50 states and the District of Columbia working to implement the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing recommendations.  

About the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action

The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action is a joint initiative of AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), working to implement the Institute of Medicine’s evidence-based recommendations on the future of nursing. The Campaign includes Action Coalitions in 50 states and the District of Columbia and a wide range of health care professionals, consumer advocates, policy-makers, and the business, academic, and philanthropic communities. The Center to Champion Nursing in America, an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and RWJF, serves as the coordinating entity for the Campaign, as well as the national program office for the Future of Nursing State Implementation Program. Learn more at www.campaignforaction.org. Follow the Campaign for Action on Twitter at @Campaign4Action and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CampaignForAction.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

For more than 40 years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rwjf or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as health care, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. www.aarp.org.