AARP and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical-Care) have awarded more than $355,000 to 20 projects offering innovative and replicable solutions to strengthen the nursing workforce by creating and sustaining healthy work environments aimed at improving recruitment and retention rates of registered nurses.
Arkansas-Missouri
Honoring Excellence: A DAISY-Inspired Nursing Recognition and Support Program
Ozarks New, Inc.
California
True Colors: Cultivating Team Dynamics and Retention in Critical Care Nursing
American Career College Educational Foundation
OptiNURSE (Nursing Unit Resource for Staffing Equity): An AI-Assisted Model for Balanced Nurse-Patient Assignments,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
CCRN (Critical-care Certified Registered Nurse)/PCCN (Progressive Care Certified Nurses) Certification Support Program
Kaweah Health Foundation
Colorado
UCHealth MHC (Memorial Hospital Central) MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit) Moments that Matter Project
Memorial Health System Foundation
District of Columbia
Improving Palliative Care Teamwork in the ICU-Interprofessional Education: IMPACT-IPE (interprofessional education)
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Florida
Early Career Day
MAYO Clinic – Florida
Maryland
SJMC (St. Joseph Medical Center) NursePulse: Empowering Care Through Biometric Rings
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation, Inc.
Missouri
Nurturing Resilience and Transformative Healing: Supporting Trauma Adaptive Recovery (NORTH STAR)
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
New Jersey
You Have to Go Home, and You Can’t Stay Here: ICU Liberation and the Healthy Work Environment
Virtua Health Inc.
New York
AI-Powered Wearables and Peer Support
Kaleida Health d/b/a Buffalo General Medical Center
A charge nurse is not just a leader – they are the heartbeat of every shift
Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital
The THRIVE (Teamwork, Healing, Resilience, Integration, Vitality and Engagement) Program: A Pathway to Nursing Success, Retention, and Resilience in the Surgical ICU and Stepdown
Maimonides Medical Center
Career Continuum: Strategic Pipelining to Strengthen the Nursing Workforce
Northwell Health, Inc.
Project HEART (Helping, Educating, and Advancing Resilient Teams)
St. Francis Hospital
Pennsylvania
Leading the Charge for Employee Engagement
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Jefferson Health
Texas
Addressing the Challenge of Bidirectional Communication in Nursing Units
Memorial Hermann Foundation
Virginia
Establishing a Healthy Work Environment for BRH (Blue Ridge Hospice) RNs
Blue Ridge Hospice
Washington
ICU Recognition TV – I C the AMAZING in U
Providence Sacred Medical Center
Wisconsin
Addressing Moral Distress and Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Hospital nurses who Witness Unexpected Patient Deterioration
Marquette University
Additional Resources
AACN Critical Care Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments
AACN Critical Care Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) Frequently Asked Questions