Dean‘s Letter: Are you a veteran? Do you have a veteran in your family? These questions kept
surfacing again and again as we planned our fall issue. I believe they should be part of patient assessment in hospitals, clinics, private practices, long-term care facilities—literally any place where health care is delivered. Why? Because veterans and their families are everywhere in this country, not just at VA medical centers or military hospitals. In communities across America, we have millions of men and women who have served our country, in war and peacetime. Some have seen horrific combat. All share a powerful bond and a distinctive military culture that creates unique health care needs—not just for those who served, but for their families, as well. At the UAB School of Nursing, we believe all Americans deserve access to outstanding care. We also believe that nurses, who stand at the front lines of our health care system, have unprecedented opportunities to lead. Over the past year, we have engaged nursing leaders and our collaborative partners to create a dynamic strategic plan for the next five years.
The five pillars of the new plan are Innovative Programs, Collaborative Partnerships, Sustainable Scholarship, Global Leadership, and Valuable Resources. This issue illuminates those pillars by
showcasing our commitment to innovation in teaching, research, and service through collaboration. We’re working not only with our colleagues from all health care disciplines, but also with our valued clinical partners, as well as local business, academic, and neighborhood communities. Ultimately, we want to consistently provide the highest quality of care and the best possible outcomes for all patients. And we know we can’t do it alone. We consider it an honor to join the 500 nursing schools and organizations now officially collaborating through Joining Forces, a federal program promoting excellence in health care for our veterans and military families. While UAB’s efforts are centered on the VA Medical Center in Birmingham, we believe the advances in research and education that are flowing from this partnership can improve care everywhere.
We also have longstanding partnerships with UAB Hospital and Health System, Children’s of Alabama, our community, and state. Working together, we have created tremendous educational opportunities for our students while improving care for patients at these outstanding clinical facilities. But that’s just the beginning. By sharing what we’ve learned together, by disseminating scientific discoveries and evidencebased knowledge, we’ve had a positive impact on care locally and globally. Here in Alabama, we have a new opportunity to bring together leaders from nursing, medicine, and other health care disciplines, as well as business and academia, to create the first-ever Alabama Health Action Coalition (AL-HAC). The mission of AL-HAC is to develop a plan for moving health care dramatically forward, the ultimate goal being to give all Alabamians access to the very best health care and to change the dire health status indicators that reflect overwhelming needs in our state. Finally, we’re so pleased to have an opportunity in this issue to celebrate some special members of our alumni family and the donors who join forces with us, year after year. Without their generosity, we could not continue moving forward. As you can see, the UAB School of Nursing has extended its reach farther than ever before. Only by collaborating with our colleagues in health care and with our partners in the global community can we have a truly transformative impact on the quality of care for the people we serve. Only then can we bring research and practice together in such a way that we fulfill the overarching vision guiding everything that we do: excellent care for every patient, everywhere.
Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing
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