NYUCN’s Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing Launches REASN Initiative

The Next Phase of the Hartford Institute’s work with Specialty Nursing Organizations Will Reach 200,000+ Nurses The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at NYU College of Nursing announces the launch of REASN (Resourcefully Enhancing Aging in Specialty Nursing), a continuation of its work with specialty nurses to deepen the involvement of nursing associations in enhancing their members’ competence in caring for older adults. In doing so, the institute aims to bring up-to-date information on geriatric best practices to more than 200,000 hospital-based specialty nurses. The REASN initiative is funded with a four-year, $2.3 million grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies (USA) Inc. REASN focuses on building intensive collaborations with select specialty nursing associations that will, in turn, influence the care provided to older adults in the hospital setting. The program will help the associations to create specialty-specific geriatric education products and resources and disseminate these materials to their members. REASN builds on past Hartford Institute work to engage specialty nursing organizations in an effort to raise awareness that the majority of people being cared for by nurses in various specialties are over 65 years of age. The Hartford Institute aims to broaden these nurses’ orientation toward older adults by building an online presence and developing special-interest groups focused on geriatric care within their specialties. One of the key elements of REASN is the continuation of the Web Fellow project, in which a Web Fellow is designated within each organization to oversee the group’s online commitment to geriatrics and to link to the Hartford Institute geriatric nursing clinical Web site, www.ConsultGeriRN.org. ConsultGeriRN.org is the Hartford Institute’s online resource for evidence-based clinical nursing protocols and topics on the care of older adults. Also available on ConsultGeriRN.org are resources organized by nursing specialty, hospital competencies, continuing education, and other resources on the care of older adults. Participating specialty nursing organizations will receive two-year grants of up to $15,000 to develop clinical print and Web-based materials geared toward geriatric care in each given specialty and to create sustainable infrastructures for their geriatric initiatives. They will also receive up to $2,000 to sustain and/or develop their Web Fellow programs. Additional grants will be available to associations seeking to collaborate with other nursing associations and other disciplines, and to collaborate with the Hartford Institute’s NICHE (Nurses Improving Care to Health-system Elders) program ( www.NICHEProgram.org). To learn more about the REASN initiative and about the specialty nursing associations that are part of this initiative, please visit www.ConsultGeriRN.org. The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, at New York University’s College of Nursing, is the only nurse-led organization in the country that seeks to shape the quality of health care older Americans receive by promoting the highest level of geriatric competence in all nurses. By raising the standards of nursing care, the Hartford Institute aims to ensure that people age with optimal function, comfort, and dignity. The Hartford Institute is recognized as unique in its focus on disseminating best practices to nursing students, faculty, practicing nurses, and policy makers.