American Nurses Foundation Awards $14M to Reimagine Nursing

The winning pilot programs are predicted to 'transform the education, regulation, and practice of nursing,' the foundation executive director says.

The American Nurses Foundation is granting $14 million over three years to 10 nurse-led pilot programs that are sparking new ideas, as part of the foundation's Reimagining Nursing Initiative.

The pilot programs are being developed and led by nurses at various universities, nonprofit hospitals, and startup companies that serve diverse communities across the country and will help determine how they can be scaled and broadly implemented, according to the foundation.

"The Reimagining Nursing Initiative provides the solid investments nurses need to transform the education, regulation, and practice of nursing,” says Kate Judge, the foundation's executive director.

"Nurses are a natural catalytic force for accelerating the evolution of our health system because they have an unmatched perspective on prevention, wellness, and delivery of healthcare services,” Judge said.

Of the 10 pilots receiving grants:

• One focuses on decreasing first-year nursing turnover by exposing nursing students to clinical rotations in perioperative nursing practice.
• One is using robots equipped with artificial intelligence that can predict and deliver what nurses need based on a patient’s electronic health records.
• Another makes it possible for patients to receive home-based, nurse-led primary care for people living with dementia.
• One uses an off-the-shelf technology to deploy nurses to assist people returning home after being discharged from the hospital, allowing patients to request and pay for nurse care directly and on-demand.

"We received nearly 350 nurse-led projects to consider for this initiative, and we have selected those that have the potential to be most transformational. We look forward to enjoying the healthcare that nurses are creating," Judge said.

The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the critical role nurses play and solidified how healthcare must change to meet evolving needs, said Greg A. Adams, chair CEO of Kaiser Permanente, one of the foundation's financial supporters.

"There is no better time to reimagine the nursing profession to help lead this transformation," Adams said. "This initiative supports innovative ideas and solutions from the perspective of nurses that will make a difference in patient’s lives and improve access, care, and health outcomes for all."