UT nursing professor named Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow
HOUSTON – (June 17, 2009) –- Lorraine Frazier, Ph.D., R.N., one of the nation’s biobanking experts, is the first faculty member at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing to be selected for the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows program.
Lorraine Frazier, Ph.D., R.N.
The three-year fellowship will give Frazier the opportunity to further develop and strengthen her leadership skills while advancing a collaborative initiative that is designed to expedite research through the sharing of blood and tissue samples and related clinical data.
Frazier, the Nancy B. Willerson Distinguished Professor in Nursing, is one of only 20 nurses selected for the 2009 fellowship program, which is focused on expanding the role of nurses to lead change in the U.S. healthcare system.
“We are very proud of Dr. Frazier for being selected,” said Patricia L. Starck, D.S.N., R.N., dean of the UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing. “She is a leader in nursing science, and this program will broaden her skills in the interdisciplinary arena.”
Now in its 12th year, the fellowship program provides extensive leadership development for nurses in executive roles. Fellows remain in their current positions while they receive intensive training and coaching, mentoring and the opportunity to implement innovative healthcare strategies in their communities.
“Nurses provide a unique perspective in the healthcare system, understanding both the patient experience and the way policies and procedures affect health outcomes,” said Marilyn P. Chow, D.N.Sc., R.N., F.A.A.N., the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows national program director. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Frazier join the 2009 group of fellows. The experience will enable her to bring new skills and resources to improve health care in the Houston community.”
As part of the fellowship, Frazier’s leadership project – The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston’s Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) BioBank - will address issues of essential importance to the future of translational and clinical research, as well as the broader health care system.
“This is such an important time in health care and the best time for me to participate in this fellowship,” Frazier said. She is the project director of TexGen Research and the director of the CCTS BioBank. TexGen’s centralized database of patients’ tissue samples served as a model and helped secure funding the CCTS BioBank initiative, a sophisticated collection of data and samples designed to inspire collaboration among researchers nationwide and expedite translational and clinical research.
Much of the success of the CCTS BioBank will hinge on the development of an effective business model, a cost-recovery system, software and best practices, Frazier said. The fellowship program will give her the tools she needs to build consensus about policies and procedures that will be crucial to the full implementation of the CCTS BioBank. The business model also will help TexGen to create a revenue stream which would allow for the continuation of patient recruitment and follow up.
The fellowship is supported through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and matching funds from the UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing.
Josefina Lujan, Ph.D., R.N., a graduate of the Ph.D. program at the UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing, will join Frazier in the 2009 RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program. Lujan is regional dean and associate professor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing at El Paso.
For information about the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program visit: www.enfp-info.org
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.