Minnesota State Mankato and Ecumen Team Up to Enhance Nursing Care for Minnesota Seniors

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Jodi Boyne

Minnesota State University, Mankato and Ecumen are teaming up to help address the state’s acute shortage of nurses working in long-term geriatric care.   

Nursing faculty from across the state will gather in Mankato this week for a grant-funded pilot workshop designed to help educators refresh their knowledge and skills in senior care and bring current best practices in geriatrics into their classrooms and clinical settings. 

“Minnesota’s population is aging rapidly, and future nurses will be increasingly called on to meet the complex needs of older patients in both hospital and long-term care settings,” said Lynn Kuechle, Coordinator of the Glen Taylor Nursing Institute at Minnesota State Mankato. “The goal of this workshop is to work directly with faculty in shaping the future of senior care – which starts in the classroom.” 

For the past four years, Ecumen has been collaborating with the Minnesota State system on its Ecumen Scholars program that offers fellowships, internships and clinical rotations at Ecumen sites to nursing students interested in senior care, especially in rural Minnesota. 

“As we worked with nursing students and faculty, we learned that faculty have a strong interest in enhancing both training and interest in senior care,” said Brett Anderson, Ecumen Vice President of Nursing Services. “Minnesota State Mankato’s School of Nursing is a leader in educating nurses in elder care and family care, and we’re very pleased to be partnering with them to meet this need and help improve the quality and accessibility of care for Minnesota’s seniors.” 

The sessions will be held at Ecumen Pathstone Living in Mankato and at the Minnesota State Mankato’s Maverick Family Nursing Simulation Center. Topics include enhancing clinical skills, improving quality in long-term care, and promoting critical thinking. A day of training at the Simulation Center will focus on the difference between dementia and delirium as well as end of life, hospice and palliative care.