Leadership
Online Transition to Practice and Leadership Programs: Future of Nursing WV (FONWV) achieved RWJF and local foundation funding to create an online Transition to Practice and Leadership Project. The two track educational program supports success for new nurse graduates in their first nursing position and emerging nurse leaders in their first nursing management role. The Transition to Practice track includes an online education class for preceptors. The Leadership track includes an online online educational class for mentors and a mentor directory.
RWJF Public Health Nurse Leader Award: Angela Gray, BSN, RN, a member of the FONWV Leadership Team became one of one of only 24 nurses selected across the US to create a Public Health Nurse Leader Project. Her Project resulted in the creation of the Faith Community Nurse Toolkit and Network.
Breakthrough Nurse Leader Award: Laure Marino, DNP, APRN, was selected as one of only 10 nurses across the country for her innovative work in opening a primary care center in a behavioral health facility. Laure leads the FONWV Leadership Team.
Try This: Health Professionals Conference: FONWV, WVU School of Medicine, WV Dieticians and Try This WV collaborated to create the first conference in WV to inspire health practitioners to encourage their clients to engage in health behaviors as part of their practices.
Collaboration & Partnership: The FONWV participates actively with a variety of organizations addressing the social determinants of health and special populations such as: Try This, WV, The Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, Partnership for Elder Living, WV Council of Churches, Faith in Action, School-Based Health Policy Round-table, West Virginians for Affordable Healthcare and others. FONWV is a member of the WV Secretary of Health and Human Services Innovation Collaboration, WV Non-Profit Association and WV Rural Health Association.
40 under40 Emerging Nurse Leader Awards: The Leadership and Gala Teams collaborated to create the Emerging Nurse Leader Awards which were presented at a statewide Gala on August 19th in Charleston WV. You can see the credentials and roles of the awardees on the website. These young leaders represent every area of the state and the diversity of nursing roles. They will participate in one year of leadership development activities.
Education
Nursing Education Toolkit & APP: The Education Team initiated this project to inspire and facilitate middle and high school students, parents and counselors to have the tools needed to select and enter nursing as a career.
Health Ambassador RN Project: Enlists RN volunteers to present curricula in Elementary and Middle school classrooms based upon the WV Board of Education Wellness Policy Guidelines. The project has two goals: To improve the culture of health for students and parents and to expose students to professional nurses to inspire more nursing careers. A statewide survey of Student nurses revealed that students select nursing because they knew a nurse who inspired them.
BSN Whitepaper: FONWV Co-leads, Dr. Lou Ann Hartley and Dr. Cassy Taylor published “The Impact of BSN Education on Nursing Practice: Moving toward the “80/20” Recommendation in West Virginia.” The white paper is available on the website.
Practice
Expanding Access To Care: The Practice Team created partnerships with diverse grassroots consumer organizations as AARP, West Virginians for Affordable Healthcare, National Association of Social Workers-WV Chapter, WV Funeral Directors Association, WV Citizens Action Group, WV Council of Churches and others to support and pass legislation to expand full practice for APRNs in the state. With WV Nurses Association, a network of Nurse Advocates is maintaining relationships with local legislators to educate and advocate with them on the issues of access to care in their districts. FONWV produced Fact Sheets to support this initiative which are available on the website. HB 4334 was became law in 2016.
Faith Community Nursing Toolkit and Network: This project was launched by our Public Health Nurse Leader and her team and has become an ongoing project of the FONWV. This is a project to improve health through supporting health ministries lead by WV nurses in faith communities throughout the state.
Nursing Workforce Summit: FONWV in collaboration with the WV Center for Nursing Shared Data Council is hosting a day long meeting to create innovative ways to address the bedside and faculty nursing shortages in WV. Joanne Spetz, PhD is the keynote speaker, followed by a power hour of 5 presentations on strategies that are working in WV and across the country, followed by a world cafe style brainstorming and report out process. The outcome is expected to produce work-groups for continuing action planning and implementation of the best approaches.