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New Partnerships Help Ensure Quality Care for Veterans

To help address the nation's nursing shortage and ensure health care for a growing number of veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is expanding the VA Nursing Academy's 'Enhancing Academic Partnerships' program through new partnerships with seven leading nursing schools across the United States.

The VA Nursing Academy, a five-year, $40 million initiative introduced in 2007, connects the VA's world-class health care system with some of the country's top nursing schools to ensure that highly educated nurses are available to provide premium health care to our nation's veterans.

"The VA Nursing Academy expands our teaching faculty, improves recruitment and retention, and creates new educational and research opportunities," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.

Through the partnerships, nursing school faculty provide services for VA facilities; VA nurses are appointed as faculty of the nursing school; and nursing students receive enhanced clinical experiences at VA facilities.

The following nursing schools were selected to join the program as partners to local VA medical centers: the Medical University of South Carolina; Loyola University of Chicago; the University of Detroit Mercy; Saginaw Valley State University; the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Rhode Island College; and the University of South Florida. The original four nursing schools in the program are the University of Florida; University of Utah; San Diego State University; and Fairfield University.

The VA is the largest employer of nurses in the world, with a total of over 60,000 RNs, advanced practice nurses, LPNs/LVNs and nursing assistants. For more information on the VA Nursing Academy, visit www.va.gov/oaa/vana/.

Need for Home Health Care Services on the Rise

According to the National Association of Home Care, there are more than 7 million Americans in need of home health care nursing services due to acute illness, long-term health problems, permanent disability or terminal illness.

"We have certainly seen an increase in the number of patients requesting and needing home care and having greater needs," explained Susan Pellegrino, RN and Clinical Team Manager at Visiting Nurse Service in Webster, New York. "The rapidly aging population is a significant factor, as the number of patients 65 years of age and older will double within 20 years."

Home health nurses care for an array of patients with various conditions and therefore must have knowledge and expertise in multiple areas. Also known as visiting nurses, these professionals provide comprehensive quality care to patients in the comfort of a patient's home and are often employed by home health agencies and hospices.

On average, home health care nurses visit approximately seven patients during an eight-hour work day, traveling to the homes of adults and children recovering from injury or illness; elderly individuals in need of medical or non-medical supportive services and care; new mothers in need of assistance with their newborns; adults and children with disabilities; and families of patients in need of education and emotional support.

Registered nurses interested in pursuing the home health care specialty can become certified through the American Nurses Association or American Nurses Credentialing Center, which host credentialing programs to certify nurses in specialty practice areas. Following certification, home health nurses are trained and supervised in the clinical setting.

Home health nursing affords many opportunities and rewards as these nurses are able to practice in an independent environment and build close relationships with patients and their families.

"I enjoy the autonomy a home health nursing career offers," said Patricia Graham, RN with Maxim Home Health in North Port, Fla. "As an independent self-starter, I have resources available to me if needed and enjoy working on my own terms."

To learn more about home health care nursing, visit www.discovernursing.com.


To care.
To advocate.
To be a nurse.

NURSE: A World of Care
By Peter Jaret
Photographs by Karen Kasmauski

In compelling photographs and words, NURSE: A World of Care celebrates the vital and often invisible work of nurses around the world. With introductions by former President Jimmy Carter and international nursing leader Marla Salmon, the book offers a rich and moving portrait of a profession, captured in stunning detail by photographer Karen Kasmauski and writer Peter Jaret. As global health care is in crisis, the book, published in 2008, arrived at a critical time.

For more information on NURSE: A World of Care, visit www.nursingknowledge.org/.


Promise of Nursing scholarship funds are available for qualified applicants attending nursing programs in selected regions throughout the country. For more information about eligibility, the application process and available funds in your region, visit www.nsna.org/.

Beth McVan RN, MSN and RN Case Manager
Cambridge Home Health Care
Akron, Ohio

Q: When did you decide to pursue nursing as a career and why?
A: I knew in the 8th grade that I wanted to be a nurse. I have always been fascinated by health and the human body. Most of all, I wanted to help people.

Q: Who or what inspired you to become a nurse?
A: My father was a general practitioner, and I visited his office many times as a child. He was on-call all the time -some of our vacations were even cancelled - so I knew I did not want to become a doctor.

Q: How did you transition into the home health field?
A: After working in the recovery room and in the delivery room while in school, I realized hospital nursing was not for me. One of my professors referred me to a home health agency in my home town, and I worked there for 12 years as a staff nurse, team leader, and supervisor of training and development. I returned to college, earned an MSN degree and taught nursing for 12 years. I returned to home health nursing 7 years ago, as I yearned to be with patients again.

Q: What advice would you offer to individuals interested in home health care nursing?
A: I love the independence home health care offers. What you can accomplish with patients and their families is limited only by your creativity and the trusting relationships established with them. My advice is to work on a medical or surgical unit for one or two years first because home health care is a very independent type of nursing and a good knowledge and skill base is necessary.


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