I think we have done a pretty good job at the John A. Hartford Foundation of letting folks know that we have changed our strategic direction—that we are moving away from our signature, long-term faculty development investments to a more practice-driven focus to improve the health of older adults.
And I feel fairly confident that people know we are doing this because of the demographic imperative (e.g, in 2011, the first of the Baby Boomers turned 65 and 10,000 people celebrate this birthday every day) and because of the multiple federal health care opportunities now available potentially aligned with our mission.
Chris has blogged about our strategic direction and new priorities and so have others. We also have talked frequently about this while on the road.
However, given the number of people that frantically grab their pencils and scribble like my classmates when Mrs. Easton, my 8th grade history teacher, shared Friday’s test answers on Tuesday, I know that questions remain regarding our new funding areas and what they aim to do.
Therefore, over the next few weeks, we will be dedicating a blog to each of our five new funding portfolios that will realize our practice-focused vision to improve the health of older Americans. These portfolios and their respective Hartford program officers are: Leadership in Action (moi), Linking Education and Practice (Nora OBrien-Suric), Tools and Measures for Quality Care (Wally Patawaran), Communication & Policy (Marcus Escobedo), and Developing and Disseminating Models of Care (Amy Berman).
Through this series of blogs, we aim to provide an overall description of what we intend the portfolio to look like. In follow-up blogs, we will showcase people and projects that exemplify these portfolios in action. But mind you, these portfolios very much remain a work in progress and we rely heavily upon you—our partners—to help shape our efforts going forward. And thus, we expect you to share your thoughts and guidance as well. Our pencils are ready, Mrs. Easton.
So, holding true to my portfolio’s title, I will go first. (Throat clearing):
The Leadership in Action portfolio will capitalize on the greatest asset of the Hartford Foundation—the geriatric-expert grantees we have supported over the past 30 years who are poised to make change in the practice environment to advance our mission to improve the health of older Americans. Grants in this portfolio will arm these leaders with the tools, resources, platforms, and opportunities to catalyze change in the way health care is delivered to our aging society.
Due to the nature of our previous grant making, the Hartford Foundation has most often provided discipline-specific support for academically siloed projects (and we mean this in the best way possible). This has not led to much disciplinary interaction among our aging-focused grantees nor resulted in project-driven cross pollination.
There have been some programmatic exceptions. Our annual Communications Conference hosted by John Beilenson and Chris Gherst of SCP has for years brought together Hartford social workers, nurses, and physicians to sharpen their communication skills. The Policy Leadership Institute of the Gerontological Society of America originally started out as a social work effort and now includes nursing and medicine. And the Practice Change Fellows Program funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and Hartford Foundation has been interdisciplinary from the get-go.
Grants in the Leadership in Action portfolio will bring interdisciplinary Hartford-funded groups together to inspire connections and collaborative practice-driven team efforts. Examples of these projects include the Practice Change Leaders and the Change AGEnts Initiative. By the way, Marcus and I proudly presented the AGEnts proposal to our Board of Trustees at their meeting last week. The Trustees wholeheartedly endorse the AGEnts Initiative as a signature, long-term investment of the Foundation in partnership with the Gerontological Society of America and our leaders—Drs. Laura Gitlin and Nancy Whitelaw—to improve the way health care is delivered to older Americans.
We will be posting more on opportunities within the Change AGEnts Initiative soon to connect and provide the skills, resources, and training to make practice change.
In addition to bridging the disciplines, we will focus on leadership—an area that is not new to us. We know, have funded, and seen the value of this work for some time.
Our 2008 Annual Report was A Call for Leadership in Aging. We highlighted five essential leadership development strategies: formal training, mentoring, peer networking, and encouraging a new generation to answer the call to lead. And we shined a spotlight on four Hartford leadership development projects including the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Initiative (now known as the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence), the Social Work Faculty Scholars Policy Leadership Institute, the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs: Geriatrics Leadership Scholars Program, and the Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy.
Now, you question-driven sorts might be saying this information is all helpful and fine, but what exactly is Hartford going to do? What are their specific aims?
I think an important answer is that we expect Change AGEnts and others to find their own opportunities at the local, regional, and national level by all means available. We invite them to take leadership and become a movement. We can’t do it for them. We ask: If not them, who? If not now, when? The Hartford Foundation (unlike Mrs. Easton) does not have all the answers and we expect you to figure it out with us.
So, in summary, for those of you taking notes, the Leadership in Action portfolio will bridge and catalyze gero experts (the LEADERSHIP piece) across our historically siloed disciplines and give license, resources, and opportunities to make practice change to improve the health of our aging society (the ACTION piece).
Many Hartford pioneers are already doing so. Starting with next Tuesday’s Health AGEnda blog, we will feature some of these Leaders in Action forerunners, beginning with Sarah Szanton, PhD, RN, at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. If you want a preview (and don’t just take my word for what a superstar she is—check out her recent national news coverage in Forbes and by the Associated Press.
You may now put down your pencils, but continue to stay tuned. We have many more noteworthy people, projects, and portfolios to blog about.