Four N.J. Nursing Scholars Complete Advanced Degree Programs

 
CONTACTS:
Gretchen Wright or Jonathan Padget   202/371-1999
Melissa Blair  609/627-5937

 

Four N.J. Nursing Scholars Complete Advanced Degree Programs
 
N.J. Nursing Initiative Boosts Number of Nurses
Prepared to Fill Faculty Positions in the Garden State
 
Princeton, N.J.—With the support of the New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI), four more highly educated nurses are prepared to assume faculty roles and help meet the educational needs of New Jersey’s nursing workforce in a rapidly evolving health care landscape.  
 
Three of NJNI’s Faculty Preparation Program participants, known as New Jersey Nursing Scholars, recently completed their doctorates at the Rutgers School of Nursing:
 
  • Shanda Johnson, PhD, MS, RN, APN-C, FNP, of Scotch Plains;
  • Aleesa M. Mobley, PhD, RN, APN-C, of Williamstown; and
  • Catherine Jirak Monetti, PhD, MA, RN, of Mountain Lakes.
One scholar earned her master’s degree at the Rutgers School of Nursing:
 
  • Karon Branch, MSN, RN, FNP, of Willingboro.
Additionally, Jenee Skinner-Hamler, DNP, RN, FNP, of Mays Landing, who had completed her master’s degree at the Rutgers School of Nursing in 2011 as a New Jersey Nursing Scholar, received alumni incentive funding from NJNI and completed her doctor of nursing practice degree at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
 
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched NJNI in 2009, and it has now supported 51 New Jersey Nursing Scholars whose master’s or doctoral degrees qualify them for nurse faculty positions. NJNI’s final cohort of scholars—10 PhD students—continue in their programs. 
 
“The New Jersey Nursing Scholars are a vital part of NJNI’s legacy, and a reflection of its future,” said NJNI Program Co-Director Susan W. Salmond, EdD, RN, ANEF, FAAN. “We’re proud to help fuel the pipeline of nurse faculty needed to educate the next generation of nurses.”
 
“NJNI’s initial focus on the state’s nurse faculty shortage has helped us better understand where to go next,” added NJNI Program Co-Director Aline M. Holmes, DNP, MSN, RN. “Now we’re encouraging the state’s nursing programs to teach the relevant skills that will help students succeed in meeting emerging health care needs.”
 
“Without the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, the prospect of pursuing doctoral studies was daunting,” said Monetti. “This experience gave me so much more than teaching credentials.”
 
Mobley, who holds an adjunct faculty position at Rowan University and is pursuing a full-time tenure-track position there, said that NJNI “encouraged and enhanced better teaching skills. I plan on giving my professional best in return.”
 
“I’ve always loved the profession, and I’m eager to teach other nurses in the future,” said Branch, a family nurse practitioner who hopes to become a primary care provider and teach part time.
 
Johnson, a family nurse practitioner who plans to teach part time this fall, said that the scholarship benefited her research on adolescent obesity, enhancing both her clinical and academic skills. “I’d like to eventually serve as a dean or in a similar leadership role,” she said. “It’s important to have nurses in those positions.”
 
NJNI’s priorities now include:
  • An Online Faculty Development Program;
  • Enhanced partnerships with other organizations, including a key role with 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;
  • Promoting educational initiatives and pilot projects that will attune nursing education to community-based and population health; and
  • Encouraging curricular and instructional changes in nursing to better reflect health care trends.
The New Jersey Nursing Scholars are available for interviews, and photographs of them are available upon request.
 
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For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve the health and health care of all Americans. We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all Americans to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.

NJNI Relocation Announcement

The new year will bring a new home for the New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI), as well as two new faces on the staff. As of January 1, 2014, NJNI will be located at the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey (HRET), an affiliate of the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA).

Joining NJNI Program Co-Directors Aline M. Holmes, MSN, RN, and Susan W. Salmond, EdD, RN, ANEF, and Deputy Director Jennifer Polakowski, MPA, will be Program Coordinator Nina Raoji, RN, MSN, APN-C, and Projects Coordinator Hazelene Johnson, BS.

Visit NJNI Staff Page

Raoji holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She has worked as a registered nurse, an advanced practice nurse, and a clinical coordinator in settings including a pediatric intensive care unit, a pediatric emergency department, and a developmental and behavioral clinic at a large university hospital. Raoji is also the author of Raising Baby: A Pocket Guide to Baby's 1st Year and the creator of a related online community that supports parents and caregivers.

Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Howard University. A college internship with the State of New Jersey in operational excellence led to her spending five years as a trainer assisting with the development, implementation and presentation of several educational programs. Johnson has also worked as an outreach presenter for the NJ FamilyCare insurance program, and as an HRET continuing education program coordinator focused on instruction in electronic medical records conversion.

To reach NJNI starting on January 1, please use the following contact information:

New Jersey Nursing Initiative at NJHA/HRET
A national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
782 Alexander Road
Princeton, N.J. 08543
Phone: 609-275-4044
Fax: 609-275-4249
Email: info@www.njni.org

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched NJNI in 2009 to address the state's nurse faculty shortage and help avert the projected shortage of more than 23,000 nurses in less than two decades. Learn more about NJNI's current programs at www.nini.org.

 

 

New Jersey Nursing Initiative Names New Program Directors

 

CONTACTS: Gretchen Wright, Jonathan Padget

202-371-1999

Christine Clayton

609-627-5937

 

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.

Multi-Million-Dollar Initiative Reports Progress in Addressing New Jersey’s Nurse Faculty Shortage

CONTACT: Gretchen Wright or Jonathan Padget
202/371-1999

State Senate Committee Hearing Highlights Efforts to
Avert Health Workforce Crisis, Challenges That Remain

TRENTON, N.J.—State legislators today heard that the New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI) has made progress in addressing the state’s staggering 10.5 percent nursing faculty vacancy rate, but that more needs to be done to avert the projected shortage of more than 23,000 nurses in New Jersey in less than two decades. Health, business and academic leaders testified at a New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee hearing, several years after NJNI’s sponsors—the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation—announced the initiative at a hearing of the same committee.

“In 2009, when the New Jersey Nursing Initiative first launched, it was an unprecedented experiment in addressing the nurse faculty shortage in one state,” said John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH, senior vice president and director of the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Today, three and a half years later, I am pleased to be able to report: We are making real progress.”

In that time, Lumpkin and other witnesses said, NJNI’s Faculty Preparation Program has supported 61 New Jersey Nursing Scholars who are pursuing (or have completed) master’s or doctoral degrees that qualify them for nurse faculty positions. NJNI developed the Nursing Academic Resource Center of New Jersey, an online tool for graduate-level nursing students; and supported the Nursing Centralized Application System, to streamline the nursing school application process for prospective students and monitor the availability of slots in nursing programs. NJNI also launched WeTeachNursingNJ.com, a website dedicated to nursing faculty career information.

In addition, NJNI is helping lead the New Jersey Action Coalition. It helps the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action implement recommendations from the Institute of Medicine’s landmark nursing report as part of a nationwide effort to transform nursing and the delivery of health care in America, by fully utilizing nurses and enhancing their skills and education.

Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, program director of the New Jersey Nursing Initiative and interim provost of The College of New Jersey, also testified, pointing out NJNI’s role in supporting the Nursing Faculty Loan Redemption Program Act, which was signed into law in 2010. It provides student loan redemption in exchange for full-time employment in the state as a nurse faculty member. “We have made important progress toward addressing the nursing and nursing faculty shortage and we thank the Legislature, and in particular this committee, for your support in helping us avert a serious health care crisis,” Bakewell-Sachs said.

Jeffrey Scheininger, president of Flexline/U.S. Brass & Copper Corp. and board chair of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, told the committee that “the state’s business community has long understood that a shortage of nurses and nurse faculty has serious implications for the welfare of our employees, as well as the costs of running our enterprises. That is why the Chamber remains committed to the New Jersey Nursing Initiative.”

“Tens of thousands of business owners, like me, want to know that the health care system is up to the job,” Scheininger said. “That our employees and their families will have quality care when they or a family member is sick, and that the care that is available will make them well and let them get back to their jobs. We know that just as we form the bedrock of our state’s economy, nurses form the bedrock of the health care system.”

Colleen Manzetti, DNP, RN, CNE, CNLCP, an assistant professor at Monmouth University, shared her experience as a beneficiary of the state’s Nursing Faculty Loan Redemption Program, which provides a maximum benefit of $50,000 over five years. “The passion for teaching that nurse faculty members bring to their jobs is really what drives us, not the bottom line,” Manzetti said, citing the salary disparity between nurses in academia and nurses in the health care industry. “There is a great sense of accomplishment that comes with knowing that we improve the lives of patients, even when we’re not at their bedside in the hospital, because we give so many nurses the tools of caring they need. It is a privilege to teach, but financially, it is a sacrifice.”

The committee also heard from two New Jersey Nursing Scholars: Maria Torchia LoGrippo, MSN, RN, a doctoral student at Seton Hall University, and Marlin Gross, MSN, RN, who completed his master’s degree this year and is now an assistant professor at Cumberland County College. “I am well on the way to becoming a tenured nursing professor and the kind of academic nurse leader our nation needs to fix our health care system,” LoGrippo said. “I expect to spend the next several decades preparing the next generation of nurses and nurse faculty, who in turn will work to meet the health care needs of people in this state.”

“We need more highly educated nurses to play leading roles in discussions and debates about health care reform,” Gross said. “We need them to provide more complex care to an aging, and more complex, population of patients and to provide critically needed research into ways to improve health care. And we need them to fill faculty vacancies so we can curb a looming nursing shortage and help ensure that all people in our state, and in our country, have access to a highly skilled nurses when and where they need one.”

Current data show that the nursing population is aging, with only 8 percent of New Jersey nurses younger than 30. The average age of the state’s nurses is 51, and the average age of nurse faculty is 55. A recent study projects that by 2030, there will be a shortage of 23,358 nurses in New Jersey, indicating that NJNI’s work and similar efforts are crucial to ensuring that enough nurses can be trained to meet future health care needs in the Garden State.

NJNI has awarded $21.5 million to a group of institutions of higher education to support the New Jersey Nursing Scholars with full tuition and fees, a $50,000 annual stipend and a laptop computer. Last year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reauthorized NJNI through 2016, funding scholarships for 10 additional New Jersey Nursing Scholars to pursue PhDs.

# # # #

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 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.

 

Twenty New Jersey Nurses Complete Esteemed Scholarship Program

CONTACT: Gretchen Wright or Jonathan Padget
202/371-1999

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Jersey Nursing Initiative,
Focused on Ending Nurse Faculty Shortage, Graduates 20 Scholars

Trenton, N.J.—New Jersey’s staggering 10.5 percent vacancy rate for nurse faculty does not bode well for the health and health care of Garden State residents. Not having enough faculty to teach future nursing students could result in fewer nurses to care for aging and at-risk populations. This, in turn, could lead to poor health outcomes and higher health care costs for New Jersey.   
 
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI), which is working hard to change that dire scenario, today announced the graduation of 20 RWJF New Jersey Nursing Scholars with advanced degrees that prepare them to serve as nurse faculty. The 20 scholars have earned their master of science in nursing (MSN) degrees with support from NJNI with the goal of becoming nurse faculty in New Jersey.
 
NJNI is a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project of RWJF and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The program provides generous benefits and support to help RWJF New Jersey Nursing Scholars complete their advanced degree studies. Upon graduation, scholars have the opportunity to receive financial incentives if they become faculty members at schools of nursing in the state.
 
“The RWJF New Jersey Nursing Scholars represent tomorrow’s leaders, and we are so proud of them,” said NJNI Program Director Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, PNP-BC.  “Including this current class, we have now graduated a total of 38 scholars, and many of them are already filling key faculty roles, mentoring their peers, and serving as role models for the next generation of nursing students. Thanks to their talent and dedication, the future is already looking brighter.” Bakewell-Sachs is interim provost of The College of New Jersey.
 
The goal of NJNI is to increase the number of nurse faculty in the state, so there will be enough nurses to meet the health care needs of New Jersey residents. The Faculty Preparation Program is a key part of NJNI’s strategy. It has awarded $13.5 million in grants to New Jersey-based nursing programs and education collaboratives, and is supporting a total of 61 New Jersey Nursing Scholars who are completing (or have completed) master’s or doctoral degrees.
 
The 20 graduating New Jersey Nursing Scholars are:

Fairleigh Dickinson University
Jamie Boman, BSN, RN, MSN
Christine Brewer, BSN, RN, MSN
Catherine Carlton, BSN, RN, MSN
Diane Cukrow, BSN, RN, MSN
Marjory Desulme, BSN, RN, MSN
Tony Malek, BSN, RN, CBN, MSN
Janice McConnon, BSN, RN, MSN
Grace Qarmout, BSN, RN, MSN
 
Kean University
Laura Zakresy, BSN, RN, MSN
 
Monmouth University
Nancy Flood, BSN, RN, MSN
Karen Hoary, BSN, RN, MSN
 
Richard Stockton University
Marlin Gross, BSN, RN, MSN
Stephanie Henson, BSN, RN, MSN

The College of New Jersey
Caitlin Fett Werther, BSN, RN, MSN
Alexander Manning, BSN, RN, MSN
 
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Tammy Cooper, BSN, RN-BC, MSN
Renee Kurz, BSN, RN, MSN
Nancy Mills, BSN, RN, MSN
Shelby Pitts, BSN, RN, MSN
 
William Paterson University
Ruta Brazaitis, BSN, RN, MSN

Many faculty members at New Jersey nursing schools are approaching retirement, and there are not enough nurses in the pipeline to fill the positions. In addition, relatively few practicing nurses have the qualifications to teach. All nurse faculty in New Jersey must hold at least a master’s degree in nursing.
 
To help encourage others to consider nurse faculty careers, NJNI recently launched WeTeachNursingNJ.com, a website providing important resources and information about what a career as nurse faculty involves and the pathway to that career.
 
For more information, visit www.NJNI.org.

# # # #

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 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