Thursday, July 30, 2009

Janie Canty-Mitchell, University of North Carolina Wilmington School of Nursing (SON) professor and associate dean for research and community partnerships, has been honored with a national award that will help bridge the health care gap for diverse North Carolina youth. Canty-Mitchell is the one of only 20 nurses selected nationwide as a Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Executive Nurse Fellow, which focuses on expanding the role of nurses to lead changes in the U.S. healthcare system.

As a part of the RWJ fellowship, Canty-Mitchell will design and execute a leadership project that addresses children and youth health issues that are important to UNC Wilmington and the broader Southeast N.C. region. N.C. ranks sixth in the nation for the number of uninsured children, and that total continues to climb rapidly with the economic downturn. A 2008 study, conducted by Families USA, reveals that 296,000, one out of eight children in N.C., are uninsured.

Canty- Mitchell proposes to fully organize and fund a Nursing and Health Academy for Children and Youth which will target minority, underserved and underrepresented groups from Southeastern N. C.

She stated, "I am honored and excited to have this opportunity to explore new solutions to improving the health, education and welfare of children and youth through university-community partnerships."

The three-year fellowship program provides leadership education for nurses in executive positions in public or community health, science and research, corporate health, academia, government and military health service. Fellows will remain in their current positions while they receive $35,000 for the leadership project, education and workshops that will assist in implementing new health care strategies.

The RWJ Foundation is the nation's largest philanthropic institution devoted exclusively to improving the health and care of all Americans. It works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change.

Canty-Mitchell said, "My ambition is to work in a unified health structure with interdisciplinary faculty, university administrators, community partners and national teams to improve regional and national health objectives. The fellowship program will assist me in strengthening leadership competencies to foster such changes in our national health care system."

Media contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW marketing and communications, 910.916.8603 or davisjc@uncw.edu