The Illinois Prairie Community Foundation (IPCF), Mennonite College
of Nursing at Illinois State University and a number of other regional
education, health care and economic development organizations have combined
forces to strengthen Central Illinois’ nursing workforce. The Partners in
Nursing of Central Illinois (PIN of CI) project focuses on improving nurse
retention through enhanced education, faculty development and an emphasis on
long-term care.
As the lead agency on the project, the Bloomington-based IPCF is one of 11 foundations nationwide to receive grant funding from Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future, a national initiative to develop and test solutions to America’s nursing shortage. The $250,000 in grant funding, over two years, is combined with $230,000 raised by PIN of CI project partners.
The Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future program is led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation and encourages local foundations to act as catalysts in developing grassroots strategies to establish a stable, adequate nursing workforce. (www.PartnersInNursing.org)
A 2004 study by the Illinois governor’s office identified the “leakage” of nursing graduates to the metropolitan Chicago and St. Louis areas as a major concern for Central Illinois. An accelerated program at Mennonite College of Nursing has begun to address this. The collaborative doctoral program at MCN will target the need for nursing faculty, another major need cited by the study. The PIN of CI project brings together regional nursing schools, health care facilities, financial institutions and economic development organizations to focus on retaining registered nurses in the region, increasing the number of faculty members at regional nursing schools, promoting long-term care nursing as an attractive career path and fostering further partnerships to support nursing education.
Increasing the number of regional students who graduate from Mennonite’s accelerated nursing degree program and making it more feasible for students to pursue doctoral degrees in nursing are two of the project’s educational goals. To that end, the IPCF, Mennonite College of Nursing and the other PIN of CI partner organizations are collaborating on ways to provide low-interest loans and other financial assistance to Central Illinois nursing students. Encouraging regional students to pursue careers in geriatric nursing will also be a key educational component to address the acute need for nurses in long-term care facilities.
PIN of CI partners who assisted with the national site visit include: Illinois Prairie Community Foundation; Mennonite College of Nursing; OSF St. Joseph Medical Center; BroMenn Healthcare; Heritage Enterprises; Memorial Medical Center, Springfield; Meadows Mennonite Retirement Community; McLean County Chamber of Commerce; First Farmers State Bank; Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area; Career Link (Workforce Investment Area 16); Illinois Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, the Town of Normal and Carle Foundation Hospital.
“The Illinois Prairie Community Foundation is excited to be working with a tremendous consortium of healthcare, educational, business, governmental, and not-for-profit organizations which are pulling together to improve the quality of healthcare throughout Central Illinois,” said Michael Stillwell, IPCF executive director. “This is truly a community-wide effort to help address the nursing shortage today and in the future.”
“The PIN of CI builds on and strengthens current college initiatives such as program development of the accelerated BSN option, a PhD in Aging, and the promotion of long-term care as an attractive career to nursing students,” said Sara Campbell, interim dean of Mennonite College of Nursing. “This collaborative approach to the ongoing nursing shortage extends academic and community involvement in a most positive way. We are thrilled to have been selected to participate in this program.”
Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future is now in the second year of a five-year, $10 million initiative. During the program’s first year beginning in the fall of 2006, the 10 initial foundation partners established more than 140 partnerships between nursing organizations and local foundations to address the nationwide nursing shortage.
“The stability and quality of our nation’s health care rely heavily on a sufficient supply of appropriately educated and skilled nurses,” said Susan B. Hassmiller, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This unique program was designed to bring regional philanthropies together to address the nursing shortage on a community-level, fostering innovations beyond what any one foundation can do alone.”
“Because all health care is local, solutions need to be tailored to meet the needs of the individual communities these nurses serve,” said Judith Woodruff, program director of the Northwest Health Foundation and Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future. “We are pleased to offer this grant to assist the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation in supporting the Partners in Nursing of Central Illinois program.”
The Illinois Prairie Community Foundation is a tax-exempt public charity that manages charitable funds and awards grants to support humanitarian, educational and cultural organizations in McLean, Livingston, DeWitt and Logan counties. (www.ilprairiecf.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 improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 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. See www.rwjf.org.
Northwest Health Foundation is an independent, charitable foundation committed to advancing, supporting, and promoting the health of the people of Oregon and southwest Washington. We focus on issues of health and health care in our region, seeking concrete solutions to today's health problems while advocating to prevent tomorrow's. As part of our commitment to cultivate a stable, skilled nursing workforce in the region, Northwest Health Foundation invests in collaborative and sustainable solutions to address the nursing shortage, including the development of advocacy and leadership within the nursing community. See www.nwhf.org
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