July 6, 2011--About 40 directors of nursing and registered nurse leaders from nursing homes throughout the Delaware Valley have completed the first phase of Leading Nurses, a nursing education, practice and retention initiative. Kendal Outreach and Widener University are collaborating on the Leading Nurses initiative, which is funded by a three-year $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The goal of Leading Nurses is to improve quality of care of approximately 3,750 nursing home residents through new skill sets and evidence-based protocols learned and implemented by the nursing leaders. The first phase of the program consisted of daylong training sessions each month administered by Widener University faculty specializing in health care management and social and emotional competence.

"Many registered nurses in management positions, including directors of nursing, are employed in nursing homes and often assume their positions with little or no leadership training," said Beryl Goldman, director for Kendal Outreach, LLC. "They face stressful situations such as establishing clinical and managerial policies, supervising subordinates and managing organizational change. This results in them leaving their positions, causing a ripple effect throughout the facility; overall morale deteriorates, nursing turnover increases and quality of care suffers. The Leading Nurses project is about raising leadership and program implementation competencies that are critical to better outcomes for nursing home residents."

The Leading Nurses curriculum provides participants with skill sets in four key areas:

• Emotional intelligence training to help them understand themselves as leaders;
•  Leadership skill development to help them manage others;
• Change management skills to help them and those they supervise to embrace new methods in resident care; and
• Evidence-based clinical protocols for them to implement in their facilities.

"As the first Baby Boomers turn 65 this year, we know that the demand for long-term care services will continue to rise, and therefore, so will the need for individuals who can deliver quality care to the residents of these facilities," said Dr. Caryl Carpenter, professor of health care management at Widener University. "I commend all of the nurses who are participating in this training and their facilities for demonstrating a true commitment to the health and well-being of those they serve."

All participants are now in phase two of the program in which they are implementing clinical protocols learned in training within their own facilities to improve resident care outcomes. They will also attend refresher management courses at Widener periodically.

Kendal® Outreach, LLC, [www.kendaloutreach.org] a subsidiary of The Kendal® Corporation, is a not-for-profit consulting organization specializing in creative solutions in healthcare with a special focus on long-term care. The mission of the organization is to identify and improve quality in standards of practice and services to older people through advocacy, education, consultation and program development. The long-standing value of maintaining autonomy and dignity of the frail, elderly person through resident-centered care underlies Kendal Outreach's dedication to promote the well-being and quality of life of those served.