Children’s Minnesota, U of M form Collaboratory to improve pediatric outcomes

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing and Children’s Minnesota formed a partnership to generate, disseminate and apply knowledge for the improvement of nursing practice, education and patient outcomes.

The Collaboratory will serve as a nursing think tank and incubator for creativity and innovation that will engage nursing staff, faculty and students to enhance nursing education, research, practice, and diversity, inclusion and equity, while recruiting top talent into pediatric nursing.

“We celebrate this Collaboratory focused on the health of children and their families and look forward to community-creating with Children’s Minnesota the best practices to advance it,” says Connie White Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, FNAP, dean of the School of Nursing. “This is about honoring our future that is held with children, and this partnership will have a profound impact on all of the School of Nursing’s Collaboratories.”

“As the kid experts, at Children’s Minnesota we are committed to improving children’s health by providing the highest-quality, family-centered care, advanced through research and education.  This Collaboratory is very exciting as it will strengthen our partnership with the School of Nursing by co-creating evidence-based pediatric nursing practice through research,” says Caroline Njau, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Children’s Minnesota.

Children’s Minnesota is the only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children, with two free-standing hospitals, nine primary care clinics, multiple specialty clinics and seven rehabilitation sites.

Among the Collaboratory’s initial areas of focus will be fostering innovative educational experiences in both organizations, supporting the health of children and their families through research and evidence-based practice, and addressing nursing workforce trends and finding collaborative ways to support a smooth transition of graduates into practice.