Johnson & Johnson Campaign Helping to Reduce Nursing Shortage

WASHINGTON -- A year after launching a multi-year campaign to attract more people to the nursing profession in hospitals and extended-care facilities, Johnson & Johnson today reported that after years of declining enrollment in nursing schools, the tide is beginning to change across the country.

Joining with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson and leaders of national nursing organizations to celebrate the first anniversary of The Campaign for Nursing's Future, James T. Lenehan, president and vice

chairman of the board, Johnson & Johnson, announced that because of the campaign and other recruitment efforts, baccalaureate nursing school enrollments increased by more than 8 percent between 2001 and 2002. Moreover, 84 percent of nursing schools are experiencing rising applications and enrollments based on new survey findings.

"A year ago, the nursing profession was off the radar screen of young adults and second-career seekers," said Lenehan. "Now I am pleased to note we are making progress in addressing one of the most serious problems affecting the healthcare sector."

Johnson & Johnson's campaign, which was developed in conjunction with national nursing organizations, has already exceeded $25 million. Called The Campaign for Nursing's Future, the initiative includes:

* Providing free recruitment brochures, posters and videos to hospitals,

high schools, nursing schools, and nursing organizations;

* A retention effort providing continuing education for nurses in the

areas of leadership and management skills and mentorship programs for

nurses;

* Raising funds for student scholarships, faculty fellowships, and nursing

school grants;

* Regional "celebration of nursing" events to raise money for the local

nursing community;

* A Web site (www.discovernursing.com) about the benefits of a nursing

career featuring searchable links to hundreds of nursing scholarships,

and more than 1,000 accredited nursing educational programs; and

* A national advertising campaign that celebrates nursing professionals

and their contributions to health care.

To demonstrate the impact of these efforts, Johnson & Johnson has issued a

report charting the progress of its campaign to date. Called Healing the

Crisis in Nursing, the report documents these successes:

* A change in the image of professional nursing as a career. According to

a recent Harris Interactive survey, 75 percent of adults and 67 percent

of teens would view "very positively" news that a family member or

friend was seriously considering a nursing career;

* Increased interest in applying to nursing schools. Based on the 390,000

visitors and more than 9,000,000 individual page visits to the

discovernursing.com Web site, Johnson & Johnson has measured an increase

in traffic to 40 percent of the nation's nursing schools;

* An increase in applications/enrollments to nursing schools. After

distributing more than 3 million pieces of recruitment material, Johnson

& Johnson found that 84 percent of nursing schools had experienced an increase

in enrollments; and

* Regional nursing celebrations raised $3 million for undergraduate

student scholarships, nurse educator fellowships and faculty development

grants. Johnson & Johnson will continue supporting these fundraising

"celebrations of nursing" around the country.

* Johnson & Johnson's Campaign was developed after reviewing research on

the nursing shortage and conferring with experts, including nursing

organizations, nursing schools, hospitals and other health care groups.

An advisory group of nursing leaders has helped develop the Campaign and

will help support its future efforts.

Source: Johnson & Johnson