Regis College has been awarded a $650,000 grant from the Wagner Foundation to further the university’s critical work in Haiti training nurse educators, strengthening clinical skills among student and novice nurses and fostering evidence based research to bolster the country’s healthcare system.
“Experienced healthcare professionals are at the center of every healthcare system. For this reason, training programs which close the gap between theory and practice are extremely important,” said Wagner Foundation Founder and CEO Charlotte Wagner. “Wagner Foundation welcomes the expansion of the Regis in Haiti program, which provides training alongside investments in research and self-study. We share their vision of achieving health equity in Haiti through long-term systemic support serving the next generation of nurses and their educators.”
“We’re tremendously grateful to the Wagner Foundation for this generous grant to support our important work in Haiti,” said Regis College President Antoinette Hays, PhD, RN. “With this funding, the Regis Haiti Project will enter the next phase to improve nursing education and patient outcomes as well as strengthening the Haitian healthcare system.”
The $650,000 grant over two years will advance clinical nursing education and evidence based research at the bedside in order to improve health access, equity, and outcomes in Haiti. As a result of the Wagner Foundation’s investment, Regis and the Haitian Ministry of Health will work with partners on the ground including Health Equity International, St. Boniface Hospital, Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante/Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, state nursing schools and others to continue to promote the nursing profession and strengthen nursing education and the healthcare system in Haiti.
Now called Regis in Haiti, the Regis Haiti Project started in 2007 with a collaboration between university nursing faculty and the Haitian Ministry of Health to teach and train nurse leaders and educators so that they can better prepare the next generation of providers. As a result, a total of 37 core nursing faculty and clinical practitioners working in both Haitian public and private nursing schools graduated with a master’s degree. Additionally, each master’s prepared nurse faculty graduate has built local capacity to strengthen and advance the education of nurses enrolled in the newly instituted four-year baccalaureate education programs that are now in place.
Although the impact of this advancement in nursing education has been significant, many challenges for the nursing profession in Haiti remain and as a result, the project has expanded its mission. With the university’s extensive experience and strong partnerships in Haiti, the Regis In Haiti team and Ministry of Health are prepared to take the next step alongside the Wagner Foundation to advance clinical education and practice for nurses across Haiti as well as strengthen and promote nursing research and the nursing profession in Haiti.
“Regis College has been a great partner and contributed greatly to improving the quality of nursing education in Haiti,” said Irma Bois, Director of Nursing at the Haitian Ministry of Health. “Because of the generosity of the Wagner Foundation, we are moving into a new phase of our joint work that will improve clinical care provided by nurses and continue bolstering the role of nursing from the bedside to the ministry level.”
