Policy

Healthcare Reform

The Affordable Care Act established a variety of transitional care programs and services to improve quality and reduce costs. The research team and others were very engaged in helping Congress and congressional staff understand the body of evidence related to transitional care and how we should use this major change in health policy to advance the care of at-risk chronically ill people and families throughout common episodes of acute illness.

Our collective efforts contributed to multiple provisions of the ACA focused on improving care transitions, including the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Innovation Center allocating $500 million to foster community-based care transition programs. This initiative is explicitly designed to highlight the importance of establishing partnerships between hospitals and community partners to meet the health needs of diverse chronically ill patient populations. These programs help hospitalized patients with complex chronic conditions—often the most vulnerable—transfer in a safe and timely manner from one level of care to another or from one type of care setting to another.

In a systematic review, Naylor and colleagues summarized 21 randomized clinical trials of transitional care interventions targeting chronically ill adults. They identified nine interventions that demonstrated positive effects on measures related to hospital readmissions—a key focus of health reform. Most of the interventions led to reductions in readmissions through at least 30 days after discharge. Many of the successful interventions shared similar features, such as assigning a nurse as the clinical manager or leader of care and including in-person home visits to discharged patients. Based on these findings, they recommended several strategies to guide the implementation of transitional care under the Affordable Care Act, such as encouraging the adoption of the most effective interventions through such programs as the Community-Based Care Transitions Program and Medicare shared savings and payment bundling experiments.

In addition to the “carrots” resulting in substantial investments in local health systems, the ACA also incorporates “sticks.” On the one hand, the message is to take advantage of innovation opportunities to redesign the care system; on the other hand, disincentives also were included in the ACA to prevent avoidable rehospitalizations for common health problems such as pneumonia. Together, this combination has stimulated massive changes, including embracing evidence-based transitional care as a central component of health system transformation. Transitional care is now ubiquitous because services that promote more seamless care for vulnerable patients during high-stress transitions are now recognized as central to high-value care.

Transitional care billing codes, 99495 and 99496, are now reimbursable under Medicare only once within the 30 days after hospital discharge.

Results from studies of Transitional Care Model (TCM) consistently demonstrate significant improvements in patient safety and health care outcomes, enhancements in quality of life and satisfaction with care, and reductions in overall health care costs.

 

Don’t Go! Keeping Nursing at the Bedside

Don’t Go! Keeping Nursing at the Bedside

The news of a nursing workforce shortage is everywhere, but reality is complicated. Keeping nurses at the bedside in communities where they’re needed is crucial—and knowing how and why the problems exist (and can be fixed) is just as important.

Promising Approaches

Promising Approaches

Influencing health care and health care workplaces through leadership, policy implementation, and patient care takes incredible skill and thoughtfulness. Penn Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program is an example of how to do it right.

Bright Ideas

Bright Ideas

A fascinating course for Nurse Practitioners emphasizes design-thinking and community engagement to help students see and solve real-life problems in underserved populations.

By Janine White

Empowering Visionaries

Empowering Visionaries

Nursing organizations that affirm Black and brown nurses are critical for improving the workforce... and patient care.

Investing In A Legacy Of Nutrition
left to right Charlene Compher, PhD, RD, LDN, FASPEN; JoAnn Nallinger Grant, RN; and Charis Louis, BSN, RN, CPN, BMTCN, in 2018

Investing In A Legacy Of Nutrition

An award to honor a revolutionary nurse and her legacy in health care has inspired award recipients— and her family.

The Parent Equation

The Parent Equation

Being a parent can be difficult at the best of times. But when you factor in being a nursing student as well—or supporting a nursing student—matters get even more complicated. We asked several Penn Nursing alumni to share their experiences of being parents while being in school or receiving unconditional support from a parent during challenging times as students.

Nursing Students Engage

Nursing Students Engage

You’ll find them inside senior centers and on the sidelines of kids’ sports practices.
They’re at free COVID-19 testing sites and packing meals inside local nonprofits. You can spot them presenting legislative resolutions and chatting with marginalized populations about their greatest needs. Just as they have since the school’s earliest days, Penn Nursing students are consistently bringing their skills out of the classroom and into local communities, while learning more about those communities in the process. Whether they choose service-focused classes, student clubs, paid work, or volunteer opportunities, Penn Nursing students today are more tapped into the city around them than ever before. Here’s what that engagement looks like for nine current undergrads.

By Molly Petrilla

Paying Tribute To
Sophia Stubbs 1st row 2nd from right

Paying Tribute To

ENS S.M. Sophia (Bernick) Stubbs, Nu’63, GNu’65, Veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Five Ways Penn Nursing Is Tackling Health Misinformation and Disinformation

Five Ways Penn Nursing Is Tackling Health Misinformation and Disinformation

A commitment to science-based evidence centers Penn Nursing alumni, faculty, and students as champions of truth in a world of health rumors and fake news.

Meet the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care NP Fellows

Meet the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care NP Fellows

This fall, nine carefully chosen nurses from across the country will embark on their NP education at Penn—and thanks to a $125 million gift from Leonard A. Lauder W’54, they will emerge from the experience debt-free and ready to care for those who need their expertise most.

The Psychedelic Revival

The Psychedelic Revival

Psychedelics have taken new shape as groundbreaking medicine with the potential to disrupt and transform our mental health care system. Here, how Penn Nursing is taking on the paradigm shift.

By Natalie Pompilio

The Narrative Arc in Health Care

The Narrative Arc in Health Care

Storytelling is changing the face of nursing and empowering providers and patients. And Penn Nursing has carved out a particularly strong position. Here we explore the various mediums, how the community is engaging, and why it’s more important now than ever before.

By Natalie Pompilio

The Preceptor Imperative
Lauren Malinowski, RN (left) and Tina Senoo, RN (right)

The Preceptor Imperative

Every great nurse starts out as a student. And for every student, there’s a preceptor, that vital mentor who oversees care in clinical rotations, who passes on lessons learned and knowledge earned. But as the number of preceptors trends steadily downward, it’s past time to talk about just how vital the role really is.

By Janine White

Director of Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program to be 2024 Penn Nursing Commencement Speaker

Director of Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program to be 2024 Penn Nursing Commencement Speaker

Stephanie Ferguson, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Director of the Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program and Professor of the Practice of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will serve as the 2024 Penn Nursing commencement speaker. The event will take place at 3:00 PM EST on Monday, May 20, 2024, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

New Leadership Appointment for Penn Nursing Professor

New Leadership Appointment for Penn Nursing Professor

Catherine C. McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been appointed Chair of Penn Nursing’s Department of Family and Community Health effective July 1, 2024. Currently, she is the Vice-Chair of the Department and the Dr. Hildegarde Reynolds Endowed Term Chair of Primary Care Nursing.

Congratulations to the 2024 Penn Nursing Faculty Award Recipients

Congratulations to the 2024 Penn Nursing Faculty Award Recipients

All the honorees will be recognized at the Student, Alumni, and Faculty Awards event on Friday, May 17, 2024, 4-5:30 PM EST in the Ann L. Roy Auditorium.

National Appointment for Penn Nursing Professor
Jose Bauermeister, PhD, MPH

National Appointment for Penn Nursing Professor

José A. Bauermeister, PhD, MPH, FSBM, the Albert M. Greenfield Professor of Human Relations; Chair, Department of Family & Community Health; Director, The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative; and Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NACMHD). This council is part of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Fifth Annual Story Slam

Fifth Annual Story Slam

On February 22, 2024, the fifth iteration of the Penn Nursing Nursing Story Slam took to the virtual stage, featuring personal and powerful narratives of nurses from Penn Nursing and Penn Medicine.

Meet the Inaugural Carol E. Ware PhD Fellows

Meet the Inaugural Carol E. Ware PhD Fellows

Two Penn Nursing doctoral students have been named as the first Carol E. Ware PhD Fellows. This program provides two years of financial support to PhD students who are committed to improving care for people living with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, and/or other mental health issues.

Finding Solutions for Burnout Among Nurses of Color
The Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing invited nursing practition...

Finding Solutions for Burnout Among Nurses of Color

The Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the School of Nursing brought together nurses and researchers for the Solutions to Health Inequities & Nurses’ Emotional Exhaustion Invitational.

After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, J. Margo Brooks Carthon, the Tyson Family Endowed Term Chair for Gerontological Research, worked on a research study interviewing Black nurse practitioners in the greater Philadelphia area about their efforts to address inequities in care.

“A benefit to themselves, to the sick, and to the community”: The Story of Philadelphia’s Black Hospitals & Nurse Training Schools.

“A benefit to themselves, to the sick, and to the community”: The Story of Philadelphia’s Black Hospitals & Nurse Training Schools.

Penn4C Announces Awardees for Community-led Partnership Grants

Penn4C Announces Awardees for Community-led Partnership Grants

Penn Community Collaboratory for Co-Creation (Penn4C), an initiative led jointly by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) and the School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering), has awarded funding to five new research projects that address social justice through designing and implementing solutions to improve health, well-being, and safety. In addition to the involvement of Penn faculty and students, the projects are required to have active and equitable representation of the community in which the project will be completed.

New Aspen Health Strategy Group Report Identifies Strategies for Health Sector to Curb Firearm Injury; Penn Nursing Dean Antonia M. Villarruel Participated in Developing Report

New Aspen Health Strategy Group Report Identifies Strategies for Health Sector to Curb Firearm Injury; Penn Nursing Dean Antonia M. Villarruel Participated in Developing Report

The nonpartisan Aspen Health Strategy Group (AHSG), an initiative of the Aspen Institute, released a new report that examines the need to reduce firearm injury and proposes opportunities for health systems to play a role in developing comprehensive solutions.

Serving Communities in Need
A black nurse practitioner examines child's ear.

Serving Communities in Need

The first graduates of the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program are already making a real-world difference in underserved communities.

This Week In the Archives
A linograph of Minnie Hogan Clemens from the neck up. Her hair is pulled up into a high bun and she is wearing a turtle neck.

This Week In the Archives

In 1888, Minnie Hogan Clemens (Dorchester) became the first Black student to attend the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Nurse Training School (HUP). In the local news coverage at the time, Clemens’ acceptance into the program was widely celebrated by the Black community as a sign of progress for Black women, who had “no opportunities for employment in factories, stores or at trades, teaching or menial service alone being open to them.”

Improving Quality of Life and Sleep in People with Memory Problems Without Using Drugs

Improving Quality of Life and Sleep in People with Memory Problems Without Using Drugs

A groundbreaking study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), recently published in Innovation in Aging, has shown promising results in improving the quality of life (QOL) and sleep quality in individuals living with memory problems. The research delves into the efficacy of a nonpharmacological approach in a trial known as the Healthy Patterns Sleep Program.

Hilaria Supa Huamán to Receive 2024 Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health

Hilaria Supa Huamán to Receive 2024 Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health

Hilaria Supa Huamán, Director of Mosoq Pakari Sumaq Kawsay (New Dawn for Good Living) Healing Center, is a Peruvian politician and human rights activist. She will receive the 2024 Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health for her lifelong dedication in advocating for the rights and well-being of Indigenous women in Peru, most notably in her fierce work against the forced sterilization that took place in the late 20 th century. The award ceremony will be held on March 13, 2024. The event will be hybrid with the in-person portion held in the Ann L. Roy Auditorium in Fagin Hall.

Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, Appointed a Presidential Distinguished Professor

Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, Appointed a Presidential Distinguished Professor

Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, CRNP, FAASLD, FAAN, has been appointed the Gail and Ralph Reynolds President’s Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and will serve as a faculty member in Penn Nursing’s Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences. She joins Penn Nursing from the University of Connecticut where she held a joint appointment as Professor in the School of Nursing and the School of Medicine. Henderson most recently served as director of the PhD program at the School of Nursing and before that was director of the school’s Center of Nursing Scholarship and Innovation. Henderson was previously a clinical investigator and lab chief of the National Institute of Nursing Research, Digestive Disorders Unit, Division of Intramural Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

Welcome Back Spring 2024: A Message from Dean Villarruel
Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel

Welcome Back Spring 2024: A Message from Dean Villarruel

Welcome to Spring semester! I hope you had a restful winter break and peaceful holiday celebrations. The news of Claire Fagin’s passing has us united in grief and gratitude. A colleague, friend, leader—she believed in the excellence of the School and the value of each of us as individuals. She laid a strong foundation for who we are today—and what we will be tomorrow. 

Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, FAAN, Former Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Passes Away at Age 97
Claire M. Fagin, PhD, FAAN, RN Professor of Nursing and Dean Emerita

Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, FAAN, Former Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Passes Away at Age 97

She served as dean of Penn Nursing for 15 years from 1977 to 1992, during which time she transformed the school into a world-renowned education, research, and clinical development enterprise, established landmark education programs and increased the number of standing faculty seven-fold. In addition to her deanship, Fagin served as the interim president of the University of Pennsylvania from July 1, 1993, to June 30, 1994.