Missouri named future of nursing action coalition to help ensure high-quality, patient-centered health care: announcement coincides with first year since IOM report release.

Missouri Action Coalition has been selected as an Action Coalition by the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, coordinated through the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA), an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), to ensure all Americans have access to high-quality care, with nurses contributing to the full extent of their capabilities.

Missouri Action Coalition will work with the campaign to implement the recommendations of the 2010 landmark Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The Missouri Action Coalition application was initiated by the Missouri Nurses Association, Missouri League for Nursing, and Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance.

"We are thrilled to add the Missouri Action Coalition to the Action Coalition network," said Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, senior adviser for nursing at RWJF and director of Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. "The Campaign for Action must work at every level to build and sustain the changes necessary to improve health care for all Americans, and we know the contributions of the Missouri Action Coalition will be invaluable as we move forward."

"The expertise of our coalition members and our proven capacity were key factors in being selected," said Jill Kliethermes, Chief Executive Officer, Missouri Nurses Association. "As a participant in the movement to maximize the contributions of the nurses who deliver health care in our state and nation, Missouri Action Coalition is excited to bring its energy and ideas to the groundbreaking effort."

Jill Kliethermes noted that Missouri Action Coalition plans to focus on the areas of education, practice, leadership, and workplace/workforce to implement key recommendations of the IOM report. Action Coalitions are the driving force of the campaign at the local and state levels.

The campaign seeks active participation from states, national organizations and individuals from health care, business, education, government and philanthropic sectors to ensure that the recommendations are translated into actions that result in improved patient-centered care. Specifically, the Campaign for Action is working to implement the recommendations of the IOM report with an emphasis on:

* Strengthening nurse education and training;

* Enabling nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training;

* Advancing interprofessional collaboration among health care professionals to ensure coordinated and improved patient care;

* Expanding leadership ranks to ensure nurses have a voice on management teams, in boardrooms and during policy debates; and

* Improving health care workforce data collection to better assess and project workforce requirements.

For more information about the Missouri Action Coalition, visit the Missouri Nurses Association website at www.missourinurses.org. The website contains information on upcoming conference call/webinars/meetings, commitment forms to become more involved, notes from past meeting and calls, and a list of organizations that have pledged their support.