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Aline Holmes of N.J. Hospital Association, Susan Salmond of UMDNJ-School of Nursing to Lead Innovative Effort to Address State’s Nurse Faculty Shortage
Trenton, N.J.—The New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI) today announced that Aline M. Holmes, MSN, RN, and Susan W. Salmond, EdD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, will become program directors following next month’s departure of Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, who has served in that position since NJNI’s inception. Sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation, NJNI was launched in 2009 to address the state’s nurse faculty shortage and help avert the projected shortage of more than 23,000 nurses in New Jersey in less than two decades.
“Aline Holmes and Susan Salmond bring exceptional skills and experience to NJNI,” said RWJF’s senior adviser for nursing, Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Their passion for promoting the health and well-being of New Jersey’s citizens is apparent in their work, and that translates beautifully to the mission of NJNI: ensuring that a nurse will be there for you.”
Holmes is the senior vice president for clinical affairs at the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) in Princeton, as well as the director of the NJHA Institute for Quality & Patient Safety. She also serves as a principal investigator/project director for several patient safety improvement initiatives funded by RWJF and the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, and directs NJHA’s efforts under a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contract to serve as a Hospital Engagement Network in the Partnership for Patients national initiative. A U.S. Navy Nurse Corps veteran, Holmes completed her undergraduate studies in nursing at the University of Massachusetts and received her master of science in nursing from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is pursuing a doctorate in nursing leadership at Rutgers University. Her hospital background includes leadership roles in nursing administration, patient care services, and operations. She has also served as an advanced practice nurse, worked in long-term care and managed care, and held faculty appointments in New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
“As a nurse and as an administrator, I’ve long known the fundamental role that nurses have in providing care and promoting health,” Holmes said. “I’m eager to tackle the challenges in New Jersey that NJNI has focused on so tirelessly for four years.”
Salmond is dean and professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Nursing, which will become Rutgers School of Nursing following the integration of the two universities on July 1. Salmond spearheaded development of New Jersey’s first doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree program, which was launched at UMDNJ in 2006. Under her leadership, the nursing school has also established new master’s programs in clinical leadership, advanced community health nursing, advanced emergency nursing, and nursing education. Salmond serves as co-chair of the New Jersey Action Coalition’s Academic Progression Committee and has been a member of NJNI’s Leadership Council. She received her bachelor of science in nursing from the Villanova University College of Nursing, which in 2012 presented her its highest honor, the College of Nursing Medallion. She is a 2012 inductee into the Hall of Honor at the Seton Hall University College of Nursing, where she received her master of science in nursing with a specialization in chronic illness management. She earned her doctor of education degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.
“NJNI has made remarkable progress in fueling the pipeline of nurse faculty in the state,” said Salmond. “It’s an honor to assume the leadership of NJNI, with Aline Holmes, and build on its success.”
Bakewell-Sachs, who also until recently was interim provost of The College of New Jersey, has accepted an appointment as dean of the School of Nursing and vice president for nursing affairs at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
NJNI’s Faculty Preparation Program has supported 61 New Jersey Nursing Scholars who are pursuing, or have completed, master’s or doctoral degrees in New Jersey nursing programs. These nurses are now poised to assume nurse faculty roles in New Jersey.
NJNI launched WeTeachNursingNJ.com, a website dedicated to nurse faculty career information. NJNI has also led the development of several clinical innovations projects across the state to more closely link nursing education and practice, including dedicated education units and renewed education for clinical preceptors; and it has a key role in the New Jersey Action Coalition, which helps the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action implement recommendations from the Institute of Medicine’s landmark 2010 nursing report as part of a nationwide effort to transform nursing and the delivery of health care in America.
Holmes and Salmond will continue in their current roles with NJHA and UMDNJ-School of Nursing after they begin their NJNI appointments on July 1.
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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 health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change. For more than 40 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. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter www.rwjf.org/twitter or Facebook www.rwjf.org/facebook.
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is a business advocacy organization based in Trenton. Created in 1911, the State Chamber staff represents its members on a wide range of business and education issues at the State House and in Washington. The organization also links the state’s local and regional chambers on issues of importance through its grassroots legislative network. The State Chamber’s charitable arm, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is dedicated to maintaining and improving the state’s high-quality workforce, and focuses on improving the workforce-readiness curriculum in public schools, increasing employment opportunities for qualified people with disabilities, and stemming the shortage of nurses and nursing facilities in New Jersey.