Pennsylvania Governor Lends Support to Nurse Led Models of Care

The role that nurses play in providing quality health care to all Americans is not lost on Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. In his acceptance speech as the new advisory chair for the American Academy of Nursing’s (AAN) Raise the Voice Campaign ,Rendell promised to continue working to help shape public health policy that will benefit all citizens now and in the future. The governor noted that the Commonwealth’s Prescription for Pennsylvania had dramatically expanded the scope of practice for nurses so they could provide services to the full extent of their training. Also, Pennsylvania is home to six "Edge Runners," nurse leaders whose innovations have demonstrated proven solutions. One such project is the 11th Street Family Health Services.

Through Raise the Voice, AAN identifies and promotes nurse-led or nurse-designed models of health care that have demonstrated positive clinical and financial outcomes.

Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, senior vice president and director of the AARP Public Policy Institute and chief strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America served on a panel examining how reforms that reflect nursing innovations led by visionaries like Governor Rendell paved the way for the landmark federal legislation enacted in March, and how nurses will be critical to its implementation.

Read more here.