For Immediate Release: 01/07/2010

Contact: Tim Tassa 202-777-1172 ttassa@aannet.org

Dr. Naylor Receives Episteme Award
Academy Fellow Given Prestigious Nursing Accolade

WASHINGTON – For her refinement of the Transitional Care Model and resolve to improve the treatment of high-risk, chronically ill patients, American Academy of Nursing (AAN) Fellow Mary Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, was awarded the Baxter International Foundation’s 2009 Episteme Award.

According to the Baxter Foundation, the award, which was presented by Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) to Dr. Naylor on Nov. 3, is conferred upon a nurse who has significantly contributed to the development of nursing knowledge by advancing and applying practices and services that are measurable and beneficial to the public.

"On behalf of all the Academy Fellows, I congratulate Dr. Naylor on receipt of the Episteme Award,” Academy President Catherine Gilliss said. “Her work promises to transform the way in which we organize and deliver care to improve patient outcomes. The recognition is fitting."

Naylor, an Edge Runner and integral member of AAN’s Raise the Voice campaign, developed the Transitional Care Model, an evidence-based model of care enlisting Advance Practice Nurses (APN) to ensure a patient’s seamless transition from hospital to home care, reducing the risk of future hospital readmissions. APNs forge a relationship with patients shortly after hospital admission, identify their health goals, develop a discharge plan in collaboration with the patient and family, and then implement the plan following discharge.

The model was proposed by Congress as a new Medicare benefit under H.R. 2773, the Medicare Transitional Care Act of 2009. Its outcomes include both clinical and financial benefits: findings from clinical trials reported fewer overall rehospitalizations and shorter hospital stays, which significantly reduce hospitalization and Medicare costs, and increased patient satisfaction.

“I’m proud to receive this recognition on behalf of our entire interdisciplinary team,” Naylor said in a release by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). “This award recognizes a body of science that shines a spotlight on the contributions of nurses, working in collaboration with the health care team to improve the care and outcomes of vulnerable, chronically ill adults who are making the difficult transition from hospitals to home.”

Naylor has been a Fellow since 1986 and is the Marion S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and Director of the New Courtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She is also the Director of the RWJF-sponsored Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative.

For more information on the Academy’s Raise the Voice campaign visit www.aannet.org/raisethevoice.

To view the Transitional Care Model’s Edge Runner profile click here.

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The American Academy of Nursing (www.aannet.org) anticipates and tracks national and international trends in health care, while addressing resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy. The Academy’s mission is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge
 

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