SEATTLE, Wash. — The Regence Foundation announced today a $50,000 challenge grant for the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives’ (NWONE) Transforming In-patient Care pilot program. NWONE, in partnership with the Washington State Hospital Association, is working to redesign the way nurses work in hospitals to increase the amount of time they spend with patients and help ease the nursing shortage.

“We commend NWONE for thinking creatively to alleviate the nursing shortage and ensure patients get the care and attention they need,” said Michael Alexander, Regence Foundation board chair. “Nurses are at the heart of our health care system, and it’s essential we support programs like the Transforming In-patient Care pilot that find innovative solutions to difficult health care problems.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts a shortfall of about 400,000 nurses by 2020. To address that shortage, NWONE is testing different ways nurses can increase their efficiency – everything from moving the location of medical supplies to changing the way medication is administered – to recapture nursing care hours. Currently, it’s estimated that nurses spend only about 30 percent of their time directly with patients.

To learn more about NWONE, visit www.nwone.org.