Vermont Action Coalition announces Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Action Coalition has announced the selection of 25 Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows, including Krystina Laychak, RN, MSN, Director of Nursing at The Manor, Morrisville, VT

At a time when few nurses serve on boards of directors, this class of Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows will be prepared to seek board positions under the leadership of Betty Rambur, PhD, RN, professor of nursing and health policy, University of Vermont. They will learn leadership skills, strategies for career development, how health policy is developed and implemented, and other essential information. More than 50 Vermont nurses were nominated for the program, and 25 have been selected.

“This program will prepare the nurse fellows to lead and inform health care decision-making by leveraging their frontline perspective and providing additional insight into the business and financing of health care,” said Mary Val Palumbo, DNP, APRN, associate professor of nursing, University of Vermont and co-lead of the Vermont Action Coalition.

The nurse fellows gathered for the first time at the Vermont Organization of Nurse Leaders’ Summit on April 4, 2014 at the Stoweflake Resort. AARP senior vice president Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, the chief strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America, will deliver the keynote address entitled “Promoting the Health of our Nation: Innovation, Challenges and Policy.” She will underscore the role of nurses in championing quality health care.

The Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows are:

Kristin Baker Fletcher Allen Health Care

Ann Bannister Rutland Public Schools

Johanna Beliveau Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Maureen Boardman Little Rivers Health Center - Dartmouth/Hitchcock

Rhonda Derochers Franklin County Home Health Care

Jason Garbarino University of Vermont

John Green Southern Vermont Medical Center

Mary Hill Vermont Technical College

Jennifer Holton-Clapp Community Health Services of Lamoille Valley

Margaret Hugg Mount Ascutney Hospital and Health Center

Krystina Laychak The Manor, Morrisville, VT

Evan Mahakian Fletcher Allen Health Care

Sharon Mallett North Country Hospital

Bonni Martin Fletcher Allen Health Care

Alicia McNeil Vermont Department of Health

Angel Means Visiting Nurse Association - Chittenden & Grand Isle

Nicole Moran Rutland Regional Medical Center

Lisa Murphy Marathon Health

Jenna Page Fletcher Allen Health Care

Terry Powers-Phaneuf Fletcher Allen Health Care

Beth Reilly Fletcher Allen Health Care

Tara Reil Vermont Department of Health

Eileen Rice Southern Vermont College

Meredith Roberts Vermont Technical College

Michelle Stearns Vermont Technical College

The Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows program is made possible by a Future of Nursing State Implementation Program (SIP) grant, received in December 2014. SIP is a $4.5 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that helps states prepare the nursing profession to address our nation’s most pressing health care challenges—access, quality, and cost. The Vermont Action Coalition’s SIP grant is aimed specifically at making more Vermont nurses available to serve on committees and boards, including state and local government boards and commissions, elected offices, and hospital and community boards.

The Vermont Action Coalition is led by Palumbo and Jan Carney, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and associate dean for public health, University of Vermont.

About the Vermont Action Coalition:

The Vermont Action Coalition is part of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, a nationwide movement to improve health and health care through nursing. An initiative of AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Campaign includes Action Coalitions in 50 states and the District of Columbia working to implement the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing recommendations. Learn more at www.campaignforaction.org. Follow the Campaign for Action on Twitter at @Campaign4Action and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CampaignForAction.

About The Manor:

The Manor provides skilled nursing, residential care and short term rehabilitation in a homelike setting. For more information, contact Mary L. Collins, Director of Marketing at The Manor, 802-888-8700. Email: [email protected]

Source: The Manor, Inc. April 16, 2014