Formerly Collaborating for the Advancement for Nursing: Developing Opportunities (CAN DO)
Overview
Registered nurses represent the largest segment of the healthcare workforce. Despite the current economic conditions, there is a growing shortage of nurses that is projected to significantly increase in the coming years due to aging nurses and nurse faculty as well as severe limitations on the region's capacity to educate new nurses.
The Western Massachusetts Nursing Collaborative is a coalition of nurse leaders from education and service focused on the critical role the nursing workforce plays in the delivery of quality care. They are working together to ensure the region has an adequate supply of high quality, diverse nurses to meet the healthcare needs of our community.
Vision
The western MA alliance of Nursing Education and Healthcare institutions eliminates the shortage of nurses by supplying a workforce of diverse, culturally proficient nurses who master a uniform set of core competencies that prepares them to provide quality nursing care, through a seamless educational system, which promotes the continuance of education for nurses desiring advanced degrees.
Goals
- Increase the supply and diversity of qualified nurses byexpanding the capacity of nursing education programs
- Increase the supply and diversity of qualified full time and adjunct faculty in all nursing programs
- Increase access to and seamless progression in nursing education at all levels
- Sustain and retain the existing nursing workforce
Partners Investing in Nursing's Future
In 2006, the Pioneer Valley was selected to be one of 10 areas nationwide to participate in Partners Investing in Nursing's Future (PIN), a new national initiative to develop and test solutions to America's nursing shortage.
Led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation, PIN encourages local foundations to act as catalysts in developing grassroots strategies to establish a stable, adequate nursing workforce. To help develop solutions and lead efforts within the region, a key partner, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, was awarded a two-year grant to work in conjunction with the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County (REB).
Originally launched as CAN DO, Collaborating for the Advancement of Nursing: Developing Opportunities, the Western Massachusetts Nursing Collaborative is an active member in the PIN network which now includes over 35 regions or states working together to address the critical shortage of nurses around the country.
