Versant Advantage Hosts NACHRI-Sponsored Webinar; Panel of Experts to Discuss Strategies for Implementing Evidence-Based Residencies for New Graduate Nurses at Three of the Nation's Top Children's Hospitals.

Versant Advantage, Inc.:

WHAT:

Versant Advantage, Inc., developers of the Versant RN Residency, will host "The Journey from Knowledge to Knowing: Successfully Implementing an Evidence-based RN Residency," a Web conference sponsored by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI).

The 90-minute Web conference will feature a panel of representatives from pediatric hospitals nationwide. Executive decision-makers and nursing directors will discuss the staffing issues they faced and how the successful implementation of the Versant RN Residency allowed them to establish an evidence-based approach to RN professional development, accelerate new graduate onboarding and substantially improve new graduate retention at 12 and 24 months.

WHO:

Keynote speakers include:

--Bill Noce, President and Chief Executive Officer, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

--Katy Dalke, Director of the RN Residency in Pediatrics, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital

--Joyce Volsch, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital

--Rhonda Foster, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Children's Hospital of Michigan

--Larissa Africa, Senior Implementation Director, Versant RN Residency

There will be a special introduction from Cecily Betz, PhD, RN, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing and the Director of Nursing Training at the USC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at CHLA.

NACHRI's field Director for Patient Care FOCUS Groups, Lynne Lostoco, RN, MSN, will moderate the session.

WHY:

Studies have predicted that today's acute nursing shortage will worsen exponentially over the next 15 years. With a majority of the current nursing workforce quickly approaching retirement, hospitals will soon have no choice but to rely on an often-overlooked resource -- the new graduate RN. Yet, these new graduate RNs can feel overwhelmed and unprepared for the rigor of the clinical setting, leaving nurse managers without confident, competent RNs to care for their patients.

Additionally, new graduate RN turnover is currently between 35 and 60 percent within the first 12 months of employment and 57 percent at two years of hire at many institutions; this, coupled with the fact that direct costs of filling a vacated RN position are estimated to be at least 100 percent of a new graduate RN's annual salary, means that new graduate RN turnover greatly affects a hospital's financial success.

NACHRI is committed to promoting the health and well-being of children and their families by helping its members discover innovative and efficient ways to meet the challenges facing pediatric healthcare today. The Versant RN Residency serves as one such proven innovation that is addressing the challenge of staffing through an integrated, evidence-based approach for stabilizing the pediatric nurse workforce.

WHEN:

Wednesday, April 26, 2006
12:00p.m. - 1:30p.m. Eastern      11:00a.m. - 12:30p.m. Central
10:00a.m. - 11:30a.m. Mountain    9:00a.m. - 10:30a.m. Pacific

To register for the Webinar, please contact Nicolette Couch at NACHRI 703-797-6087 or [e-mail].

For more information on the Versant RN Residency, please visit: www.Versant.org

About Versant Advantage, Inc. and the Versant RN Residency:

Established by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Versant Advantage, Inc. is a non-profit public benefit corporation developed in response to the severe national shortage of experienced nurses. Designed by nurses for nurses, Versant is a leading provider of integrated, evidence-based and Web-facilitated programs that assist hospitals and healthcare organizations with strategically stabilizing their RN workforce while optimizing financial performance. Versant's clients include leading healthcare institutions, such as Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, John Muir Medical Center, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The Versant RN Residency is a comprehensive, evidence-based, outcome-driven program that transitions new graduate nurses from the novice student role to competent and confident professional clinician. Versant residents are supported by a network of senior nurses who act as preceptors, mentors and debriefers. Residents are enriched by interactive classes and skills labs that complement their simultaneous clinical experiences. Versant Voyager(TM) is the Web-based application that executes Versant's suite of workforce development applications to track and monitor professional growth. More than 1800 newly graduated registered nursing students from over 20 hospitals nationwide have completed the Versant RN Residency.