Newswise — New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing (NYU Meyers) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mattia Gilmartin as executive director of the Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) Program. NICHE, established in 1992 with funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies, is the leading nurse-driven program designed to help hospitals and healthcare organizations improve the care of older adults.

“Putting quality nurse driven healthcare solutions of older adults at the forefront of health systems improvement has been the core mission of the NICHE program for 25 years,” said Eileen Sullivan-Marx, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean and Erline Perkins McGriff Professor. “Dr. Gilmartin brings 20 years of first-hand organizational and management experience driving performance improvement. Her background as a clinician, researcher, and teacher make her particularly skilled in analyzing complex problems and translating theory into practice. She is therefore uniquely qualified to move NICHE forward, building on NYU Meyers’ deep capacity in geriatric research, education, and practice.”

In her new role, Dr. Gilmartin will be responsible for continuing to build successful programs to engage hospitals, healthcare leaders, consumers, faculty, and other stakeholders in the expansion and sustainability of the NICHE program. In addition to managing NICHE’s successful membership model, she will seek to engage new relationships with funders and corporate entities, expanding NICHE’s offerings and increasing its resource development. A critical aspect of her job will be developing and maintaining relationships with faculty, scholars, and other university partners to assist NICHE in achieving its goal of providing the premier healthcare model in the care of older adults.

“I am honored to serve as the Executive Director for the NICHE program at the NYU Meyers College of Nursing. I look forward to building on NICHE’s strong position in the field of geriatric nursing by developing a new portfolio of resources and partnership to support front line nurses as leaders and change agents to improve the quality of care for older adults.” said Dr. Gilmartin.

At NYU Meyers, Dr. Gilmartin holds a faculty appointment as a senior research scientist and serves as the director for the Center for Continuing Nursing Education where she oversees the College’s portfolio of continuing education programs for practicing nurses.

Prior to joining NYU Meyers in 2011, Dr. Gilmartin managed an interdisciplinary research group at INSEAD, a leading international business school in France, and designed and implemented a three-semester specialty track for the Clinical Nurse Leader master’s degree program at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing.

Dr. Gilmartin holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing, and a master’s of business administration, from the University of San Francisco, and a PhD degree from the University of Virginia. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Cambridge University, Judge School of Management in organizational improvement and comparative health systems. Dr. Gilmartin received the Raven Award in 2000 for her outstanding achievement and service to the University of Virginia. She is the chair-elect for the Academy of Management, Health Care Management Division, and is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and the National Academies of Practice.

Dr. Gilmartin will continue to work with Dean Sullivan-Marx, NYU Meyers faculty, and The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing based at NYU Meyers to ensure the continued success and integrity of NICHE.

About NICHENICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders) is an international program designed to help hospitals and health care organizations improve care of older adults. NICHE strives to provide principles and tools to stimulate a change in clinical practice to ensure all patients 65-and-over are given sensitive and exemplary care. Based at NYU Meyers College of Nursing, NICHE consists of over 500 hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout North America. For more information visit http://www.nicheprogram.org. About the NYU Rory Meyers College of NursingNYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing, a Master of Science and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing research and theory development.