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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded a $1.3 million grant to ASU's College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation to fund a project to improve nurse retention and patient care.

ASU's ultimate goal of the Nurses-to-Nurses project is to implement a working model for creating and sustaining a healthy and effective nursing work environment that can be adapted by health organizations across the United States.

The ASU College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation will partner with Abrazo Health Care (AHC) of Arizona on the five-year initiative through 2011. AHC employs more than 5,000 employees across the Phoenix region and is experiencing nursing shortages similar to other hospital systems in the state.

A recent HRSA report noted that Arizona had a 21 percent vacancy rate in 2005, triple the national average. The nursing shortage in Arizona , including Phoenix , is acute because of rapid population growth.

National and local reports indicate 25 percent of new registered nurse (RN) graduates leave their positions in one year and up to 50 percent terminate in 18 months, a major cause of the nursing shortage.

The project will employ a comprehensive career development initiative to increase retention and advance skills and competency among Abrazo RNs. David Hrabe, director of the Academy of Continuing Education at the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation and grant project director, says more than 600 nurses, their managers, executives and administrators will take part in the continuing education workshops presented by ASU faculty in residence at Abrazo.

“We're very excited about our partnership with Abrazo,” Hrabe says. “It will be a high-impact project with positive results for nurses and patients alike.”

In addition to creating a new “Center for Professional and Clinical Excellence” based on the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Synergy Model, nurses' practices and patient outcomes will be enhanced through a variety of activities. The center will offer on-site advisement for Abrazo nurses, encourage specialty certification, and establish a recognition program for outstanding performance. Specialty certification classes will include:

• Medical-surgical.

• Perinatal.

• Critical adult care.

• Emergency nursing.

“We are pleased to partner with the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation at Arizona State University in this important learning initiative,” says Judy L. Schueler, AHC's chief learning officer. “Through this project, we will collaborate on improving the overall work environment for nurses – and, subsequently, improve the patient care experience.”