Health Care Experts Discuss Nurse-Led Care Models That Can Improve and Reduce Costs...

Health Care Experts Discuss Nurse-Led Care Models That Can Improve and Reduce
Costs of Care and Shape Health Reform

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

The second model was developed by a team led by David Olds, PhD, including
Harriet Kitzman, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor of nursing at the University of
Rochester. It has been adopted in several states and is included in President
Obama's proposed FY2010 budget. It provides first-time low-income new mothers
with home care from a registered nurse, beginning at pregnancy through the
first two years of the child's life. The nurses make 14 visits to the home
during the pregnancy, 28 during infancy and 22 during the toddler stage. The
program has resulted in fewer health problems during pregnancy, fewer higher
risk pregnancies and reductions in injuries among children and emergency
department visits during the second year of life.

U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, who sits on the U.S. House Ways and Means
and Budget Committees, spoke at the briefing, as did a representative from
U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln's office. Senator Lincoln sits on the Senate
Finance Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Aging. They offered
praise for these and other nurse-led models that have shown promise both in
improving health outcomes and reducing costs.

"Health care in the United States is inaccessible to many, expensive for most
and fragmented for all," said Ford-Roegner. "The current efforts to reform
our health care system speak volumes about the problems created by a system
that doesn't focus on preventive care and prompt, effective and comprehensive
health care delivery. Nurses know how to develop and implement programs that
will achieve these goals. That is one of the many reasons that they are so
important to any health care reform discussions."

ABOUT THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSING
The American Academy of Nursing (http://www.aannet.org) serves the public and
the nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the
generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Every day
across America, the Academy and its members create and execute
knowledge-driven and policy-related initiatives to drive reform of America's
health care system.

SOURCE American Academy of Nursing

Gretchen Wright, for the American Academy of Nursing, +1-202-371-1999