Press Release
Date: 01-05-12Name: Lynn McFarlane Phone: 973 972 8539
Email: mcfarlld@umdnj.edu
UMDNJ-School of Nursing Receives Grant to Help Educate Nurses to Serve Children in Foster Care
|
The grant will be used to develop a child welfare curriculum at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing to meet the healthcare and mental health needs of children in New Jersey's foster care system.
Children in foster care, otherwise known as "out of home placement," often experience physical, developmental, behavioral and mental health problems that require specialized nursing skills, notes Nina Colabelli, RN, director of the Child Health Program (CHP). Established in 2000, the CHP has managed health services for hundreds of foster-care children throughout New Jersey since 2007"with exceptional outcomes in the areas of immunization, mental health, dental screening and well-child care.
"We are very excited to branch out into the field of child welfare nursing. It is our great hope that the curriculum developed at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing will attract qualified nurses to this important subspecialty. It is also our aspiration that this curriculum becomes the national standard in teaching and attracting nurses to this extremely important field," said
M. Steven Silbermann, spokesperson for the Rosanne H. Silbermann Foundation. The non-profit charitable family foundation, established by the late Rosanne H. Silbermann in 1998, supports medical, educational and religious organizations.
"To the best of our knowledge, no other nursing school offers a subspecialty in child welfare nursing," says Colabelli. "Our goal is to establish a program that will become a model for nursing practice in child welfare throughout the nation. We are particularly proud because this initiative is being led by nurses."
"Currently, the CHP provides a one-day elective field practicum for students enrolled in our bachelor's degree program," explains Susan Salmond, EdD, RN, dean at UMDNJ-School of Nursing. "This three-year grant allows us to expand the curriculum to four semesters, adding a preceptorship experience and student paper presentations. We will also host a national symposium to share our work and promote discussion and action aimed at improving nursing care for these vulnerable children."
About UMDNJ-School of Nursing and the FXB Center
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-School of Nursing, established in 1992, offers a comprehensive program of education, research, clinical practice and community service focused on diverse, underserved populations. Its major initiatives include the Fran"ois-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center, which is committed to improving the health of vulnerable women, children, youth and families across the globe. UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 6,000 students on five campuses attending its School of Nursing, three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, and New Jersey's only school of public health. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare.
About New Jersey Health Foundation
New Jersey Health Foundation, established in 2002 as a not-for-profit public charity, is the parent company to the Foundation of UMDNJ, which solicits private sector support for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and to Foundation Venture Capital Group, LLC, which makes private equity investments in start-up technology companies founded by researchers affiliated with the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey.
