Minnesota Nursing Magazine Spring/Summer 2012 - School of ...

center news
center director:
Ann Garwick, PhD, RN, FAAN
mission:
The center prepares pediatric nursing leaders to improve the quality of care and systems of care for
children and youth with an added emphasis on those with special health care needs. Graduates are
prepared for leadership roles in primary and specialty care of children and youth, the organization
and delivery of health services, policy, research, education, and advocacy. u
The center’s holistic approach focuses on
family-centered care within cultural and
community contexts.
for more information:
Email: CSHCN@umn.edu
www.nursing.umn.edu/CCSHCN
center for
children with special health
care needs
Preparing Leaders in Pain
and Palliative Care
Susan O’Conner-Von, PhD, RN, is a nationally known expert in
the area of pain and palliative care who is preparing health care
professionals to provide state of the science care. She was 1 of 60
participants to be selected to attend the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) Pain Methodologies Boot Camp at National Institutes
of Health in Bethesda, Maryland in July 2011.
O’Conner-Von is currently serving as the expert faculty member
on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health
Resources and Services Administration, Rural Health Workforce
Development Program grant entitled Minnesota Health Net’s
Palliative Care Initiative. The goal of this Palliative Care Initiative
is to educate, support, recruit and retain primary care providers
and other health care professionals who have a commitment to
providing palliative care in the Minnesota Health Net network
which provides care in rural and underserved areas.
Quality Care Measures
Needed for Children
Receiving Home Care
Wendy Looman, PhD, RN, CNP, and Bonnie Westra, PhD, RN,
FAAN, FACMI, are collaborating with the Minnesota Home Care
Association on a new project to measure outcomes for children
with chronic conditions in home care. Looman, Westra and
several community leaders in pediatric home care in Minnesota
are developing and testing a national tool to help policymakers,
health care administrators, providers, and the general public
evaluate the health status and access to quality care of children
with chronic conditions. This initiative will help determine to
what extent funded programs are achieving their goal to provide
health care services for this population. This community-university
collaborative project focuses on the needs of the “whole child,”
as opposed to individual clinical concerns, and will facilitate
measuring the effectiveness of care transitions for children with
chronic conditions. The team has applied for research funding to
access technology within the University of Minnesota Clinical
Translational Science Institute (CTSI) for collecting, managing, and
exchanging data on outcomes of health care delivery for children.
This core set of pediatric outcome measures for home care
would be the first of its kind in the nation.
Continuing Education Module 10
Pervasive Developmental
Disorders in Childhood
Jane Marie Sulzle, DNP, RN, CNS, is a clinical nurse specialist in Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry with more than 30 years experience
working with children with mental health disorders. Sulzle’s
presentation on Pervasive Developmental Disorders focuses on
strategies for caring for children within various clinical settings.
To see all 10 self-paced CSHCN continuing education modules, go
to www.nursing.umn.edu/CCSHCN.
istockphoto/empphotography
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