Contact: Marlene Naanes
Mount Sinai Press Office
212-241-9200
[email protected]

Newswise — (New York, NY – December 13, 2017) - Phillips School of Nursing (PSON) at Mount Sinai Beth Israel has received a Nursing Workforce Diversity grant totaling approximately $800,000 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  Nursing Workforce Diversity grants are designed to help increase access to nursing education for students from diverse backgrounds.

The four-year HRSA grant will support the school’s new Workforce Inclusion in Nursing (WIN) program to increase the enrollment, retention, and graduation of individuals from diverse backgrounds in the Accelerated Associate of Applied Science program. Carleen Graham, MSN, RN, NY-SAFE, Program Coordinator, will serve as program director for WIN, which will follow 21 students from entry to graduation during the grant period.

Students will receive scholarships and monthly stipends. The grant will create new student services that include an immersive Summer Boot Camp before school begins and a mentoring program with nurses in their mid-career.  The grant also enables PSON to broaden its admissions criteria, training standards, and professional development for faculty to enhance PSON’s approach to diversity and inclusion. 

“It is an honor to be given such an amazing opportunity and responsibility. It is not only important to our school; it is important to our future nurses and the communities they will serve,” said Ms. Graham.  “This grant will help to address the shortage of nurses from underrepresented groups in New York City—considered to be one of the most diverse cities in the country.  We are extremely excited to begin work on this important initiative.” 

Graduates of the fifteen-month WIN program—the only accelerated associate nursing degree program in the country—are eligible for the Registered Nurse license examination, and are offered direct entry into PSON’s accelerated program that allows registered nurses to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After graduation, WIN students will be followed to help them secure employment as a registered nurse.

“We are honored to have been funded by HRSA for this outstanding program. I look forward to seeing it develop and grow into a model nursing workforce initiative, building an inclusive environment that leverages every individual’s passion and commitment surrounding diversity and inclusion,” said Todd F. Ambrosia, DNP, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, FNAP, Dean of the Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.  “We truly have been given a unique opportunity to positively impact education and practice for future generations of nurses. This is definitely a ‘WIN’ for us!”

PSON has established a formal agreement with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to provide ongoing training and technical assistance for the WIN initiative.

About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to provide the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in four other specialties in the 2017-2018 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in six out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology and 50th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.