HGNI New Directions

Welcome to New Directions, a publication of the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI). This e-newsletter is designed to inform interested academic and practice leaders, faculty members, students, practitioners and others about the work of the HGNI and provide the latest news and information relevant to geriatric nursing.

As many of you know, the HGNI is preparing professional nurses to play leadership roles in improving the health of older adults. In partnership with the nation's nursing schools and a variety of health care organizations and systems, this dynamic, national initiative, supported through a $38 million investment from The John A. Hartford Foundation, works in five areas, including:

Shaping nursing practice to best meet the health care needs of older adults;

Enhancing professional education to ensure all nurses are prepared to treat older patients;

Promoting research needed to guide the care and promote the health of older people;

Developing leadership in academic and professional settings; and

Demonstrating nursing's commitment to enacting public policy that improves older Americans' health care.

We are proud to represent this critically needed effort, which is involving the nation's top nurses—including you—in making a difference in the health care of our nation's older adults. If you would like more contact information about, and links to all of the programs of the HGNI, please visit the HGNI's Web site at www.HGNI.org.

In this Issue

1. HGNI Salutes Claire Fagin, Founding Director of Hartford's BAGNC Program
2. HGNI Partner Highlight-AAN and the BAGNC
3. Exclusive HGNI "Webinar" on Poster Presentation
4. Tools, Resources & Opportunities
5. Announcements
6. Links of the Month: "70 Up" and "Aging in the Know"

1. HGNI Salutes Claire Fagin, Founding Director of Hartford's BAGNC Program

Dr. Claire Fagin, who helped the John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) create the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) program and led it through its successful first five years, will step down as director of the program on June 30, 2005.

Dr. Fagin, whose remarkable nursing career has blended a commitment to professional health and nursing issues with an interest in consumer health, called the BAGNC "an extraordinary accomplishment of the Hartford investment because of its contribution to the expansion of interest in geriatric nursing."

In announcing her departure from the BAGNC program, Dr. Fagin emphasized, "this investment will go on to contribute mightily to the care of older people and to the recognition that the care of older people is the core business of health care." "I am so proud to have been a part of this JAHF program" she added.

As many in the HGNI community know, Dr. Fagin served as dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing for 15 years. At the end of her tenure, the school was the highest ranking school of nursing in the country, federal research support was in the top three in the country, and all standing faculty were fellows in the American Academy of Nursing. From June 1993 to July 1994, she served as interim president of the University of Pennsylvania, the first woman to serve in this capacity at an Ivy League university. Dr. Fagin has served on four corporate and several not-for-profit boards. Currently, she serves on the board of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

Assuming the directorship of BAGNC is Dr. Patricia Archbold, the Elenora E. Thomson Distinguished Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University and the director of the JAHF Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence there. A respected researcher, educator, and leader in geriatric nursing, Dr. Archbold has directed the Institutional National Research Service Award training program for pre- and post-doctoral fellows in gerontological nursing for 15 years. Look for more about Dr. Archbold in upcoming issues of New Directions.

2. HGNI Partner Highlight — The American Academy of Nursing and the BAGNC

In 2000, with funding from The John A. Hartford Foundation, the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) created the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) program to coordinate centers of excellence at five of the nation's top schools of geriatric nursing, hasten the advancement of geriatric programs at seven additional "investment" schools, and fund pre- and post-doctoral, as well as MBA, scholars—the faculty and management leaders of the future. All of these efforts are designed to promote leadership, research, and best practice models that foster geriatric excellence throughout the nursing profession.

The program also includes a coordinating center to bring the initiative together and build synergies among the John A. Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI) and a cross-cutting evaluation conducted by The Measurement Group, LLC.

In the first five years, each Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence accomplished all of its goals and more. The scholars program has changed the face of geriatric nursing faculty and continues to grow and flourish. The most recent applicant pool is the largest ever. To date, 82 scholars have been supported in more than 39 schools of nursing across the country. The latest cohort of 13 pre-doctoral and 11 post-doctoral scholars raises the total to just above 100.

While the overall impact of the BAGNC is certainly impressive, the ultimate goal of the program is, as for all John A. Hartford Foundation-funded programs, to improve the care of the elderly. Several examples of the direct impact of this program can be found throughout this issue of New Directions.

3. Exclusive HGNI "Webinar" on Poster Presentations

Please join the HGNI for a Web-based seminar ("webinar") on Tuesday, June 7, 2005, at 2:00-3:30 PM EST. The webinar, "Thinking Inside the Box: A Strategic Approach to Powerful Posters" is tailored to meet the needs of HGNI researchers, and will be conducted by HGNI consultant, John Beilenson, of Strategic Communications & Planning. The webinar will include a great deal of audience participation, including reviewing posters from several participants. In order to ensure maximize audience participation, attendance is limited to 20. Registration is first come, first served. To register:

Go to: http://aboutscp.webex.com.

Click on the "Upcoming" tab.

Select the the event titled: "Thinking Inside the Box: A Strategic Approach to Powerful Posters."

Follow the registration instructions.

Please note: Depending on demand, additional sessions may be conducted later in the summer. If you have a poster that you would like reviewed during the session, or if you have any other questions about the session, please contact John at jbeilenson@aboutscp.com or 610.687.5495.

4. Tools, Resources and Opportunities

2006—2008 BAGNC Scholar & Fellow Award Program: Call for Applications
Separate applications for the BAGNC Pre-doctoral Scholar and Post-doctoral Fellow Awards are now available. We are pleased to have the joint support of the Atlantic Philanthropies for the Fellowship Awards and The Mayday Fund, which offers additional support to both pre- and post-doctoral candidates who study pain in the elderly.

For a PDF file copy and further information regarding the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Program's 2006 Scholar & Fellow Applications, go to: www.geriatricnursing.org or contact Program Manager Patricia D. Franklin, MSN, RN, at 202.682.2850 or pfranklin@aannet.org.

Nursing School Geriatric Investment Program at the University of Minnesota Presents Institute on Health Outcomes Research
The Clinical Outcomes Research Center at the University of Minnesota is offering a summer institute designed for those who want to learn how to conduct health outcomes research or wish to sharpen their research and methodological skills. This year's institute will take place July 30 — August 5, 2005. Tuition for this seven-day institute is $2,000 and includes a core library of books and reprints and some meals.

Registration Deadline: July 8, 2005 (a reduced rate of $1,500 is available for registrations received by June 10th).

Location: Sessions will be held at the Radisson Hotel Metrodome on the campus of the University of Minnesota. For those wishing to stay at the conference hotel, reservations should be made directly with the hotel (612.379.8888 or 800.333.3333). Request the University of Minnesota rate of $104 per night (plus tax) for single or double occupancy.

For further information and a registration form, email: corc@umn.edu or call 612.624.1185.

Try This Assessment Series
Elder Abuse and Neglect Assessment

It is estimated that more than one million older Americans are victims of elder abuse and neglect annually. Clinicians under-report elder abuse and neglect, with only one in ten cases reported. This issue of the Try This Assessment Series was developed by the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU and authored by elder abuse expert and co-director of the Hartford Institute, Dr. Terry Fulmer. To view this issue of the Try This Assessment Series, click here.

For a comprehensive listing of Try This Assessment Series and Try This Dementia Series issues, click here.

NEW: Try This Series for your PDA!
The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU is proud to announce that its Try This Series can now be viewed on your Palm PDA. Try This is a series of assessment tools in which each issue focuses on a topic specific to the older adult population. The content is directed to orient and encourage all nurses to understand the special needs of older adults and utilize the highest standards of practice in caring for the elderly. Each Try This issue (like the one on elder abuse and neglect noted above) includes a description of why the topic is important when caring for older patients and an assessment tool that can be administered in 20 minutes or less.

Try This for the Palm PDA is available in Palm OS version 3.5 or higher, using Word-to-Go software. The first three issues of Try This on PDA are available for download here.

Nursing Counts: A Policy Newsletter
Nursing Counts, a newsletter developed by the Hartford Institute at NYU, highlights data that illustrate the value of nursing and care of older adults. Nursing Counts appears three times a year in the American Journal of Nursing: addressing community care (January issue), hospital care (May issue) and long-term care (September issue). The January 2005 issue on community care, which featured an article on family caregivers and home improvements by Deborah Messecar, OHSU, CGNE faculty and Hartford Institute scholar, is available here.

To view the full listing of Nursing Counts issues, click here.

Geriatric Education Nursing Project: Showcasing Curriculum Grant Innovations
Each month, the AACN geriatric education Web page showcases a stand-alone course from a Hartford-awarded school's geriatric nursing program. Case Western Reserve University, the most recently featured school, created two Geriatric Nurse Practitioner-level gerontological mental health courses. These include "Mental Health of Older Adults" which focuses on theories of aging related to common mental health conditions of older adults, and ÒMental Health Interventions with Older Adults,Ó which addresses individual, family, and group therapeutic strategies. Nursing faculty and administrators are encouraged to visit the site, learn more about the work of Case Western Reserve University and other grantees, and use the articles as a resource to help replicate, develop, and/or expand upon the awardees' fine work. To learn more about these efforts, click here.

Just Released: 2005 Nursing Homes Report from National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
A report now available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) highlights important trends in the role of nursing homes in long-term care. Data included in the report are from a series of National Nursing Home Surveys conducted since the 1970s. The report is released in conjunction with National Nursing Home Week (which begins May 8th) honoring the residents, family members, volunteers, and staff involved in promoting quality nursing home care. The report, "Nursing Homes 1977-99: What Has Changed, What Has Not?" is available here.

GeroNurseOnline.org Resources on Medications and the Older Adult
Increased nursing awareness of high-risk medications enables attentive monitoring for adverse effects and facilitates collaborative efforts between nurses, primary care providers and pharmacists to reduce medication-related risks. To read more about medications and the older adult, visit: www.GeroNurseOnline.org or the direct link here.

AJN Webcast: A New Look at the Old
Free Webcast Beginning Tuesday, May 24th, 2005
Topic: Cognitively Impaired Older Adults

Learn about tools to screen for cognitive impairment and evidence-based strategies for early intervention and prevention of these problems in cognitively impaired older adults hospitalized for acute illness or surgery. Dr. Mary Naylor and members of her research team from the University of Pennsylvania explain how healthcare providers can better screen for cognitive impairment, manage the acute care environment, and ease transition to home or other care settings. Follow this link to access the 60-minute Webcast beginning Tuesday, May 24th, 2005. Note: This Webcast will be archived and will continue to be available through same link, after May 24th.(Previous broadcasts are archived and also available at the same link, as well as the print series on which the programs are based.)

This fourth in a series of 18 Webcasts is a collaborative effort between the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and PRIMEDIA Healthcare, sponsored in part through a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies. The broadcast series is designed to provide information and demonstrate skills to improve the care and well-being of older adults. If you have any questions about the broadcast (or the associated print series), please contact Katherine Kany, Project Manager, at 703.729.6050 or katherinekany@adelphia.net.

5. Announcements

2005 — 2007 BAGNC Scholars & Fellows Selected
Through the generous support of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) Scholar Awards Program recently selected 24 new nurse scholars and fellows. Selected BAGNC scholars will receive up to $105,000 each to support their studies and fellows up to $125,000 to support research in the field of geriatric nursing. One predoctoral scholar, Kristen Swafford, received and additional $5,000 from The Mayday Fund for her research on pain in the elderly.

The 2005 scholars and fellows join 82 BAGNC colleagues selected since the program began in 2000. The first three cohorts of scholars demonstrated a significant level of accomplishments, including:

Producing 197 papers;

Giving 286 presentations;

Teaching or supervising students in more than 115 courses; and

Applying for and receiving more than $3.77 million dollars in funding.

In addition, many scholars and fellows are engaged in work that has a direct impact on care for elderly as a result of their grants and the annual BAGNC Leadership Conference. One example is Janine Overcash, PhD, ARNP, BC, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida (USF), who has led an effort to establish an interdisciplinary outpatient geriatric clinic at USF. Look for more information about Dr. Overcash's work in future issues of New Directions. She can also be emailed at: jovercas@hsc.usf.edu.

2005 Pre-Doctoral Scholars:

Jennifer Bellot, RN, MHSA, University of Pennsylvania, SON

Nancy Benton, RN, MN, CS, Oregon Health & Science University, SON

Linda Beuscher, MSN, RN, GNP, BC, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Colleen Casey, RN, BS, BA, Oregon Health & Science University, SON

Mary Louise Fleming, MSN, RN, University of California, San Francisco

Jennifer Merrilees, RN, MS, University of California, San Francisco

Sadie Mitchell, RN, MSN, University of Pennsylvania, SON

Ingrid Pretzer-Aboff, MA, RN, University of Maryland

Kristen Swafford, RN, BS, BA, Oregon Health & Science University

Sarah Szanton, RN, MSN, CRNP, Johns Hopkins University SON

Michelle Umbarger, MSN, RN, University of Iowa College of Nursing

Amy Vogelsmeier, MSN, RN, BC, BCNS, University of Missouri-Columbia, Sinclair SON

Ronald Walent, MS, RN, CNS, BC, University of California, San Francisco

2005 Post-Doctoral Fellows:

Michele Balas, RN, MSN, CCRN, CRNP, BC, University of Pennsylvania, SON

Margaret Crighton, MSN, RN, University of Pittsburgh, SON

Tracie Culp-Harrison, PhD, RN, FNP, University of Texas at Austin

Mary Dyck, PhD, RN, BC, LNHA, University of Missouri-Columbia, Sinclair SON

Patricia Holkup, PhD, RN, Montana State University-Missoula Campus, SON

Wen-Wen Li, RN,MS, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

Sherry Pomeroy, PhD, RN, University of Maryland, SON

Cynthia Russell, RN, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia, Sinclair SON

Anna Song Beeber, MSN, RN, APRN-BC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sunghee Tak, PhD, RN, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Christine Wanich Bradway, PhD, RN, University of Pennsylvania, SON

CGNE Faculty Receives Award for Excellence
Keela Herr, PhD, RN, Professor and Director of JAHF/CGNE Research Initiative at the University of Iowa, will receive a 2005 Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. This award was established in 1990 by the Iowa Board of Regents and is awarded on the basis of a sustained record of excellence across the spectrum of faculty endeavors.

Dr. Herr has been engaged in a program of research and scholarly and professional activities focused on the problem of pain in older adults for the past 12 years. She has provided leadership for a project that focuses on establishing "Pain as a 5th Vital Sign" in Iowa healthcare organizations as a step toward improving end-of-life care. Another current project is an AHRQ-funded research project, "Evidence-based Practice: From Book to Bedside: Acute Pain Management in the Elderly," which is examining interventions to improve adoption of clinical practice guidelines in healthcare organizations with emphasis on the Management of Acute Pain in the elderly. To contact Dr. Herr please write to: Keela-herr@uiowa.edu.

BAGNC Members Publish New Book
Geropsychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, edited by Karen Devereaux Melillo and Susan Crocker Houde, was recently published by Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Contributing authors include Kitty Buckwalter (BAGNC Scholar/Fellow Mentor); Terry Fulmer (BAGNC Scholar Mentor & Hartford Institute Co-Director); Janet C. Mentes (2001—2003 BAGNC Fellow); Barbara Resnick (BAGNC Scholar/Fellow Mentor); and Marianne Smith (2003—2005 BAGNC Scholar).

Geropsychiatric and Mental Health Nursing addresses the knowledge and skills necessary in the assessment and nursing care of older adults experiencing common mental health and psychiatric problems of late life. The text covers assessment, diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and behavioral management strategies in nursing care of older adults, as well as incorporating social, cultural, and policy issues in mental health care, applying theory to practice, and utilization of research.

Nursing Outlook to Focus on Geriatric Nursing Nursing Outlook will publish a special issue in November/December 2005. The issue is a cross-cutting report on the John A. Hartford Foundation's Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence and their first five years. Click here for more information.

Hartford Institute Leaders Receive Awards
Mathy Mezey, PhD, RN, FAAN, Director of The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Nursing Spectrum at the 2005 Nursing Excellence Gala in NYC on May 17th, 2005. Elizabeth Capezuti, PhD, RN, APRN-BC, FAAN, Co-director of The Institute, was recently inducted into the Hunter (College) Hall of Fame, one of 13 honorees recognized by The Alumni Association of Hunter College. Congratulations!

Hartford Institute at NYU Announces 2005 Geriatric Nursing Research Scholars
The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing has selected 11 scholars from a large number of highly qualified applicants to participate in its Geriatric Nursing Research Scholars Program. This program, now in its eighth year, and co-sponsored this year by the American Journal of Nursing, is designed to foster new gerontological nursing researchers. Its long-term goal is to augment the contributions of nurse researchers toward enhancing evidence-based practice and improving the quality of healthcare for older adults. The scholars were chosen from a national pool of outstanding applicants actively involved in gerontological nursing research. All participants are doctorally prepared nurse researchers who are nursing faculty at universities and colleges or who are clinically based researchers at medical centers. The 11 scholars will attend a weeklong seminar at New York University's College of Nursing from July 11 to 15, 2005, led by Elizabeth Capezuti, PhD, RN, APRN-BC, FAAN, co-director of the Hartford Institute.

The 2005 Hartford Institute scholars are:

Dr. Maggie Baker, University of Washington

Dr. Alicia Curtin, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Dr. Deborah D'Avolio, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions

Dr. Elizabeth Howard, Northeastern University

Dr. Ernest Lapierre, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

Dr. Ruth Lopez, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions

Dr. Sheila Molony, Yale School of Nursing

Dr. Celeste Shawler, University of Louisville

Dr. Nelma Shearer, Arizona State University

Dr. Loris Thomas, University of Florida

Dr. Dorothy Tullman, University of Virginia

6. Links of the Month: "70 Up" and "Aging in the Know"

"70 Up"
This is a multimedia project intended to convey a positive image of women's aging by means of a traveling exhibit, Web site, and book. 70 Up explores the lives of 25 remarkable and ethnically diverse women through photography and interviews, including Kitty Carlisle Hart, Marion Woodman, Angela Lansbury, and many others. The goal of 70 Up is to reframe the way people think about women's aging by exposing the public to images of strong, vibrant, and passionate women who are in the thick of life. To see the images and learn more, click here.

"Aging in the Know"
The American Geriatrics Society's Foundation for Health in Aging recently launched "Aging in the Know: Your Gateway to Health and Aging Resources on the Web" at www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow. This easy-to-navigate site offers information on diseases and disorders of older adults for the general public. Sections include "What to Ask," "Elder Health at Your Fingertips" and "How we Age." The site also includes links to other Web resources, such as NIHSeniorHealth.

Write to Us

We are committed to creating a monthly publication that serves your needs and interests. New Directions, therefore, welcomes your feedback and encourages you to supply ideas, stories, resources, news, and other content for subsequent issues. To make a contribution, please contact Patty Franklin at Pfranklin@aannet.org, Deirdre Thornlow at dthornlo@aacn.nche.edu, or Elaine Gould at elaine.gould@nyu.edu.

Please Note

If you know of someone or a group of people who would like to receive this newsletter, please send an email to John Beilenson at jbeilenson@aboutscp.com, and we will subscribe them.

If you have received this message in error or would like to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please reply to this e-mail and type the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. For more information about the HGNI's ongoing Evaluation, please see: www.geriatricnursing.info.