November 2001

CON Applies Hartford Grant to Geriatric Nursing

The College of Nursing at UAMS recently received $1,331,250 from the John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc. to establish a new Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence (HCGNE). “This highly competitive honor was awarded to only four other institutions in the country, so we are in a select group,” said Claudia Beverly, Ph.D., R.N., HCGNE director for the college.

The mission of HCGNE will be to design innovative interdisciplinary programs in nursing education, practice and research that promote functional independence in the elderly. HCGNE will refine and test an innovative interdisciplinary health-care model that promotes functional independence across a continuum of settings and prepare a cadre of highly educated gerontological nurses at all levels to provide elder care.

“As a result,” said Linda C. Hodges, Ed.D., R.N., dean of the College of Nursing, “geriatric nurses will be able to respond to the influx of aging baby boomers into America’s health-care system, expand our interdisciplinary research in gerontology, and disseminate broadly this training model and its findings.”

Futuristic initiatives are being planned for senior Arkansans. Web-based education modules will be produced to promote functional independence in healthy elders and to prevent or delay institutionalization of elders with dementia. For example, healthy elders will be able to access the HCGNE Web site and learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, perform recommended exercises and prevent falls. Caregivers of elders with dementia will find valuable information on how to prevent and manage agitated behaviors, such as wandering, hitting, or screaming that frequently lead to institutionalization and caregiver burnout. The modules will be released in 2003.

Another innovative feature will be “Ask HCGNE,” an online consultation service for health-care providers; it is scheduled to begin in 2003. Providers can consult with experts to receive practical advice on managing challenging patients. For example, a provider may need advice on pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies for managing a patient with dementia who shows sleep disturbance and nocturnal wandering.

To prepare nurse leaders to develop supportive care for elders, the UAMS College of Nursing HCGNE will offer a B.S.N. Honors Program in gerontology and a B.S.N. to Ph.D. track with a focus on gerontology. A Web-based curriculum consultation service will help other schools of nursing develop gerontological content. In addition, HCGNE will provide education to nurses throughout the country on topics such as: promoting functional independence in elders, interdisciplinary practice and grant writing.

For more information about the UAMS College of Nursing HCGNE, call 501-686-7984.