Central Virginia Nurse Leadership Institute

Richmond Memorial Health Foundation

Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, Virginia Partnership for       Nursing, Cameron Foundation, John Randolph Foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing

Jeffrey Cribbs, MC, Executive Director

Richmond Memorial Health Foundation (RMHF)

jcribbs@rmhfoundation.org, 804-282-6282

JoAnne Kirk Henry, EdD, RNC

Director CVNLI and Past President VPN

jkhenry@vcu.edu, 804-399-9140

Becky Bowers-Lanier, RN, MPH, EdD

Faculty, Past President VPN, consultant on nursing

becky@macbur.com, 804-649-7238

Judith Buxton Collins, RNC, MS, WHNP, FAAN

Trustee of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation

jcollins@vcu.org, 804-402-5998   

Shirley Tate Gibson, MSHA, RN

VONE President

sgibson@mcvh-vcu.edu, 804-828-8650

Donna McCarthy, MA, RN

Faculty Coordinator

vnawpa2@aol.com, 613-379-0834

Stephen Horan, PhD

Evaluation and Technology Coordinator

Brief Project Synopsis: 

The nursing shortage in Virginia is growing and retaining nurses in health care settings is as vital as increasing the supply of new nurses. Studies have shown that effective nurse manager leadership is a key factor in retaining nurses. Nursing turnover increases the cost of health care, negatively impacts patient safety, reduces access and quality of patient care. The Central Virginia Nurse Leadership Institute (CVNLI) will serve the health care institutions in Central Virginia. This broad participation of nurses from across the region will result in changes in practice in all major health care settings in the region.

The CVNLI was developed the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation and the Virginia Partnership for Nursing. It has been funded by the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future Program of the Robert Wood Johnson and Northwest Health Foundations. The lead local funder is the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. The program has broad community support with funding from the Virginia Partnership for Nursing, the Cameron Foundation, John Randolph Foundation and the VCU School of Nursing. Nursing partners include the Virginia Nurses Association and the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives.

The CVNLI is an innovative community-wide Institute for 23 Fellows in 2007 and 30 Fellows in 2008. This year long Institute focuses on building management leadership skills and is designed for mid-level nurse managers from all sectors of health care – community hospitals, academic health center, public health, school nurses, long term care and home health. These nurse managers will develop the additional skills and competencies needed to provide effective management.

The curriculum is based on the Health Care Leadership Alliance Competency Model that was developed to assure that health care leaders have the training and expertise needed to meet the management challenges of the evolving health care system. The Institute builds on the management knowledge and skills that mid-level nurse managers receive through formal education and in-house training. Outcomes of the Institute are the enhanced management and leadership skills of nurse managers, increases in their ability to participate in policy making and implementation, and increases nursing retention and improve patient care outcomes.

Project Goals and Objectives:

Goals:

1.  To increase the management leadership capacity of nurse managers.

2.  To increase nurse retention in health care institutions by increasing the management leadership skills of nurse managers.

Objectives:

1.  To establish the project infrastructure and operational procedures to support the purposes of the project. 

2.  To implement, evaluate and refine the Institute curriculum and operations to meet the project purposes.

3.  To select, engage, and mentor two cohorts of nurse manager leaders in the Central Virginia Nurse Leadership Institute.

4.  To finalize and implement an evaluation plan that includes a Logic Model with systematic formative and summative assessment of all project components (infrastructure, curriculum, participants, and sustainability plan) and a qualitative component to measure overall goal attainment.

5.   To develop the plan to bring the Institute to scale as a statewide Institute.