AACN and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Join to Launch National Nurse Initiative

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Joins with AACN to Launch a 
National Initiative Promoting Compassionate Care in Nursing

WASHINGTON, DC, July 25, 2013 - Today, leaders with The Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) announced a new collaboration to recognize nurses who exhibit leadership in compassionate, humanistic care as educators, researchers, mentors and practitioners as well as students who exemplify and demonstrate these qualities. This initiative will mirror what the Foundation has done successfully over the last 25 years in developing Gold signature programming and research opportunities within academic medicine.

"The optimal healthcare of the 21st Century can only be achieved in a culture of respect among all of the members of the team from patient to provider," said Dr. Richard I. Levin, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation. "This initiative gives two important national organizations representing professions whose old feuds were legendary the opportunity to move rapidly to the imagined team care of the triple aim for health."

"Providing compassionate care, informed by a scientific base of knowledge, is a hallmark of professional nursing practice," said Dr. Geraldine "Polly" Bednash, AACN's Chief Executive Officer. "Together with leaders in academic nursing, I applaud The Gold Foundation for its commitment to expanding their work to include a new emphasis on recognizing and celebrating nurses who are advancing patient-centered care in their teaching, research, and practice."

The Gold Foundation and AACN Boards jointly reached the decision to partner in order to promote best practices in compassionate and humanistic care and to recognize exemplars among nurse educators, practitioners, and students. The Gold Foundation administers numerous award programs that acknowledge medical students, residents, and medical school faculty who demonstrate humanistic values, ideals, and qualities. The Foundation also funds nationally renowned humanistic and patient-centered research and faculty fellowship programs with the support of other philanthropists. The AACN and The Gold Foundation are now partnering to develop the same kind of programming for nursing.

To guide this work, a joint advisory board has been assembled featuring nationally recognized academic and practice leaders from nursing and medicine. Co-Chaired by Dr. Levin of The Gold Foundation and by Dr. Bednash of AACN, advisory board members include:

• Geraldine "Polly" Bednash, PhD, RN, FAAN, Chief Executive Officer, American Association of Colleges of Nursing
• Eileen Breslin, PhD, RN, FAAN, AACN President-Elect; Dean, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio School of Nursing
• Kathleen M. Burke, PhD, RN, Assistant Dean of Nursing Programs, Ramapo College of New Jersey
• Ann Cary, PhD, RN, FAAN, AACN Board Member;  Dean, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies
• Jordan Cohen, MD, The Gold Foundation Board Chairman; Professor of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, President Emeritus, Association of American Medical Colleges, Trustee, Morehouse School of Medicine
• Deborah Edmonds Jones, PhD, RN, Dean, Hampton University School of Nursing
• Jane Englebright, PhD, RN, CENP, Chief Nursing Officer, Patient Safety Officer & Vice President for Clinical Performance, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA)
• Richard I. Levin, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation
• Arthur Rubenstein, MBBCh, The Gold Foundation Board Member; Professor of Medicine and Immediate-Past Dean, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
• Patricia Schroeder, MSN, MBA, RN, FAAN, Dean, Alverno College School of Nursing
• Sarah Thompson, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean, University of Colorado College of Nursing
• Reed V. Tuckson, MD, FACP, The Gold Foundation Board Member; Past Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs, United Health Group; Managing Director, Tuckson Health Connections, LLC

The advisors are planning to meet in the fall to set a framework and goals for this new collaboration.