94-05-17 U.Va. Schools of Medicine & Nursing Awarded Grant

                               Release on Receipt

                                           Contact: Marguerite Beck

    U.Va. Schools of Medicine and Nursing Awarded Two
                    Million Dollar Grant

      CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 18 -- Generalist medicine
and primary care nursing at the University of Virginia will
get a shot in the arm thanks to a two million dollar grant
from the Theresa A. Thomas Memorial Foundation.
     The five-year grant will provide scholarship support
for students planning careers in primary care medicine and
nursing. In addition, a primary care nursing professorship
will be established and an intensive care simulation
laboratory will be created to expand training opportunities
for nurses in acute care.
     "There is a need for more generalist physicians so we
can continue providing the public with quality health care,"
said Dr. Robert M. Carey, dean of the School of Medicine.
"Preventive medicine and other treatment at the primary care
level is not only highly effective at keeping people
healthy, but the best way to keep health care costs down by
treating or curing many problems before they become major."
     A portion of the funding will be used to establish a
Generalist Scholars Program, which will provide eight
students per year with a full scholarship for tuition. After
graduation, they will be required to enter a primary care
residency. In addition, all students must practice as
primary care givers for two years immediately following the
completion of the residency program.
     "In this era of health care reform, highly skilled and
caring nurses will play an expanding role in health care
delivery," said B. Jeanette Lancaster, dean of the School of
Nursing. "More patients will be seen by generalist
physicians and primary care nurses
working closely together. And acute care nurses will assume
even more complex roles."
     Through the Theresa A. Thomas Primary Care Nursing
Scholarship program, five full scholarships will be awarded
to graduate students who plan to become nurse practitioners,
community health nurses or other primary care providers.
While in school, the women and men who choose a primary care
specialty provide services to a wide range of patients,
including the poor and elderly in the community as part of
their educational training. Establishing a primary care
nursing professorship will provide leadership in that area
within the School of Nursing, Lancaster said.
     Creating an intensive care simulation lab will give
nursing students a chance to train in a fully-equipped
patient room without any danger to patients or the students.
"Increasingly, hospitals treat primarily acute care and
critically ill patients who require high technology support
systems. Having a stress-free environment for students to
master their acute care skills will be extremely
beneficial," she said.
     The Theresa A.Thomas Foundation, located in Richmond,
is a philanthropic organization dedicated to making health
care more accessible to Virginians. Since 1988, the
foundation has provided major support to the University of
Virginia, including scholarships in primary care medicine
and nursing.
     "The Thomas Foundation is proud to be a participant
with the University of Virginia Schools of Medicine and
Nursing in this important effort to increase the number of
physicians and nurses providing primary health care," said
Charles L. Reed, president of the foundation.
###
     May 17, 1994
Charlotte A. Buttner, Program Support Technician, Health
Sciences Center News Office, McKim Hall Room 3116, #429
Charlottesville, Va.  22908,  804-924-5679,
cab2j@virginia.edu, CompuServe 72203,1033
                             May 17, 1994


[Submitted by:  (cab2j@dmt03.mcc.virginia.edu)
               20 May 94 11:06:31 EDT]