Two innovative and highly successful models of care developed by nurses were the centerpiece of a briefing today on health care reform. The event, which brought together women's health leaders and health care experts, focused on the ways in which innovative health care models can help to improve efficiency, reduce costs and ensure quality care for patients and their families.
The briefing, On the Edge of Reform: Innovative Health Care Models, was sponsored by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), which directs the Raise the Voice campaign. Raise the Voice showcases the ways in which nurses are leading the way in transforming the health care system and informs policy makers of these innovations and their success with an eye toward seeing those innovations replicated. The campaign is supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
"Nurses are on the front lines of health care delivery in our nation," said AAN CEO Patricia Ford-Roegner. "Through Raise the Voice, we are proud to advance and promote the work of visionary nurses among policy makers, who are making it possible for models like these to be adopted more widely. And we are grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for supporting the Raise the Voice campaign."
The two models showcased at the briefing have received widespread acclaim and attention and have been recognized at the federal level as important to improving health care. One focuses on improving transitional care for frail elderly and the other on improving pregnancy outcomes for low-income women and quality care for their young children.
The first model was developed by Mary Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor of gerontology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Through this program, Advanced Practice Nurses work closely with older patients and their families to develop a discharge plan for those patients (in concert with the patients' physicians) which are then implemented in the patients' homes to ensure access to ongoing quality care. The program has resulted in fewer hospitalizations for older patients, shorter stays and greater patient satisfaction. The program has also reduced hospitalization costs and has been proposed in Congress as a benefit to be covered under Medicare.