OTTAWA, Canada, Dec. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- How health information is managed and used, when done properly, directly impacts the health and wellbeing of Canadians. Whether it's the treatment of illness, the development of disease prevention programs or the delivery of life-saving health services, success in today's health care system is linked to the ability of health professionals to rapidly access, collate and interpret data in order to make informed decisions to improve the care of Canadians. This process is known as "health informatics."
Nursing Informatics is the "science and practice (that) integrates nursing, its information and knowledge, with management of information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families and communities worldwide." (IMIA Special Interest Group on Nursing Informatics 2009).
To help ensure that Canadian nurses are highly trained in the critical field of informatics, the Canadian Nurses Foundation recently announced the establishment of the Dr. Kathryn J Hannah Nursing Informatics Scholarship. Working with the nursing informatics community, a campaign was launched to raise $150,000 to support award recipients now and in the future. This campaign is well on its way to reaching its goal and we are honoured to have received donations from many individuals and corporate sponsors.
Today, we are delighted to announce that Cerner Canada, supplier of health care information technology solutions, has generously agreed to make a substantial $50,000 donation, thereby becoming a "premier" category sponsor.
"Dr. Hannah has been an inspiration to all who aspire to improve health care through the use of enabling technologies for nurses and all clinicians with the tools to provide them with the information and evidence they need. Through the first-ever Kathryn J Hannah Nursing Informatics Scholarship in Canada, Cerner Canada wishes to acknowledge the pioneer role that Dr. Hannah has played and help ensure that her important work continues through others," said Jim Shave, president, Cerner Canada.
About the Scholarship
Named after Dr. Kathryn Hannah, a pioneer and internationally-renowned leader in nursing informatics, the new scholarship will be awarded to a Canadian nurse who is pursuing graduate education to advance leadership and innovation in nursing informatics. Applications for the scholarship will open December 4, 2015.
"Nursing leaders like Dr. Kathryn Hannah not only change practice, they change the world by creating a path forward and mentoring new leaders. Advancing nursing knowledge is crucial to every aspect of patient care and health service delivery for all Canadians. We need more nurses prepared at the graduate level with experience in health informatics. As Canada's only national nursing foundation, we are delighted to work with corporations like Cerner in this valuable scholarship fund," said Christine Rieck Buckley, CEO, Canadian Nurses Foundation.
The Scholarship remains open for contributions. To contribute, visit www.cnf-fiic.ca
About the Canadian Nurses Foundation
Founded in 1962, the Canadian Nurses Foundation fosters national nursing excellence through the provision of research grants, awards and scholarships. For more information about the Canadian Nurses Foundation, visit www.cnf-fiic.ca
About Cerner
Cerner's health information technologies connect people, information and systems at more than 18,000 facilities worldwide. Recognized for innovation, Cerner solutions assist clinicians in making care decisions and enable organizations to manage the health of populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help health care organizations manage revenue, as well as a wide range of services to support clients' clinical, financial and operational needs. Cerner's mission is to contribute to the systemic improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities. On February 2, 2015, Cerner Corporation acquired substantially all of the assets, and assumed certain liabilities, of the Siemens Health Services business from Siemens AG. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, visit cerner.com, cerner.ca read our blog at cerner.com/blog, connect with us on Twitter at twitter.com/cerner, twitter.com/cernercanada and on Facebook at facebook.com/cerner.
Certain trademarks, service marks and logos set forth herein are property of Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other non-Cerner marks are the property of their respective owners.
About Dr. Kathryn J Hannah
Dr. Kathryn J. Hannah, nurse and leading health informatics expert, Calgary, Alberta, was recently named a Member of the Order of Canada for her efforts to promote the use of information technology to enhance nursing care in Canada and abroad.
Dr. Hannah has held senior management positions in both the health care delivery system and as a branch Director at Alberta Health. She has taught and conducted research in her various roles at the Faculty of Nursing and then the Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She has also served as Adjunct Professor, in the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria and in Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Utah. Currently, Dr. Hannah is currently Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing University of Victoria. She is the Health Informatics Advisor to the Canadian Nurses Association and Executive Project Lead for C-HOBIC.
Kathryn led some of the most significant nursing initiatives in Canadian history and has been a change leader both in Canada and internationally. Always ready to support nurses with her expertise, this scholarship extends her generous mentoring to future nurses seeking to continue innovation in health information management to support optimal health outcomes and professional nursing practice.