Philadelphia, PA, February 18, 2011

Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions recently hosted a Doctoral Colloquium: The Future of Healthcare as Envisioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellows of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. In this inaugural consortium four members of faculty who are inducted Robert Wood Johnson Fellows presented via a panel discussion on the future of health care as it relates to their area of focus.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellowship is a distinctive honor granted to exceptional mid-career health professionals.

“It is an incredible honor for The College of Nursing and Health Professions to have so many Robert Wood Johnson Fellows on faculty” said Dean Gloria Donnelly, PhD.  “Their work to fulfill gaps in health care needs as well as insight into the substance of the current state of health care made for great commentary.”

Health care related topics varied from the experience of each Fellow:

Patricia L. Gerrity, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Community Programs,
Director, Drexel University’s 11th Street Family Health Services spoke about the leadership component for the fellowship and its significance in her creation of the healthy living center concept – moving from a medical model to a health care model.

Mary Ellen Smith Glasgow, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, MSN Programs and Continuing Nursing Education addressed the new Institute of Medicine Report on the Future of Nursing and her fellowship experience so far.

Paulina Sockolow, DrPH, Assistant Professor, Health Sciences and Health Administration gave a discourse on the anticipated change in the health delivery system from a “disaster care” model to the patient/family-centered primary care model and possibly to a model involving preventive care and population health centered on the health consumer and community.

Marlene F. Watson, PhD, Associate Professor, Couple and Family Therapy addressed the process of health policy, focusing on the role of politics, and social justice.

Listen to the audio of this program. >>

Download the colloquium program (PDF). >>

Plans are currently being discussed to continue on in this series for the benefit of students and friends of The College.

Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions holds affiliations with some of the finest health care institutions in the U.S. The College’s programs are designed to build knowledge, improve practice and culturally competent care, foster professional integrity, and ultimately improve the health outcomes of patients, families, and communities across the continuum of care.