ANA, HealthStream partner to expand and deliver online continuing education

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSTM), a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the health care industry, today announced that the American Nurses Association (ANA) has partnered with HealthStream to expand the offering and streamline the delivery of its online continuing education (CE). HealthStream will provide a commerce web site that will enable ANA members and other nursing professionals to browse, purchase, and complete ANA and other third-party CE and learn about other ANA membership offerings.

“Lifelong learning is important for registered nurses, and our goal is to offer them leading-edge continuing education that is readily accessible, secure, and convenient. Our requirements for a learning portal and content development partner were rigorous and extensive”

ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 3.1 million registered nurses. ANA represents the interests of registered nurses through its constituent member nurse associations, its organizational affiliates, and its workforce advocacy affiliate. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice—and, therefore, continuing education is essential for nurses. Through the new partnership with HealthStream, an ANA learning portal will provide nurses with a convenient site to access a wide range of clinical and professional skills development modules. HealthStream's learning platform, the HealthStream Learning Center®, will power the learning portal, which will be ANA-branded.

"Lifelong learning is important for registered nurses, and our goal is to offer them leading-edge continuing education that is readily accessible, secure, and convenient. Our requirements for a learning portal and content development partner were rigorous and extensive," said ANA Chief Executive Officer Marla J. Weston, PhD, RN. "We selected HealthStream as our online learning partner because of its excellent learning platform, deep knowledge of health care, and its strong reputation among health care organizations."

Registered nurses will be able to select and purchase courses—including those accredited for meeting continuing education requirements—from an online catalog. In addition, a series of online course templates will be provided that will enable ANA to develop and self-publish additional courses. To further expand its offerings, HealthStream's library of online courses will also be available to registered nurses through ANA's catalog.

"We are honored to be selected by ANA as its learning partner as we work together on our shared goal to improve patient care through high-quality education and learning for registered nurses," said Robert A. Frist, Jr., president and chief executive officer, HealthStream. "I look forward to a productive partnership with ANA in the coming months and years."

The learning portal for ANA members and an initial online courseware offering is expected to be operational by year-end 2010.

Source HealthStream