A number of foundations joined forces to offer grants with one goal in mind:  To encourage health and other professional schools to develop and expand interprofessional clinical initiatives, working with a community partner and the families they serve to. The bigger goal: to accelerate the collaborative efforts these schools had already undertaken and so expand interprofessional education.

One school that earned a grant, Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation, explained last fall the support would go to its work at a large residential substance abuse treatment center in Phoenix, as well as to provide interprofessional leadership training to all students involved with the initiative.

Another school that funders chose to support, the University of Maryland School of Nursing, is “a national leader in providing interprofessional education for health, law, and human services professionals that is grounded in best practices for educational innovation and assessment. A hallmark of the Center is education that improves health care and human service delivery resulting in enhanced well-being.”

Congratulations to the following schools:

• Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing
• University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing
• University of Colorado College of Nursing
• Creighton University College of Nursing
• University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing
• University of Maryland School of Nursing
• University of Michigan School of Nursing
• University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies
• University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing
• New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing
• Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing
• University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
• University of Rochester School of Nursing
• University of Utah College of Nursing
• Washburn University of Topeka School of Nursing

The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The John A. Hartford Foundation, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, awarded funding to applicants they saw as paving the way to  creative, sustainable interprofessional initiatives. The projects would have to in which graduate nursing and other professions actively learn and work together with individuals and their families in community-based clinical settings.

Also important to the funders, and good news for the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action—the winning schools were expected to coordinate activities with the state’s Action Coalition.