Health & Technology

Nurse leaders are thinking outside the box to solve some of nursing’s current challenges and bring joy back to practice. Find out how chief nursing executive Kathy Howell is working to solve three of nursing’s common challenges at UCHealth, transforming patient care delivery, and creating a better working environment for nurses.

For nurses, more flexibility and better work/life balance are essential. Solutions like Mercy Works on Demand are meeting nurses where they are by offering a gig-based approach to scheduling. Not only is Mercy’s innovative approach addressing shortages and improving patient care, it is also bringing joy back to nursing and demonstrating that a new, flexible future is possible for the profession.

Johnson & Johnson is proud to have supported nurse innovators and entrepreneurs through the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge Awards, which has provided grant funding for nurse-founded healthcare solutions and approaches. But the innovation journey doesn’t stop there. Here, three inspiring QuickFire Challenge awardees share what they’ve been up to since receiving their award, how their solutions have grown and expanded, and their advice for other nurses inspired to solve for healthcare’s biggest challenges.

As a hospital-based nurse, Kwamane Liddell saw how important it was for patients to have healthy meals tailored to their medical needs. Liddell created Nutrible, a technology platform that helps healthcare providers connect patients with healthy food aligned with their medical and cultural needs.

Nurse-led, multidisciplinary health system teams took center stage to pitch their solutions for redesigning a healthcare workplace where nurses and other health care professionals can thrive. Meet the 2022 NurseHack4Health Pitch-A-Thon awardees.

Nurse-led, multidisciplinary health system teams took center stage to pitch their solutions for redesigning a healthcare workplace where nurses and other health care professionals can thrive. Meet the 2022 NurseHack4Health Pitch-A-Thon awardees.

The future of nursing starts in the classroom. At Johnson & Johnson, we’re proud to amplify nurse-led programs and practices that find innovative ways to prepare, strengthen and empower the next generation of nurses. Below, read more about four best-in-class pilot programs investing in nursing education, funded by the American Nurses Foundation, so new nursing graduates are ready to practice.

When health systems tap into the true potential of nurses, the outcomes are actionable, enduring drivers of healthcare transformation. In new research, Johnson & Johnson, American Nurses Association and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership set out to quantify critical learnings and promising nursing practices uncovered during the pandemic, and below, four exemplar nurse leaders share real, replicable examples of barrier-breaking nurse-led innovation.

Charlene Platon’s innovative well-being app provides a safe space and a community for nurses to heal

Johnson & Johnson, together with the American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA) and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) proudly announce the eighth Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge: Healthcare Transformation Through Nurse-Led Tech.

As part of our broader pledge to support frontline health workers and help provide equitable health solutions for communities of color, Johnson & Johnson partnered with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN) to launch the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge, focused on Improving Access to Care. Meet the Challenge awardees, Erin Athey and Christina Calamaro.

Shawna Butler, RN, MBA is a nurse economist, health tech catalyst, host of the SEE YOU NOW podcast, and above all—a relentless advocate for nurses everywhere. We spoke with Shawna about her career path, how she leverages her nursing expertise in a wide range of roles, and why she is so enthusiastic about the SEE YOU NOW podcast.

Together with AONL and SONSIEL, we’re thrilled to announce the Awardees of the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in COVID-19 Patient Care: Jennifer Stinson, nurse scientist from The Hospital for Sick Children, and Kathleen Malouf, pediatric nurse at Monmouth Medical Center.

Together with the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS, we’re thrilled to announce the two awardees of the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Oncology: Micah Skeens from Nationwide Children's Hospital and Janet Van Cleave from New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing.

We’re thrilled to announce the two awardees of the J&J Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Perioperative Care: Debbie Kantor, APRN, Co-Founder at HERO Medical, and Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD, RN, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Read more about their ideas to change human health.

Hip fractures can have serious health implications for patients and cost of care implications for hospitals. Meet the nurse duo who helped develop the pioneering Hip Fracture Care Program that is transforming fracture care for patients and health systems – Stacie Cox and Shandy Welch.

Shaken by the experience of witnessing a child nearly die from heat exhaustion after accidentally being left in a hot car, emergency room nurse Maria Striemer, RN, BA, channeled her insight to invent the Backseet Buddy, an app that provides parents with peace of mind that it won’t happen to them.

Chief Nursing Optimization Officer Betty Jo Rocchio, MS, BSN, CRNA, CENP, and her team at Mercy are using technology, data and analytics to create environments that provide nurses more time at the bedside doing what they do best: caring for patients and developing innovative solutions.

In 2015, Janie Harvey Garner, RN, encountered public criticism of a Miss America contestant and fellow nurse who delivered her monologue wearing scrubs and a “doctor’s stethoscope.” Feeling frustrated and misrepresented after hearing the comments minimizing nurses’ roles in healthcare delivery, Janie created the Show Me Your Stethoscope Facebook group to reinforce the essential role of nursing – effectively creating one of the largest nursing organizations in the United States.

Rebecca S. Koszalinski, PhD, RN, CRRN, CMSRN, was inspired to become a nurse after experiencing a nurse’s care during her own health journey.

As the healthcare industry becomes more focused on innovation as a pathway to improving patient outcomes, nurses are stepping up as leaders and innovators, turning their frontline experience into creative solutions to improve patient care. Across her various positions at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Marion Leary, RN, MSN, MPH, FAHA, is focused on researching ways that nurse-led initiatives can improve healthcare now and in the future.

In November 2017, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) School of Nursing Simulation Center introduced an addition to its inventory of cutting-edge technology: Robo-Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (RoboAPRN). The robot is part of the program’s “RoboAPRN: Telepresence Robots in Healthcare Education” project, which introduces student nurses to remote telehealth technology.

In today’s modern world, technology and innovation are essential to furthering the nursing profession. As the founder and CEO of NurseGrid, Joe Novello, BSN, RN, is using his nursing skills to help improve the nursing profession and advance outcomes for patients.

Advances in technology are improve outcomes for patients of all ages, including babies born with single ventricle heart disease.

Since 1992, the Johnson & Johnson Bridge to Employment (BTE) program has been helping high school students in the United States prepare for careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing & Design (STEM2D) sectors, including nursing. Twenty-six years later, BTE is an international program that operates in 18 countries through meaningful education experiences and authentic career preparation.

The rise of startup companies, expanded technologies that make working remotely accessible and a proliferation of freelance or short-term opportunities have significantly transformed the way people work across the United States. Nomad Health is hoping to bring this flexibility to the healthcare industry.

When you hear the word “hackathon,” you may not necessarily envision a room full of nurses brainstorming ideas. However, at the “Nurse Hackathon: Nurses Hacking HealthCare” event, nurses are leading the problem solving and developing solutions to issues in healthcare.

“If you hear that little voice inside you or have that little nudge to take action on an idea, go for it. Nurses are in the best position to fully see the patient experience and understand firsthand the care delivery process. Every day, as we go through the critical tasks of patient care, we see opportunities for improvement.” — Christine O'Brien MSHI, RN

Nurses serve as both the backbone of the healthcare industry and on the front lines of developing health solutions. The day-to-day reality of their job has changed in dramatic ways over the past ten years.

In ICUs around the country, nurses are at the forefront of revolutionizing quality of care by delivering a more personalized patient experience with the help of advanced technology.

The words “nursing school” can invoke mental images of textbooks, lecture halls, heavily highlighted class notes, late night study sessions and shiny new stethoscopes. An integral part of the modern nursing classroom, however, is the use of simulation technology to teach nursing skills.

“When the music played, the patients went to a beautiful place in their mind. We saw them dancing or tapping their feet and moving their heads. It was amazing to watch.” - Kristine Carpina, LPN

Telemedicine is here to stay. According to an article published in the American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC) earlier this year, telemedicine is changing the way patient care is provided in a growing number of intensive care units across the country.

“Nurses are used to being on the front lines of patient care in communities, and we now have the opportunity to connect with patients in their online communities by logging in and sharing our voice online." - Pamela Ressler, BSN, RN, HN-BC

Some healthcare organizations today provide nurses with apps to use on hospital-issued mobile devices to help easily document, retrieve and communicate patient information at the point-of-care.

Brittney Wilson, BSN, RN, knows technology. The bright mind behind the nursing-focused technology site, The Nerdy Nurse, Wilson is an author, nursing informaticist and award-winning blogger. She believes nurses should not only embrace healthcare technology, they should play a dedicated role in helping develop it – working to integrate the power of technology into patient practice.