FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:        Marge Sullivan, Palm Healthcare Foundation, (561) 833-6333                                            

                        Melanie Otero, The Waters Pelton Organization (561) 626-0026, ext. 11

Jennifer Abbott, The Waters Pelton Organization (561) 626-0026, ext. 19

 BOCA RATON, FL—Dr. Sean Clarke, an internationally renowned researcher specializing in nurse workforce issues and organizational aspects of safety in hospital practice, spoke at the Christine E. College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) on Friday, February 2, 2007.   Over 100 nurses and other healthcare professionals attended an open forum to hear Dr. Clarke, an endowed chair at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, share his ideas on “The Economics of Nursing in Healthcare: Making the Business Case.”  Follow this community event, Dr. Clarke gave a private presentation on “Career Planning” for participants in the Novice Nurse Leadership Institute housed at FAU.

The Novice Nurse Leadership Institute (NNLI), a year-long series of workshops for a group of Palm Beach County nurses in their first year of practice, is designed to assist and support new nurses as they transition from school to the workplace, enhance their knowledge base and skill sets, and promote the value of lifelong learning and leadership in nursing.  “In an environment where 30% of new nurses leave their first nursing job within twelve months, Dr. Clarke’s message about the importance of career planning and leadership in nursing is critically important for our NNLI participants to hear from such an accomplished and distinguished nurse researcher,” said Dr. Anne Boykin, Dean of the Christine E. College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University.   Suzette W. Wexner, president of Palm Healthcare Foundation, a grantor of NNLI, agreed that the nursing community needs good role models to inspire leadership.  “Developing Palm Beach County’s healthcare workforce is one of Palm Healthcare Foundation’s primary funding initiatives,” she said.  “Meeting leaders like Dr. Clarke can have a real impact on creating passion for the profession during the early stages of the NNLI participants’ nursing careers.”

With seed funding and ongoing support from Palm Healthcare Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) and Allegany Franciscan Ministries, the NNLI program reaches 20-30 novice nurses each year and is administered by the Christine E. College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University.  “The important role of nurses in the health and well-being of patients is well-documented," said Catherine Kelly, BCBSF vice president for public affairs signature programs. "BCBSF is pleased to provide support for programs like NNLI, and other innovative workforce solutions as highlighted by Dr. Clarke, that aim to improve patient outcomes."

The event featuring Dr. Clarke was sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University, Palm Healthcare Foundation and the Iota Xi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

About Sean P. Clarke, RN, PhD, CRNP, FAAN

Dr. Sean Clarke received master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.  He completed postdoctoral research training in nursing outcomes research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he is now the Class of 1965 25^th Reunion Term Assistant Professor of Nursing and serves as Associate Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research.  Dr. Clarke is a fellow of both the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania and is also an affiliated professor at the Faculty of Nursing at the Université de Montréal.  Dr. Clarke is best known for research on patient and nurse safety and workforce stability in hospital nursing.  He has authored numerous data-based articles, commentaries and book chapters, served as principal investigator and co-investigator on a variety of grants, and spoken nationally and internationally on staffing, work environments, occupational safety, and methodological issues in outcomes research.  He coauthored three influential and award-winning research papers:  two in JAMA on the impact of nurse staffing and education on patient mortality and one in Health Affairs on nurse workforce issues across Western countries.   Dr. Clarke is an at-large member of the national Nursing Advisory Council of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.  His consultations include ongoing work with hospitals and hospital systems and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, as well as collaborations with research teams in the U.K., Iceland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia and Canada.  He serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Nursing, Nursing Management and the American Journal of Infection Control and is Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.  He was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in November 2006.