HISTORY
"Building the commitment and capacity to transform health care by creating a nursing workforce responsive to consumer health care needs."

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1998

• Submitted grant for funding from Robert Woods Johnson and joined the Colleagues in Caring network.
• Obtained matching pledges from health care facilities and organizations.
• Organized Steering Committee.

• Expanded Steering Committee.
• Developed collaborations with a broad range of organizations.

• Held meetings of the Steering Committee to develop the VA Strategic Plan for Nursing.
• Collaborated with Legislators to direct the Joint Commission on Health Care to study strategies to educate, train, recruit and retain nurses.
• Prepared House Joint Resolution report for nursing education.
• Collaborated with the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association (VHHA) to collect supply and demand data from hospitals.
• Worked with Legislators to direct the Board of Nursing to perform data collection of nursing workforce data.

• Held a Spring Summit in collaboration with the Virginia League for Nursing with 200 participants from nursing practice and education that established the VA Strategic Plan and work groups.
• Identified six Strategic Issues and recruited co-chairs for task forces around the six initiatives.
• Conducted Fall Summit in collaboration with the University of Virginia Bice Lectures with 150 participants to update nursing leaders about the progress to address the strategic issues.

• Received a grant for funding from the Riverside Health System Foundation ($20,000 grant and $20,000 challenge grant) and has raised the match and will receive the full grant.
• Developed recommendations with the Advisory Council on the Future of Nursing.
• Offering the April VPN/VHHA collaborative meeting on Nursing Recruitment and Retention.
• Co hosted the Nursing Educators Summit with the Associate Degree Program Directors to plan the Virginia Educational Mobility Plan for LPN through RN/BS.MS. The Plan will be released in Spring 2003.
• Received a grant to VHHA for funding of the next phase of development.
• Developed and launched the Virginia nursing recruitment plan - NURSES CHANGE LIVES; to be released in November 2002.

• Elected officers for the newly incorporated organization.
• Presented the Third Annual Summit for May 14, 2003.
• Received grant funding from the Carilion Health System and the Riverside Health System.
• Launched the "Are you man enough..." campaign.