Press Release For Immediate Release   Hartford Institute and American Association of Colleges of Nursing Honor Nursing Schools for Innovations in Geriatric Education 2001 Awards Recognize Three Nursing Programs as Models of Excellence WASHINGTON, D.C., November 20, 2001 -- The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), is pleased to announce the winners of the 2001 Awards for Exceptional Baccalaureate Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing. Presented at AACN's fall meeting, awards were given to three schools of nursing: first place to The Medical College of Georgia; second place to The University of the Virgin Islands; and honorable mention to Wilkes University (PA). "We are delighted to reward and showcase nursing schools at the forefront of preparing students through outstanding geriatric curricula," says Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, professor of nursing education and director of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing. "The 2001 winners should be proud of their contributions to geriatric care which serve as shining examples for other schools to emulate." Now in its fourth year, this national awards program was created to recognize model baccalaureate programs in nursing with a strong focus on gerontological nursing. Awards are presented to nursing programs that exhibit exceptional, substantive, and innovative baccalaureate curriculum in this subject area. Beyond innovation, programs must also demonstrate relevance in the clinical environment and have the ability to be replicated at schools of nursing across the country. "As the U.S. population continues to age, we need to insure that nurses in the educational pipeline are well educated to provide the highest quality of care possible to older adults," explains AACN President Carolyn A. Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN. "We are delighted to join with the Hartford Institute in honoring curriculum leaders and sharing these winning models with the world." Curricula and geriatric care models advanced by the three winning schools will be summarized and distributed to nursing programs nationwide. Profile of the 2001 Award Winners First Place: Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing, Augusta, Georgia While geriatric content is threaded throughout the curriculum of The Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing, two courses, Nursing Care of the Mature Family and Nursing in Human Loss and Grieving, are devoted exclusively to gerontological nursing. Innovative didactic activities featured in these courses include Web sites shared by the students and faculty on the main and satellite campuses. Utilizing the Hartford Institute curriculum content, faculty share teaching strategies and support each other while students on both campuses are encouraged to interact. The varied clinical activities provide opportunities for students to become familiar with the most significant health needs facing Georgia's older adults. Students develop and implement age-appropriate nursing interventions with older adults in the community-based clinicals. Students, often surprised by the significant health needs of this age group, understand that they are making a difference in the lives of older adults. College representatives recognized for this award submission include Gerald Bennett, PhD, Acting Dean; Katherine Nugent, PhD, Associate Dean; and Cathy Green, MSN, RN, RN-CS, faculty contact. Second Place: The University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at the University of the Virgin Islands offers a curriculum that operationalizes the faculty's belief that "nursing is a humanistic and caring profession, the essence of which is commitment to service." At all clinical levels, students are provided didactic content and clinical experiences that promote development of values and competencies needed to provide high quality care to older adults and their families across settings. At the sophomore level, clinical experiences are gained at an assisted living site and a nursing and rehabilitation facility. The designated gerontologic nursing course, Care of Adults II, is a required junior-level course that focuses on nursing care of the middle age and older adult with chronic health problems. A variety of learning strategies are used, and clinical experiences are designed to enable students to care for older adults who are institutionalized, hospitalized, or reside in the community. Student home-visiting caseloads in the senior-level Community Health course include families with older adults. Students may also focus on older-adults in their senior capstone leadership project. College representatives recognized for this award submission include Gloria B. Callwood, PhD, Chair; and Edith M. Ramsay-Johnson, EdD, faculty contact. Honorable Mention: Wilkes University Department of Nursing, Wilkes-Barre, PA The philosophy of the Department of Nursing at Wilkes University encompasses the paradigm of nursing in a holistic sense. The focus on individuals within family units, within the greater community, provides the foundation for all practice courses. Nursing courses present normal human developmental processes, promoting health while introducing alterations from the healthy state. Human development with its accompanying crises and common maladies undergirds clinical courses which begin in the sophomore year and extend for six semesters. The senior student enters the seventh semester with the skills and knowledge needed to meet the complex needs of the older adult in a variety of settings. In this required 8-credit course, students meet older adults in the community, in the home health setting, and as the frailest of elders in the nursing home. Content embraces normal age changes, problems inherent in the elderly population, the alternatives for living arrangements, financial resources, retirement, hospice care and dying. Students are made aware of services for elders as well as prevention activities which promote healthy aging. College representatives recognized for this award submission include Mary Ann Merrigan, PhD, RN, Chair, and Sharon G. Telban, DEd, RNC, faculty contact. The winners of the 2001 Awards for Exceptional Baccalaureate Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing were announced at AACN's Fall Semiannual Meeting in October. Representing the winning schools were (standing left to right) Cathy Green, MSN, RN, RN-CS and Gerald Bennett, PhD, Acting Dean from the Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing; Mary Ann Merrigan, PhD, RN, Chair and Sharon G. Telban, DEd, RNC from Wilkes University Department of Nursing; and (seated, far left and far right) Edith M. Ramsay-Johnson, EdD, RN and Gloria B. Callwood, PhD, RN from the University of the Virginia Islands Division of Nursing Education. Joining the winner's circle (center left to right) is Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, Director of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, and Carolyn A. Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN, AACN President. For information and an application for the 2002 awards competition, contact the Hartford Institute at (212) 998-5568 or via the Web at http://www.hartfordign.org The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for university and four-year-college education programs in nursing. Representing more than 580 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, proudly housed at the Division of Nursing, The Steinhardt School of Education of New York University, seeks to shape the quality of health care older Americans receive by promoting the highest level of geriatric competence in all nurses. By raising the standards of nursing care, the Hartford Institute aims to ensure that people age with optimal function, comfort, and dignity. The Hartford Institute identifies and develops best practices in nursing care of older adults and infuses these practices into the education of every nursing student and the work environment of every practicing professional nurse. The Hartford Institute encourages national leadership to establish best practice as the standard for geriatric nursing care. www.hartfordign.org. ### CONTACT: Robert Rosseter (202) 463-6930, x231 rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu Top | Media | AACN Home Copyright © 2005 by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. All rights reserved.