Nursing Initiatives
Partners Investing In Nursing's Future | Lisa DeFrancis Memorial Nurses' Fund
The Partners Investing in Nursing's Future program is collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation. Information about Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future is available at www.PartnersInNursing.org.
The Community Foundation Helps Address Tennessee ’s Nursing Shortage
Tennessee expected to have the highest nursing shortage in the Southeast
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, along with The Tennessee Center for Nursing and other statewide partners, has recently been selected as one of 11 foundations nationwide to receive funding in the second year of Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN), a national initiative to develop solutions to America’s nursing shortage.
The U.S. Government projects a shortfall of 800,000 nurses by the year 2020. Tennessee will be able to meet only half of the demand for RNs by 2020, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. This new program aims to address the crisis and increase the number of nurse educators, help retain nurses by creating a positive work environment and give nursing students more educational opportunities in clinical settings.
Led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation, the national program encourages local foundations to act as catalysts in developing grassroots strategies to establish a stable, adequate nursing workforce. To help develop solutions and lead efforts within the region, The Community Foundation and its consortium of partners have been awarded a two-year grant of $250,000. The total budget with matching funds from partners is $417,536.
“The nursing shortage crisis is an important issue for all of us,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. “We are honored to have been able to convene so many qualified organizations to work together to better quality care for all Tennesseans. We look forward to continuing to work on this critical issue.”
About The Tennessee Center for Nursing
The Tennessee Center for Nursing, Inc. (TCN), is a statewide nonprofit organization composed of nursing educators, providers, insurers, business representatives, policy makers, consumers, and representatives of professional nursing organizations to guide the ongoing development of an appropriate nursing work force.
PIN Funding Partners
Other funding partners helping to make possible the goals of Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future are Baptist Healing Trust, The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, East Tennessee Foundation, HCA, HCA Foundation, Memorial Foundation, Nashville Career Advancement Center, the Tennessee Center for Nursing, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Tennessee Nurses Foundation, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Statistics
- There will be a shortage of more than 35,000 registered nurses in Tennessee by the year 2020, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
- An estimated 125,000 qualified applicants were turned away from U.S. schools of nursing, according to a 2004 preliminary report from the National League for Nursing. Faculty shortages are limiting student enrollment while the demand for registered nurses continues to grow.
- Survey findings from a 2002 study by the Southern Regional Board of Education show that the combination of faculty vacancies and newly budgeted positions points to a 12% shortfall in the number of nurse educators needed.
Lisa DeFrancis Memorial Nurses' Fund
The Lisa DeFrancis Memorial Nurses' Fund provides annual grants through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to nurses needing respite.
Lisa DeFrancis was an artist. The graphic designer that she was, she cared about the construction and the look of everything around her. Most of all she cared about her family. She got to see her youngest turn six, but not seven. She got to see her oldest daughter go to college but not graduate. She got to be 46, but not 47 years old. What she noticed was caring and because of the great care she received as a cancer patient, she established the Lisa DeFrancis Memorial Nurses' Fund to provide respite and rejuvenation to the men and women whose long hours and difficult work conditions do not deter them from showing extraordinary devotion and care to their patients.
Lisa, her husband Henry Isaacs and their three children enjoyed traveling to new places and meeting new people. The energy collected and stored from these times helped fuel Lisa's desire to live and fight. Today, Henry Isaacs continues Lisa's fight. An accomplished artist, Henry's works are represented in public and private collections throughout the world and in many galleries, including some in Middle Tennessee. A portion of his plein-air paintings are sold with proceeds benefitting the Lisa DeFrancis Memorial Nurses' Fund.
