Jonas Center Announces Partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs

The VA and Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare Join Forces to Support Innovation in Veterans Issues

NEW YORK, November 14, 2016 – The Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership to establish a national network of nurse researchers, clinical experts and educators working to improve healthcare services for our nation’s 22 million veterans.

This partnership, with the VHA Office of Nursing Services, builds upon the successful Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program, created in 2012 to expand the field of nursing experts and qualified caregivers through scholarships to doctoral nursing candidates. “These PhD and DNP nurse candidates specifically address veterans’ most pressing, often life-altering, health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, poly-trauma and mental health,” said Darlene J. Curley, CEO of The Jonas Family Fund and Executive Director of the Jonas Center.

“The VA and the Jonas Center have a shared goal to improve veterans’ healthcare through nursing scholarship and innovation,” said William T. Bester, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Brigadier General (Ret.), Senior Advisor, Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program. “This partnership brings together two organizations focused on developing a network of nurse researchers, advancing the application of current research at the bedside, and preparing future nurse leaders at the VA, especially in geographic areas with the greatest need for specialized nursing care.”

The Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program Scholars are part of a larger community of more than 1,000 Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars at 145 universities in all 50 states – including nearly 300 scholars focused specifically on veterans, many of whom are active duty nurses or nurses working within the VA.

“Every American owes a debt of gratitude to our veterans who fought to protect our freedom,” said Donald Jonas, philanthropist and President of the Jonas Family Fund, Founder of the Jonas Center.

“Through strategic partnerships with organizations like the Jonas Center, VA can make a strong commitment to enrich nursing research for veteran health care,” said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. “Programs like the Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program specifically support critical VA needs by expanding the population of qualified health care providers. We thank the Jonas Center for their commitment to supporting our veterans and their families.”

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About the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare

In 2006, Barbara and Donald Jonas established the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, the leading national philanthropic funder dedicated to improving healthcare by advancing nursing scholarship, leadership and innovation. Its two main programs are the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program, which aims to address the dire shortage of nursing faculty by preparing nurses with doctoral degrees to step into this critical role, and the Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program, which seeks to improve the health of veterans by supporting doctoral-level nursing candidates committed to advancing veterans’ healthcare. These programs currently support more than 1,000 doctoral Nurse Scholars nationwide.