Goals & Impact
The University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (HCGNE) is one of only nine centers selected through a national grants competition by the John A. Hartford Foundation and its Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity program (BAGNC) at the American Academy of Nursing.
The overall goal of University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence is to expand the number of highly qualified geriatric nursing faculty nationally and in the Mountain West prepared to teach in all levels of nursing programs across academic settings (research intensive universities, other universities and colleges, and community colleges.) The objectives for the first five years of are to:
- Extend the specialty PhD distance program, enrolling two geriatric nursing cohorts totaling 18-20 students.
- Provide universal geriatric preparation for all adult clinical care graduate students (MS and DNP) by requiring one three credit course (or equivalent) in geriatric nursing.
- Prepare at least 22 adult care graduates as geriatric nursing experts who earn the geriatric nursing/gerontology certificate with at least nine credits of designated aging course work.
As an HCGNE, the University of Utah is proud to be part of the broader Hartford Geriatric Nursing Initiative (HGNI). Since 1995 through a $67 million investment from the Hartford Foundation, the HGNI and its component programs have been preparing professional nurses to play leadership roles in improving the health and health care of older adults.
National Impact
The University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (UUHCGNE) is having national impact by expanding the number of highly qualified geriatric nursing faculty prepared to teach in nursing programs throughout the country. A specialized program of study using distance PhD education will prepare nurse scientists for teaching careers in research-intensive universities.
Regional Impact
The University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence is expanding the number of geriatric faculty prepared at the MS and DNP level for basic and advanced practice nursing education in the Mountain West.