AARP and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses awarded grants to 20 hospitals to expand or launch nurse innovation programs.

The groups awarded more than $355,000 to 20 projects offering innovative and replicable solutions to strengthen the nursing workforce by creating and sustaining healthy work environments aimed at improving recruitment and retention rates of registered nurses, according to a joint news release. Hospitals were located in Arkansas, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. See the full list of hospitals and programs here.

Becker’s reached out to systems on the list to learn more about their projects.

Memorial Hermann Health: Addressing the Challenge of Bidirectional Communication in Nursing Units

Houston-based Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center — in collaboration with the Memorial Hermann Foundation, nursing institute, clinical excellence team and front-line nurses — launched its bidirectional communication program this summer. The project aims to improve communication across generations and work environments. This includes standardizing unit huddles and how unit-based practice councils function, and ensuring processes are streamlined.

“What I love is that the team didn’t come to this because we were below benchmarks,” Bryan Sisk, DNP, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing executive at Memorial Hermann Health System, told Becker’s. “They came because our nurses asked for it: How do we communicate better, more efficiently, and in a way that’s streamlined? That’s the question we’re answering.”

Another piece of the project is consistency in messaging. Leaders are working to condense messaging down to the essentials of what nurses want to hear and need to know for their jobs, then providing links so people can dive deeper. The program is being piloted at three units in the Texas Medical Center with hopes of expanding it across the system.

Leaders will be tracking Healthy Workforce Survey results, engagement with QR codes and links, and feedback received from nurses.

“That’s crucial. We want two-way communication, not just pushing out messages,” Dr. Sisk said. “When our teams asked front-line nurses where the biggest opportunity was, this is what they said: communication. This initiative is about listening to our nurses and delivering on what they asked us to improve.”

Northwell Health: Career Continuum: Strategic Pipelining to Strengthen the Nursing Workforce

New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell has launched its project, which aims to support long-term care nurses across the life cycle of their career.

“Today’s healthcare environment calls for flexible models that allow mobility and support nurses’ desire to grow,” Launette Woolforde EdD, DNP, RN, deputy system chief nursing officer at Northwell, told Becker’s. “Thoughtful, proactive programs such as this one preserve the stability that is often lost due to unanticipated mobility while putting nurses on intentional paths that align with nurse’s individual goals and promote retention.”

The program provides professional development and growth opportunities to registered nurses working in Northwell’s Stern Family Center for Rehabilitation through three tracks of advancement:

1. The long-term care perfect fit track is for nurses who feel long-term care is where they are meant to be. These nurses are supported as they pursue geriatric care nursing certifications to become experts in their fields.

2. The acute-care transition to med-surg/telemetry track is for nurses who want to move into acute care. This track partners with Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York City, a tertiary care hospital, to allow long-term care nurses to transition smoothly into the medical-surgical or telemetry units.

3. The acute care transition to critical care track is for long-term care nurses who want to work in critical care or step-down units. Nurses get access to e-learning modules to make them stronger candidates for critical care positions while potentially reducing orientation periods.

“Long-term care nurses are deeply committed to the community and have unique skills to care for a growing geriatric population,” Kathleen Casler, MSN, RN, assistant vice president for clinical professional development and research at Northwell, told Becker’s. “Supporting their development not only strengthens our workforce but also aligns with the future of healthcare, where geriatric care will be increasingly important.”

Leaders will track RN turnover, orientation progression and readiness for practice, satisfaction and engagement to determine the success of the program.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center: ICU Recognition TV – I C the AMAZING in U

Spokane, Wash.-based Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center launched its recognition program, which uses display screens in the ICU common areas to show slideshows of uplifting stories, photos and quotes from staff, leadership and the DAISY foundation. The program recognizes not only nurses and physicians, but also pharmacy staff, respiratory therapists, environmental services, social workers, chaplains and other employees.

Using grant money, the hospital is planning to purchase more screens and equipment for other units, as well as teach team members how to gather, submit and manage content for the displays.

“The ICU already features over 30 recognition categories and adds 60 to 80 new slides each month, keeping the content engaging and the appreciation ongoing,” Julie Matthews, RN, an ICU nurse at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, told Becker’s.

The goal is to improve true collaboration and a healthy work environment. Going forward, the program aims to expand the ICU recognition TV to all departments in the hospital and eventually go systemwide.

Virtua Health: You Have to Go Home, and You Can’t Stay Here: ICU Liberation and the Healthy Work Environment

Camden, N.J.-based Virtua Health Our Lady of Lourdes decided to fully implement and hardwire ICU liberation practices across the system for its project. The program is starting in the medical-surgical ICU.

“If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere,” Steve Bocchese, PhD, RN, Virtua’s director of clinical practice and education, told Becker’s. “There were many options, but ICU Liberation was the clear choice. Even before the grant opportunity, our team had already decided this was our top priority. We knew that if we wanted to make meaningful change, we had to commit to doing this right. The grant we’ve been awarded allows us to focus on reducing or even avoiding sedation, getting patients up and moving and fully engaging families. Importantly, we’re also approaching this through the lens of creating a healthy work environment. We already have strong collaboration among physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and respiratory therapists, so it’s an ideal place to start.”

For the last eight months, leaders have focused on messaging and preparing staff for a culture change. They also have been running simulations and training nurses in preparation for the project kickoff.

Success will be measured through the AACN’s Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool, a survey that Virtua staff took in February and will retake in July to track improvements. Our Lady of Lourdes will also track length of stay in the ICU and hospital as well as discharge destinations, tracheostomy placement rates, and patient and nurse satisfaction.

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