Posted on August 31, 2011

Partners Investing in Nursing's Future Announces New Grants

The Robert Wood Johnson and Northwest Health foundations have announced eleven new grants through the Partners Investing in Nursing's Future (PIN) initiative to address the needs of an older, more diverse population.

Now in its sixth year, PIN helps support the capacity, involvement, and leadership of local foundations as they work to advance the nursing profession in their communities. With the latest grants, a total of sixty-one PIN projects have been created in more than three dozen states. The projects include efforts to transform nursing education, encourage racial, ethnic and gender diversity in the nursing workforce, and develop nurses as leaders in health reform.

Recipients in this funding round include the Arkansas Community Foundation, which will use its grant to improve the educational preparation of registered nurses working in geriatrics, and the Milwaukee-based Faye McBeath Foundation, which is working to create a replicable model of workforce data collection and analysis so as to better project the skills needed for future nurses, especially those working in the mental health field.

"All health care is local, and nurses are the cornerstone of our healthcare system. We need community solutions that address the challenges facing a changing healthcare system and that utilize local and regional experience," said Judith Woodruff, director of workforce development at the Northwest Health Foundation and program director for Partners Investing in Nursing's Future. "Through PIN, local philanthropic foundations act as catalysts to develop and execute strategies needed to build a highly skilled nursing workforce — enabling us to test innovative ideas locally and share them nationally."

For a complete list of this year's grantees, visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Web site.