Join The John A. Hartford Foundation in celebrating and thanking nurses during the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020 and National Nurses Week May 6-12.

It has been a timely coincidence for the World Health Organization to have designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Nurses and midwives have long played a role in providing critical health services, especially for older adults. Now more than ever, their compassion and commitment to caring for those who are ill deserves our admiration and respect. Nurses dedicate their lives to caring for others and that dedication could not be more evident as we move through the current worldwide pandemic.

For nearly two decades, nurses have been deemed one of the most trusted professions by Americans. Gallup polls have shown that through the years, nurses have consistently rated higher in honesty and ethics when compared to all other professions. After this year, we can only expect that ranking to rise. Nurses have gone above and beyond what is expected of them, surpassing perhaps even their own expectations. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus further highlights the virtues of nurses as the world pays more attention than ever to our health care systems.

Our Legacy and Continuing Commitment

Here at The John A. Hartford Foundation, we are proud of the work we’ve done in supporting nurses and their important work. Over the years the Foundation has committed over $72 million to help address the critical nursing demand that the nation is facing in the care of older adults. Through our grants we have helped to expand geriatric nursing research, fostered the successful integration of geriatric content into nursing educational curricula, and supported hundreds of nurse leaders who are transforming health care to meet the needs of older people.

In 1996, the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University was created in recognition of the critical role nurses play in the care of older adults. Its mission is to develop best practices in nursing care of older adults and to distribute these best practices into the education of every nursing student and practicing professional nurse.

The Foundation has supported faculty development and curricular changes in the nation’s schools of nursing. Over the years, 248 Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) awards have been granted: 172 pre-doctoral Hartford Scholarships, 108 post-doctoral Claire M. Fagin Fellowships, and four MBA scholarships. BAGNC nurses have taught more than 235,000 graduate and undergraduate nursing students, received over $282 million in additional research funding, and published over 3,200 articles on the care of older adults.

Today nurses are leading many of the Foundation’s initiatives in our three priority areas of creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. The Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, for example, is our grantee partnering with MinuteClinic to ensure that age-friendly care is delivered in all of CVS Health’s 1,100 retail convenience care settings. Our support of the Home Alone Alliance organized by the AARP Public Policy Institute is focused on family caregivers who perform complex medical and nursing tasks. The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing and the National League for Nursing play leading roles in that work.

Some of our own JAHF staff members are nurses!

Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN: “It is my great privilege to be a nurse and to bring to bear my knowledge and skills regarding our mission here at the foundation: ‘improving care for older adults.’ That has been the central thesis of my entire career and I have never felt more urgency and passion for the work than now. This Foundation has done more for the development of geriatric nursing in particular, and care for older adults in general, than any other bar-none. I am so proud to be a part of it!”

Amy Berman, RN, LHD, FAAN: “I am proud to be a nurse. Nurses are leaders. We support patients and families at their most vulnerable times. We innovate and contribute to the science and evidence base. Nurses shape policy and improve care. There has never been a more important time to recognize the vital contributions of the nursing profession. As the nation and the world ages, and as we address a global pandemic that disproportionately impacts older adults, nurses are working on the frontlines of clinical care, research, education and policy to address the challenges today and in the future.”

Jane Carmody, DNP, MBA, RN: “Nurses are the crucial link between the community and the complex health care system, contributing greatly to humanity, as noted by the World Health Organization. I have spent most of my nursing career in health systems leadership working to improve care for those served and for those who serve. It didn’t take long to realize The John A. Hartford Foundation was at the heart of advances in geriatric nursing education and practice. It is with humility and joy that I bring my passion and expertise to serve and further the Foundation’s mission.”

As we all navigate through these unprecedented times, the tireless efforts of nurses and health care workers is beyond admirable. We here at The John A. Hartford Foundation wholeheartedly join the world in not only applauding but also in celebrating nurses and extending our gratitude for all you do.

Sincerely,

Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN
President, The John A. Hartford Foundation

Chaoli Zhang, BA
Intern, The John A. Hartford Foundation