The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's Division of Nursing partnered with the American Nurses Association's Nursing Organization Liaison Forum (NOLF) to inaugurate the first annual Hartford Institute/NOLF Award. The recipients, the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, demonstrated exceptional effort and dedication in bringing geriatric nursing best practices to specialty nurses. The award ceremony took place at the NOLF annual fall meeting in Washington, D.C.
Both the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses were chosen as the Hartford/NOLF winners because of the myriad of ways in which they helped to disseminate geriatric nursing best practice. Some of these efforts included: organizing workshops at their national conferences on vital geriatric-care issues; showcasing best practices in their newsletters and journals; linking their websites with Hartford's; and promoting information about best practices at their national conferences.
"All nurses in the course of their careers care for older adults and need the knowledge and skills to do it well," said Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN, director of the Hartford Institute. "In particular, nurses with specialty expertise have a specific professional view that for many does not include geriatrics. This award is part of our SNAPP (the Specialty Nursing Activities Partnership Program for Care of Older Adults) initiative. By bestowing this award, we are strengthening our partnerships with specialty nursing organizations, in order to assist their nurses in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to help individuals age with optimal function, comfort and dignity."
An additional component of the SNAPP initiative includes sending a Resource Center Exhibit Booth for Nursing Care of Older Adults to a number of nursing conferences in the U.S. The booth, supported in part by a grant from the Avon Products Foundation, Inc., includes: aging sensitivity materials; geriatric literature; curricula and training materials; a listing of gerontologic websites; and materials from a number of national geriatric organizations.
In conjunction with the booth, SNAPP provides technical assistance to national specialty nursing associations. This includes maintaining an on-line resource website with links to gerontoloical Internet information, publishing and distributing Try This, a newsletter of user-friendly best practice information, and helping to create geriatric nursing interest groups and geriatric information columns in newsletters.
"We are delighted with the positive response we have received from nursing specialty organizations," said Dr. Mezey. "And we are grateful to the American Nurses Association and NOLF for their appreciation of the significance of best nursing practice for older adults."
The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing's goal is to set a national agenda and shape the quality of health care for elderly Americans by promoting the highest level of competency in the nurses who deliver that care. By raising the standards of nursing care, we aim to ensure people age with optimal function, comfort and dignity.
The Nursing Organization Liaison Forum was established by the American Nurses Association in 1989. It's purpose is to provide a forum for discussion between national nursing organizations and ANA regarding questions of professional policy and national health policy which are of mutual concern. It also seeks to promote concerted action by national nursing organizations on professional policy and national health policy issues, as participating organizations deem appropriate.