This blog represents the kickoff of our 10th anniversary celebration for Hartford’s Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) initiative. This initiative, founded in 2000, includes a geriatric nurse scholars and fellows program, nine Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence throughout the country, and a coordinating center housed at the American Academy of Nursing under the dedicated leadership of Dr. Patricia Archbold and Program Manager Patricia Franklin. If outcomes and leadership are any measure, BAGNC has proven a phenomenal success story.
Consider, for example, Chip Bailey, RN, PhD. Although applying for the BAGNC Claire M. Fagin postdoctoral fellowship wasn’t originally his idea—a mentor, Professor Emerita Meridean Maas of the University of Iowa, emphatically “encouraged” him to apply—he quickly realized it was an excellent opportunity. He took advantage of the gero-expert nurse researchers available through BAGNC , eventually lining up five mentors. The financial support and excellent mentoring afforded by the program allowed him to focus on his research on the psycho-social consequences for prostate cancer and hepatitis C patients assigned to “watchful waiting” rather than immediate treatment. In addition, Chip served as a role model in the classroom. He developed and taught a gerontological nursing course recognized by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing as the best in the country in 2004.
Chip is now an associate professor at the School of Nursing at Duke University, awaiting a tenure decision. He calls his BAGNC award a “gift,” and he continues to share that gift with others by stepping into the mentor’s role for both a Claire M. Fagin Fellow and a BAGNC predoctoral scholar and by encouraging other promising students to apply for a BAGNC award. An upcoming report featuring Chip and other BAGNC stars will be available in November 2010, written by the external evaluation team of the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative led by Dr. Shoshanna Sofaer at Baruch College.
Sarah Szanton, PhD, MSN, CRNP, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Systems and Outcomes at Johns Hopkins, benefited from BAGNC support at both the pre- and post-doctoral levels. Her predoctoral award allowed her to translate her experiences as a nurse practitioner visiting homebound, low-income elderly patients into research on the health effects of poverty. Now a Claire M. Fagin postdoctoral fellow, Szanton is pilot-testing a solution: an intervention featuring home visits from a nurse, an occupational therapist, and a handyman that can help low-income older adults age in place.
"Being part of the Hartford family has been incredibly valuable,” says Szanton. “As a BAGNC scholar, I had time and financial support for my research, along with connections to influential leaders, which positioned me well for my first tenure-track position. The BAGNC fellowship has enabled me to obtain additional funding from NIH to continue my research and help launch my academic career." Hartford’s upcoming 2010 annual report, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the BAGNC, will feature an expanded profile of Dr. Szanton.
These outstanding nurses are only two among over 200 who launched careers in academic geriatric nursing with BAGNC support. For additional profiles, see our 2008 annual report, which featured two BAGNC nurses who have gone on to significantly advance the field of geriatric nursing: Dr. Lazelle Benefield and Dr. Dana Carthron.
“We are incredibly proud of the people and projects that have emerged as a result of the BAGNC Initiative,” says Cory Rieder, Executive Director and Treasurer of the Hartford Foundation. “We are, however, not done. The Hartford Foundation remains committed to this Initiative as we grow nursing leaders to address the needs of our rapidly aging society.”
Throughout 2010, the Hartford Foundation, the BAGNC Initiative housed at the American Academy of Nursing, and our Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence will be celebrating the initiative’s achievements. The anniversary will be the highlight of a special 2011 issue of Nursing Outlook, the 2010 Hartford Foundation Annual Report, a YouTube video contest on “A Day in the Life of a Gerontological Nurse,” and a series on this blog. The anniversary’s finale will take place in November 2010 at the BAGNC Leadership Conference in New Orleans.
We welcome you to celebrate with us. Stay tuned.
For more information about the BAGNC Initiative, please see also our Grants at Work article.
Read all five blogs in the BAGNC 10th Anniversary series: