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Posted August 22, 2007
Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare: News
RWJF Awards Grant to Design and Promote National Policies that Reflect Nursing's Contribution to Quality
Washington, DC, July 25, 2007 — The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded a grant of $331,400 to the George Washington University (GW) Department of Nursing Education, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, to design and promote national policies that reflect nursing's contribution to quality. Ellen T. Kurtzman, M.P.H., R.N., assistant research professor at GW, will direct this project, "Nursing Engagement in Performance Measurement and Public Reporting."
The project will develop and advocate public policies that support nursing-related quality measurement, extend public accountability to nurses and reward nursing's essential contribution to quality through value-based purchasing models. Through a unique and essential alliance with the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), the project will strategically engage the nursing profession in national policy setting related to performance measurement, public reporting and pay-for-performance, and build knowledge capacity among nursing leaders of developments in these areas.
"The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has a longstanding commitment to improving health care quality, and has supported countless programs and projects aimed at reducing disparities, aligning and utilizing quality standards, rewarding high performance, and recognizing nursing's contribution," said Susan Hassmiller, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., senior program officer and leader of the Human Capital Team at the Foundation. "Achieving a greater understanding of how nursing can contribute to national policy on value-based purchasing and performance measurement will yield tremendous gains in our efforts to foster higher levels of health care, develop nursing leadership and partnerships, improve bedside care, and reward quality."
"For the George Washington University, this project represents an important research study that will assess the current state of and appetite for incentive programs for nursing care," said Ellen M. Dawson, Ph.D., A.N.P., chair, Department of Nursing Education.Ý"Developing a national agenda for the nursing profession on how performance measurement and value-based purchasing can reflect nursing's contribution to quality is a vital contribution to today's policy setting. This project will play a significant role in these areas."
The mission of AAN to is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis and dissemination of nursing knowledge.Ý"Like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AAN has an absolute commitment to transforming health care policy and practice," said AAN President Linda Burnes Bolton, Dr.P.H., R.N., F.A.A.N.Ý"Through this grant, a coordinated response to the challenges and opportunities of engaging nursing leaders in performance measurement, public reporting and value-based purchasing will be explored.ÝThis is an important step in assuring high-quality nursing care and improved patient safety for the American public."
The project has been initiated in direct response to growing trends in recent decades of holding health care providers accountable for the quality of care provided in hospitals and other settings of care. This project is intended to directly explore the implications of structuring these emerging performance measurement, public reporting and value-based purchasing initiatives to reflect nursing's essential contribution to high performance.
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 improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 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.
The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high quality medical care in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for 176 years. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation's capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between the George Washington University and Universal Health Services; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu.
The American Academy of Nursing anticipates and tracks national and international trends in health care, while addressing resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy.ÝThe Academy's mission is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge.
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