For Immediate Release Media Contact: Melissa Kadish

February 16, 2010 202-994-8874; mcmmsk@gwumc.edu

WASHINGTON—The George Washington University’s Department of Nursing Education was awarded a $900,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to launch The Nursing Alliance for Quality Care (NAQC). Through a strategic and collaborative effort of the nation’s most prestigious nursing organizations, NAQC will give a unified voice to the profession of nursing, strengthening its ability to influence transparency, accountability, and quality-related health reform agendas.

GW’s Department of Nursing Education will coordinate the overall program, and provide expert advice and support for the Alliance by working with nursing organizations and consumer groups to focus its advocacy efforts on quality care.

“Our goal is to become the “go to” source on quality and safety in nursing for organizations, policy makers and schools of nursing,” said Ellen M. Dawson, Ph.D., A.N.P., chair of GW’s Department of Nursing. Dr. Dawson, along with Jean Johnson, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., senior associate dean for Health Sciences, will serve as co-Principle Investigators of the Alliance.

"The role of nursing in health care quality improvement has always been critically important. It's even more important now as improving the quality and value of patient care takes center-stage," said Michael W. Painter, J.D., M.D., senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "The Nursing Alliance for Quality Care will help create a durable collaboration among nurses, patients, and other health care stakeholders that will help us all improve care."

To achieve this aim, the NAQC will work to ensure that patients receive the right care at the right time, that nurses actively advocate and are accountable for consumer-centered, high quality health care, and that policymakers recognize the contributions of nurses in advancing consumer-centered, high quality health care.

”In the era of health care reform, recognizing the critical role of nurses in quality care, is imperative. This Alliance will bring patient needs to the forefront of the reform debate." said John F. Williams, M.D., Ed.D., M.P.H., Provost and Vice President for Health Affairs, GW Medical Center.

For more information about the NAQC initiative, contact Jan Bull at the GWU project office at 202.994.5083, or visit the initiative website at www.NursingAQC.org. To receive updates on important safety-related health policy updates, upcoming events related to quality and health policy, and a periodic e-newsletter, we invite you to request to join our e-list via our website or by emailing us at NursingAlliance@gmail.com

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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 improving the health and health care of all Americans, we work with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years we’ve brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, we expect to make a difference in your lifetime.

About The George Washington University Medical Center The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for 176 years. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11^th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information about the GW Medical Center, visit www.gwumc.edu.