Initiative On The Future of Nursing Report

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing will host the Pennsylvania launching of the Future of Nursing report, from 3-6 p.m., Oct. 14, at Claire M. Fagin Hall.

The Future of Nursing Initiative, co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine, was launched in 2008 with the goal of examining the nursing workforce and its capacity for meeting the demands of a reformed health care and public health system.  

“This initiative comes at a critical time during the health care reform debate,” said Afaf Meleis, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing.” It will provide a blueprint for the nursing profession to proactively meet the demands of a reformed health care system that will offer greater access, higher quality, and more cost-effective care to the American public.”

Nurses, physicians, and other health professionals, state and local officials, insurers, health profession educators and other groups all have a stake in how the recommendations are implemented,  Dean Meleis said. She added that the nursing profession will have to work with various stakeholders at the national, regional and local levels to set in motion some of the changes that will be needed in health policy, public and private funding, education programs, practice environments, and payment mechanisms.  

“Part of the purpose of our symposium will be to bring together Philadelphia-area stakeholders to learn first-hand about the specific report recommendations and its implications, as well as to begin a dialogue about how we might work together to move them forward to implementation,” Dean Meleis said. “We see this symposium as the beginning of a process to maximize our collective efforts to improve health care for the citizens of our region. As members of this community, we all must play a part in and take responsibility for successful health care reform and the findings of this initiative will be a critical component as we move forward.”

The findings and recommendations of the Future of Nursing Committee will be formally and publicly launched on October 5, 2010 in Washington, DC. 

The Future of Nursing symposium at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing will include a presentation by Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a panel presentation that will include Dr. George Thibault, President and CEO of the Macy Foundation, and  Penn School of Nursing’s  Dr. Julie Fairman, who has worked closely with the Future of Nursing Committee, and Dr. Julie Sochalski, who was (in 2009-2010) the AAN-AARP Senior Policy Fellow in Washington, DC working on health care reform “from the front row.” Governor Rendell has also been invited as the school’s special guest.

For more information, contact:

Joy McIntyre

Director of Communications and Marketing

University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

451 Claire M. Fagin Hall

418 Curie Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA 19104

p.215.898.5074  fx:215.573.2114

joymc@nursing.upenn.edu

Or for more information, go to www.nursing.upenn.edu