21 Accomplished Nurse Leaders from Across Nation Selected for Prestigious Three-Year Fellowships

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program Provides Leadership, Professional Development at Pivotal Time for Health Care and Nursing

GREENSBORO, N.C., Aug. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A highly competitive national nurse fellowship program designed to expand nurse leadership and position nurses to help lead change in the United States health care system has named its 2011 cohort.  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows program announced today that it has selected 21 nurses from 138 applicants for the three-year program.  They join more than 200 nurse leaders who have participated in the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program since it began in 1998.

This world-class fellowship program enhances nurse leaders' effectiveness in helping to lead a reformed health care system.  A groundbreaking Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, issued last fall, calls on nurses to contribute as essential partners in the redesign of the nation's health care system.  The RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program advances that mission by providing coaching, education and other support to strengthen nurses' ability to lead teams and organizations in improving health and health care.  

The RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program is located at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), and co-directed by: Linda Cronenwett, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., the Beerstecher Blackwell Term Professor and former dean of the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and David Altman, executive vice president of Research, Innovation and Product Development at CCL.

"The RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program is building and enhancing the leadership skills of extraordinary nurses around the country," Cronenwett said. "Our alumni are a virtual 'who's who' of accomplished nurses, and we know that the 2011 cohort will join them in doing great things.  This program supports nurse leaders with potential to develop innovative ways to improve health care delivery."

Executive Nurse Fellows hold senior leadership positions in health services, scientific and academic organizations, public health and community-based organizations or systems, and national professional, governmental and policy organizations. They continue in their current positions during their fellowships, and during the fellowship each develops, plans and implements a new initiative to improve health care delivery in her or his community. The 21 RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows are:

• Debra Barksdale, Ph.D., F.N.P.-B.C., C.N.E., F.A.A.N., associate professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, Chapel Hill, N.C.;
• Shelly Buck-Turner, R.N., B.S.N., M.B.A., C.C.R.N., chief nurse executive and vice president, Patient Care, Bon Secours, St. Francis Medical Center, Midlothian, Va.;
• Ruth Carrico, Ph.D., R.N., F.S.H.E.A., C.I.C., assistant professor, School of Public Health and Information Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky.;
• Janie Gawrys, R.N., M.S., C.P.H.Q., vice president, Clinical Operations, Access Community Health Network, Chicago, Ill.;
• Jean Giddens, Ph.D.,  R.N., executive dean and professor, College of Nursing, University of Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, N.M.;
• Kimberly Glassman, Ph.D., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., chief nursing officer and senior vice president, Patient Care Services, NYU Hospitals Center, New York, N.Y.;
• Peggy Gordin, M.S., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., F.A.A.N., vice president, Patient Care Services, St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, Mo.;
• Pamela Jeffries, D.N.S., R.N., F.A.A.N., A.N.E.F.,  associate dean, Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Md.;
• Jodi Joyce, R.N., M.B.A., C.E.N.P., N.E.A.-B.C., vice president, Quality & Patient Safety, Legacy Health, Portland, Ore.;
• Laurie Lauzon Clabo, Ph.D., R.N., dean and professor, School of Nursing, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Mass.;
• Bambi McQuade-Jones, R.N., M.S.N., C.F.N.P., executive director and family practice nurse practitioner, Boone County Community Clinic, Lebanon, Ind.;
• Kim Moore, R.N., M.S.N., N.E.A-B.C., interim chief operating officer and chief nursing officer, Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, Lincoln, Neb.;
• Patricia Morton, Ph.D., R.N., A.C.N.P., F.A.A.N., professor and associate dean, Academic Affairs, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, Md.;
• Ann O'Brien, M.S.N., R.N., national director, Clinical Informatics, National Patient Care Services and KP Information Technology, Kaiser Permanente, Pleasanton, Calif.;
• Angelleen Peters-Lewis, Ph.D., R.N., executive director, Women's and Newborns' Nursing and Clinical Services, Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass.;
• Sandra Ryan, M.S.N., R.N., C.P.N.P., F.A.A.N.P., chief nurse practitioner officer, Take Care Health Systems, Health and Wellness Division, Walgreens, Conshohocken, Pa.;
• Robin Schaefer, M.S.N.A., C.R.N.A., F.A.C.H.E., director, Perioperative Services, Nursing Administration, CarolinaEast Health System, New Bern, N.C.;
• Andrea Schmid-Mazzoccoli, M.S.N., M.B.A., Ph.D., R.N., chief nurse executive and vice president, Center for Clinical Excellence, Bon Secours Health System, Marriottsville, Md.;
• Sharon Stanley, Ph.D., R.N., chief nurse, American Red Cross, Washington, D.C.;
• Colleen Swartz, M.S.N., M.B.A., R.N., chief nurse executive, University of Kentucky HealthCare, Lexington, Ky.; and
• Linda Yoder, M.B.A., Ph.D., R.N., A.O.C.N., F.A.A.N., associate professor and director, Nursing Administration Graduate concentration, University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, Austin, Texas.

The fellowships are supported through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

For more information about the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program visit:  www.ExecutiveNurseFellows.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measureable and timely change. For nearly 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

SOURCE Robert Wood Johnson Foundation