More than 6 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and the numbers are growing. Massive financial and emotional burdens are expected to reach new heights in the coming years. On average, care for people living with dementia exceeds insurance reimbursement by $500 to $1,000 per year, per patient. Philanthropic support through 2O36 is key for Integrated Memory Care (IMC) and will enable Emory's School of Nursing to expand this model across the United States, improving care and quality of life for millions of patients and their families.

A partnership between Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Department of Neurology, and Department of Psychiatry, Integrated Memory Care is a nurse-led clinic and remains the only dedicated primary pare practice in the U.S. specifically tailored for people living with dementia and their care partners. This awarded clinic has been honored for six continuous years as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, recognized as an Age-Friendly Health System by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and chosen as a Best Practice exemplar by the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care.

Scholarships open the world to students. Scholarships provide opportunities for working nurses pursuing advanced degrees. For those future-proofing their careers by grounding in data science, and for those traditionally underrepresented in nursing.

The average debt burden for a student graduating with a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) is close to $60,000. Depending on the area of study, our Master of Science in nursing (MSN) graduates typically carry $60,000 to $95,000 in debt. These substantial costs prevent many new nurses from pursuing rewarding career opportunities. We intend to change that.

With your generous support to scholarships, the School of Nursing can continue to provide a world-class education to our deserving students, making a nursing education at all degree levels more accessible. This increased access strengthens and diversifies the field of nursing, our health care system, and Emory’s standing as a leading educational institution.

Having nearly tripled in size in the last decade and now ranked No. 2 among graduate nursing schools by U.S. News World and Report, the School of Nursing is becoming the quintessence for nursing students and educators alike. Despite this significant growth in enrollment and research excellence, endowed professorships have not been funded in more than two decades.

Through the generosity of donors, we can endow two new distinguished professorships. With this permanent funding, the School of Nursing can continue to attract talented researchers and teachers and strengthen our academic curriculum across all nursing specialties.

To lead innovations in care and advance their careers, nursing faculty need the freedom to focus on their growth as scholars, educators, and clinicians. Establishing a faculty recruitment pipeline will enable Emory to attract emerging teachers and research leaders in nursing.

A faculty recruitment pipeline for the School of Nursing would focus on more than established educators, it would support postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented groups and strong clinicians transitioning to academic roles. Bringing new talents and fresh perspectives into our nursing program further strengthen Emory’s curriculum and better prepares our students for emerging priorities and trends in the field of nursing. This effect will strengthen our surrounding community and health care system at large.

Through simulation-based training, students learn to manage rapidly changing situations in real time. By putting our students into complex situations, they learn critical thinking and how to communicate effectively with patients and health care teams. It’s a unique opportunity to practice and master clinical skills, techniques, and procedures while improving patient safety. The repetition of these real-world scenarios allows students to strengthen their skills in a safe, controlled environment without risk to actual patients, translating to better patient care and outcomes in the real world.

Your support for 2O36 will expand access to simulation-based learning for nursing, interprofessional, and transdisciplinary education and collaborative practice. This intentional integration of education, research, and clinical care in an academic setting will advance the science and enhance the structure and quality of health care.

Unexpected challenges are the norm in health care, medical research, and education. Funds for the School of Nursing that are not designated to specific programs allow us to respond to changing demands. The Nursing Fund for Excellence provides this flexibility. Directed by the dean, this fund is the key to sustaining a nimble, top-ranked institution that provides the highest quality education.

Gifts to the Fund for Excellence enable us to focus on shifting priorities and areas of greatest need. In the past, this has meant seeding new projects and programs, attracting high-caliber faculty, and initiating new research areas for the School of Nursing. The fund’s flexibility allows Emory to remain at the forefront in health care education and innovation.

America’s complex, changing health care environment requires the highest level of scientific knowledge and practical expertise. Emory’s two doctoral degree tracks—Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in nursing—prepare nurse scientists, teachers, and clinical leaders.

Students in our nursing doctoral program typically carry a debt burden of nearly $155,000, and scholarship opportunities for graduate-level students are traditionally limited compared to those for undergraduates. Your generosity allows us to establish scholarships and grants for students in order to attract the best and brightest doctoral students. Our doctoral-level students become tomorrow’s expert researchers and practitioners, preparing to spearhead improvements in patient care and health care policy across the field of nursing sciences.