Barry University to be awarded Florida Blue Foundation grant for Statewide Nursing Leadership Development program

Barry University will receive a $225,000 grant from the Florida Blue Foundation to create and implement a two-year Statewide Nursing Leadership Development program. Over the grant period, a cohort of 32 nurse professionals from eight regions of Florida – East Central, Northeast, Northwest, North Central, Southeast, Southwest, South and West Central - will receive additional education about health policy and leadership in health care systems with a goal of enabling them to become more influential in the field. Specifically, the advocacy education program aims to promote nursing leadership in influencing local and state health and public deliberations/decisions.

One of the Florida Blue Foundation's program areas of focus is improving the quality and safety of patient care. Nurses comprise the largest segment of the health care workforce and have a significant role in patient outcomes. Many of the Foundation's efforts in this area are aimed at developing a well-trained, diverse nurse workforce to meet the growing and complex health care needs of patients in Florida.