Mary Naylor, third from left, receives Episteme Award from Celene Peurye, executive director of The Baxter International Foundation. They are flanked by Patricia Thompson, CEO of the Honor Society of Nursing, and Carol Huston, honor society president.

Episteme Laureate
Mary D. Naylor, RN, PhD, FAAN, Marion S.Ware Professor in Gerontology and director of the New Courtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania was presented the Episteme Award today for her work in developing the Transitional Care Model for chronically ill older adults. Naylor is the eleventh recipient of the Episteme Award, an award that, since 1989, has been presented biannually by The Baxter International Foundation of Deerfield, Illinois, USA. Regarded by many as nursing’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize, the award was presented by Celene Peurye, executive director of the foundation.

Since 1989, Naylor has led an interdisciplinary program of research designed to improve outcomes and reduce costs of care for vulnerable community-based elders. The Transitional Care Model developed by Naylor and her team of researchers is an innovative approach to addressing the needs of high-risk, chronically ill elders and their family caregivers.

To date, Naylor and her research team have completed three National Institute of Nursing Research-funded randomized clinical trials, focusing on discharge planning and home follow-up of high-risk elders by advanced practice nurses. Recently, they have partnered with a major insurance organization and health care plan to translate this model into the “real world” of clinical practice and promote its widespread adoption.

In accepting the award, Naylor paid special tribute to three nurse pioneers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing who have encouraged her and facilitated her research: Claire M. Fagin, RN, PhD, FAAN; Dorothy “Dottie” Brooten, RN, PhD, FAAN; and Afaf I. Meleis, RN, PhD, FAAN, the current dean of the school. Meleis, who was present at today’s presentation ceremony, told Naylor: “The entire university is proud of you. … [Through your work] you are on your way to changing health policy in the United States.”

“We have not yet adequately shifted from our focus on acute care to taking care of those with chronic conditions,” said Naylor in a presentation describing her work. She noted that 75 to 80 percent of all health care costs are associated with caring for those with chronic conditions, with one out of five who receive hospital care being readmitted within 30 days. These people are devastated, she said, and not only is their quality of life severely affected by our inability to meet their needs, but family caregivers are also tremendously affected.

Kristene Dreifuerst, RN, MS, ACNS-BC, CNE, received the Joan K. Stout,  RN, Simulation and Technology Research Grant. Accepting the award from Stout on behalf of Drweifuerst is Dan Pesut, past president of STTI.

In randomized control trials conducted by Naylor and her team, the Transitional Care Model has increased the time to first readmission, improved physical function of those receiving care and increased patient satisfaction. Naylor and her colleagues are also engaged in a study funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute for Nursing Research that will examine, over time, the natural history of changes in health and quality of life among elders newly admitted to long-term care settings or services.

Naylor is the national program director of the interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI), which is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

International Leadership Institute
The International Leadership Institute (ILI) promoted nursing leadership with several special sessions this week. Today, ILI presented sessions on “Developing board-level nursing leaders for the future” and “Nurse faculty leadership development: Building the next generation of nurse faculty.” Other ILI sessions have covered geriatric initiatives and maternal-child health.

Marketplace
Open through tomorrow, 4 November, the Marketplace is convention attendees’ one-stop-shop for STTI books, merchandise, apparel, gift items and convention souvenirs. If you missed out on visiting the Marketplace, visit Nursing Knowledge International to purchase the items featured at this year’s event. RNL