Pictured: NICHE Leadership Team (left to right)
Porche Brown-Edwards, Karen Mitchell-Keels, Divina Salinas, Connie Lawson, and Jamie Malone.
Not pictured: Vena Valdez
San Diego, Calif. November 22, 2023 – St. Paul’s Senior Services (SPSS) joins the Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) program of NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, reaffirming the St. Paul’s commitment to excellence in caring for older adults in San Diego. As a NICHE member, St. Paul’s nursing staff will dedicate time and resources to enhancing clinical practices by implementing system-wide, nurse-led projects.
As an initial step in joining NICHE, nurse leaders were strategically selected from each St. Paul’s community to engage in an eight-week intensive leadership training program. The program gave nurses an understanding of NICHE’s principles and helped them create an action plan for improving healthcare quality for adults over 65. Program participants, who now comprise the NICHE Leadership Team, include: Porche Brown-Edwards from St. Paul’s Nursing & Rehabilitation, Jamie Malone and Vena Valdez from St. Paul’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Divina Salinas from The Villa on Bankers Hill, and Connie Lawson and Karen Mitchell-Keels from Clinical Nurse Excellence Team (CNET).
“Nurses must have the tools and training to provide the quality care our residents expect and deserve,” said Karen Mitchell-Keels, Corporate Nurse Administrator for SPSS. “NICHE offers us the structural foundation and empowerment to advance nursing practice and improve patient outcomes.”
NICHE Executive Director, Mattia Gilmartin Ph.D., RN, FAAN, emphasized the vital role that nurses play in providing evidence-based, age-friendly care: “Older adults have unique needs, and, with NICHE, St. Paul’s will be better positioned to meet those needs.”
To improve patient outcomes influenced by nursing care, the NICHE leadership team is embarking on a collaborative journey of Quality Improvement (QI). Key goals of this effort include reducing emergency room visits, lowering healthcare costs for seniors, and standardizing clinical practices across all St. Paul’s communities.
“We are thrilled to be implementing NICHE at St. Paul’s,” said Michael McHale, President and CEO of St. Paul’s Senior Services. “This relationship aligns perfectly with our mission to lead the transformation of the aging experience and helps us fulfill our commitment to driving senior care innovation.”
About NICHE
The goal of Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) of NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is to impart principles and tools that stimulate changes in clinical practice to achieve patient-centered nursing care for older adults in healthcare facilities. NICHE membership is only available to facilities that provide care for older adults. For more information, visit nicheprogram.org.
About St. Paul’s Senior Services
St. Paul’s Senior Services is San Diego’s largest nonprofit senior care organization with over 60 years of experience caring for older adults. Communities and services include The Manor on Banker’s Hill, an active retirement community for those 55+; The Villa on Bankers Hill, an assisted living and memory care community; St. Paul’s Plaza, a community for independent seniors and those seeking physical assistance or memory care; St. Paul’s Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation, and St. Paul’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), serving low income and frail seniors throughout San Diego County.
For more information on St. Paul’s Senior Services, please visit www.StPaulsSeniors.org or call 1(619) 239-6900.
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St. Paul’s Senior Services is a mission-driven San Diego nonprofit and full-service senior care provider, offering Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Skilled Nursing communities, and a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Since opening its doors in 1960, St. Paul’s has served as an innovator in the San Diego community with a reputation for exceptional care. For more information on St. Paul’s Senior Services, please visit www.StPaulsSeniors.org or call 1(619) 239-6900.