CampusRN Job Blog
NJ Spotlight’s Interactive Map: NJ’s Nursing Homes
Monday, February 13, 2012
Often, the decision to place a loved one in a nursing home is difficult and fraught with emotional and financial considerations.
A year of nursing home care costs on average $50,000, according to the AARP. For those who can afford to shop around, the biggest question is how well a facility does at caring for the residents.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services attempts to help answer that question with its Nursing Home Compare data. This is a report card of sorts, with the federal agency giving ratings of between 1 and 5 stars to each nursing home based on the results of inspections.
In New Jersey, the Department of Health and Senior Services conducts inspections at least annually of all nursing homes that receive federal money.
CMS rates the results of these inspections according to the three main areas: health, including resident care, staff and resident interactions and environment; staffing, which measures the hours worked by nurses and assistants; and quality measures, which include data on vaccinations, pressure sores, depression, infections, and weight loss.
posted in: New Jersey
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New Jersey League for Nursing honors nurse for leadership
Friday, February 10, 2012
Elisabeth Micich Otero, RN, MSN, BCCC, quality manager and clinical educator at Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff, N.J., was honored with a New Jersey League for Nursing’s 2011 Nurse Recognition Award. She accepted the award Nov. 4 during the 2011 Nurse Recognition Awards Gala at The Pines Manor in Edison, N.J.
“Elisabeth is an accomplished nurse,” Elaine Whelan, RN-BC, MSN, clinical education director at CHCC, said in a news release. “She possesses a unique blend of expertise in psychiatry, gerontology, nursing professional development and quality improvement. She excels in everything she does.”
A resident of Scotch Plains, N.J., Otero is a 29-year veteran of CHCC and has held many leadership positions, such as charge nurse, supervisor, clinical nurse educator, director of performance improvement and education, and quality manager for the long-term care division.
“Elisabeth has a reputation for being a nurse who exhibits expert skills, tolerance and compassion and is totally committed to working within an ethical framework,” said Whelan, who nominated Otero for the award. “She is a great role model for anyone who wishes to pursue his/her lifelong dream and is determined to achieve it.”
posted in: New Jersey
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NJ Nurses Train to Coordinate Their Patients’ Care
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
A new crop of nurses is being trained as population care coordinators—nurses who serve as part coach, part health advocate to improve coordinated follow-up and preventive and wellness care.
The program is a collaboration among Horizon Healthcare Innovations (HHI) and its education partners Duke University School of Nursing and Rutgers University College of Nursing.
It’s attracting nurses like Janet Duni, who has been working for the past year as a population care coordinator at Vanguard Medical Group in Verona.
“I manage the most high-risk population in the practice,” she said, those with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. “I reach out to patients who have had a hospital discharge or an emergency room visit, to make sure that they are at home, that they are settled, that their medications are correct. If they need a follow-up appointment with a doctor, I make it.”
Duni, with 30 years experience as a nurse, including in the emergency room and intensive care, began the new 12-week training course in January, a combination of online and face-to face-instruction that focuses on case management using databases, skills Duni will use for the care she coordinates for 5,000 Vanguard patients who are Horizon members.
The training is funded by HHI, a new company launched in 2010 by Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey. “We are creating a new nursing leadership role that will support New Jersey’s primary care doctors and deliver improved care to patients,” said Christy Bell, chief executive of HHI.
Dr. Richard Popiel, president of HHI, said the company has been funding the hiring of population care coordinators since launching a patient-centered medical home pilot program more than a year ago with eight primary-care practices. That pilot was expanded with an additional 15 practices in January, and now involves about 80,000 patients. The curriculum to train more coordinators grew out of the work that has already begun in the medical practices.
“This gives us a great opportunity to formalize the education around what they are going to be doing in these practices,” Popiel said. “This is something nurses have not been taught in traditional nursing schools.”
posted in: New Jersey
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Visiting Nurse Association Health Group to Celebrate 100 Years of Compassionate Care in 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
RED BANK, NJ - Nearly 100 years ago, six women, led by a social reformer and philanthropist Geraldine L. Thompson, chartered a public health nursing organization to meet the needs of the broader Middletown community. Today that organization, known over the years as MCOSS, the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, and Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNAHG), has grown to be the largest nonprofit community health provider of home care, hospice and community-based services in the state and the second largest visiting nurse association in the nation, caring for more than 120,000 individuals each year, regardless of circumstance.
RED BANK, NJ - Nearly 100 years ago, six women, led by a social reformer and philanthropist Geraldine L. Thompson, chartered a public health nursing organization to meet the needs of the broader Middletown community. Today that organization, known over the years as MCOSS, the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, and Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNAHG), has grown to be the largest nonprofit community health provider of home care, hospice and community-based services in the state and the second largest visiting nurse association in the nation, caring for more than 120,000 individuals each year, regardless of circumstance.
To commemorate the organization’s 100 years of caring for the community, VNAHG has planned a number of events throughout the year culminating in a Centennial Celebration Gala to be held on historic Ellis Island the evening of June 23. Gala Co-Chairs Lynn Spector and Ann Gargano, representing their fellow Co-Chairs Bill Spector, Tony Gargano and Robert and Kathy Dibble, welcomed committee members to the Spector’s Rumson home for “Bellinis and Brunch” on January 18 to kick off the countdown to this grand anniversary event.
On June 23, Honorary Gala Chairmen The Honorable Brendan Byrne, The Honorable Thomas Kean and bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark will join revelers in the beautifully restored halls of Ellis Island, overlooking the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty to salute the vital work of VNA Health Group. The evening’s events will include dinner and dancing to the music of The Rhythm Shop. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to explore a special exhibit tracing the history of VNAHG, open to all Ellis Island visitors during the summer months. Plus, a silent auction will offer a wide array of intriguing items from travel to jewelry, sure to entice potential bidders.
During the course of the evening, dedicated volunteers and supporters of the VNAHG mission will also be honored, including Peter Carton. An esteemed attorney with the New Jersey firm Gibbons, P.C. and a respected community leader, Peter has continued his family’s long-time commitment to VNAHG through his years of invaluable assistance. Catherine Carton, Peter’s mother, served as President of the VNAHG during the 1970’s.
posted in: New Jersey, news
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New York, New Jersey See High Demand for CNSs
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Given the Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” report spelling out the essential role of nurse leaders in advancing evidence-based healthcare, clinical nurse specialists increasingly are in high demand, particularly in the critical care setting.
CNSs are key to developing the culture of quality mandated by healthcare reform that will help hospitals meet heightened requirements for reducing infection rates and improving outcomes, nurse leaders say.
The CNS role attracts nurses who love research and like to teach outside an academic environment. Their expertise is extremely specialized, they educate clinical staff, patients and families, and they help build staff satisfaction in their roles as mentors.
In New Jersey, where master’s degree nursing programs are heavily focused on nurse practitioners, CNSs are sometimes hard to find when openings arise.
Master’s programs for CNSs also were disappearing in New York, says Kimberly Glassman, RN, Phd, NEA-BC, senior vice president of patient care services and CNO at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. But now, she says, universities are responding to renewed demand for these positions, and within the past few years have started to add the CNS master’s programs back in.
posted in: National, New Jersey, Employer News, New York
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UMDNJ graduate students do residencies at Bergen Regional Medical Center.
Monday, January 24, 2011
An agreement between Bergen Regional Medical Center of Paramus and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will allow psychiatry graduate students to participate in a training program as part of their postgraduate education.
Psychiatry residents, under the supervision of attending physicians, will interact with adult residents and discuss cases. Psychiatry fellows who have completed their residency will treat children at the center, said Gary Rosenberg, medical director at Bergen Regional Medical Center.
posted in: New Jersey
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Funding for Research, Career Development Available to Junior Nurse Faculty Members
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholars (NFS) program has issued a call for proposals for its fourth cohort. The program seeks talented junior nurse faculty who are committed to teaching excellence and are interested in taking their research to the next level. The deadline for applications is February 8, 2011. RWJF will award up to 12 grants in this round.
Through the program, scholars: receive a three-year $350,000 research grant and salary support; have protected time to focus on program activities; work closely with mentors; and receive training to help them plan their academic careers, conduct research, influence health policy and develop leadership skills.
posted in: New Jersey
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School of Nursing Offers Loan Forgiveness Program
Monday, August 30, 2010
Students at Loyola University New Orleans School of Nursing can receive an advanced graduate degree, with the federal government picking up most of the expense.
The Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program is a federal grant worth more than $423,000, specifically designed to attract graduate nursing students to the classroom, first as a student and then as faculty. The grant will pay up to 85 percent of graduate degree loans in return for four years of full-time employment as a faculty member in a U.S. school of nursing upon graduation.Read Full Article
posted in: Career, National, New Jersey, news, Employer News
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Nurse aide program offered at Hunterdon Polytech
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Seats are available in Hunterdon Polytech’s state-certified nurse aide program. Nurse aides perform nursing tasks and assist charge nurses in the care of patients. The adult education course can lead to employment in a nursing home or health care facility, careers expected to be in demand as the population ages.
The 90-hour part-time day program begins April 6 at the Bartles Corner campus, Raritan Township. Classes are 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays. It costs $891. Students who register online can save 10% on their tuition.
posted in: New Jersey, news
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Seton Hall’s College of Nursing Awards Scholarships to Accelerated Students
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Seton Hall University College of Nursing in South Orange, N.J., received funding to award 15 $10,000 scholarships through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. Grants provided through this program will be used for scholarships to maximize diversity and increase the quantity of students enrolled in Seton Hall’s accelerated master’s nursing program.
“This funding has made it possible for Seton Hall University to enhance our diversity to better reflect the community we serve,” Phyllis Shanley Hansell, RN, EdD, FAAN, dean of the college of nursing, said in a news release.
posted in: New Jersey, news
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