June 04, 2010 12:45am EST 

Hospitals are arguably the most important institutions in all of the world. Their doors are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year filled with medical professionals working to save the lives of some and improve the quality of life for the others. For New Jersey hospitals, help is just around the corner in Princeton, NJ, where The New Jersey Hospital Association is located. The New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) understands the importance of hospitals to New Jersey and all of its communities. The non-profit trade organization stands as the definitive organization representing all New Jersey hospitals and health systems with achieving quality, accessible, and affordable health care to all of their communities.
Being the state’s premier healthcare association for the fields of advocacy, education, and information, the NJHA carries a lot of responsibility. They are continually working with its members and others to provide high quality healthcare to patients and people throughout New Jersey through the hospitals.
As an example of how they advocate for the interests of New Jersey hospitals, the NJHA has recently started a new major nursing initiative. With the current nursing shortage, the NJHA has set out to change the nursing work environment to allow healthcare facilities to provide safe, effective quality care to patients. The NJHA’s Institute for Quality and Patient Safety is working in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch the three-year initiative named “Transforming Care at the Bedside,” focusing on training and supporting nurses so they can spend more time with their patients and remain satisfied with their jobs. As Aline Holmes, the director of the NJHA Institute for Quality and Patient Safety said:
“Because of the nursing shortage projections and the changing demographics of our society, we must change the environment in which nurses work to increase retention and decrease turnover.”

For the press release involving the new initiative as well as more information regarding the NJHA and access to their resource database, visit the NJHA website. Additionally, you may visit the NJHA blog, which examines the many issues confronting New Jersey’s hospitals and their patients.