Fitzpatrick at commencement ceremony.
The introduction of nursing informatics became a significant component of the new B.S.N. training. The Bolton School launched the first program in the United Sates to incorporate informatics into all four years of the undergraduate curriculum.41 In 1986 the School won funding for the Bolton Information System (B.I.S.), a coordinated computerized system for the School's related administrative, educational, and research activities.42
New ventures included the Buckeye Health Center (B.H.C.), a nationwide model for improving access to health care for underserved areas. Started in 1992, the Buckeye Health Center offered birthing and primary care services managed by nurses (some of whom were Advanced Nurse Practitioners) for low income residents on Cleveland's east side. An important aspect of this care was prevention and health promotion services along with annual immunizations and screenings.
Another educational initiative involved educating advanced practice nurses. The development of a degree program for certified nurse anesthetists (C.R.N.A.) is among the most important of these programs. In 1991, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists selected this master's degree program as one of two in the nation that they would promote. The nurse anesthetist program, created by the merger of programs at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and The Ohio State University Hospital has helped to attract growing numbers of men to the Bolton School. In addition to the nurse anesthetist program, the Advanced Practice Program also included the Community-based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program (C.N.E.P.), affiliated with the Frontier Nursing Service. One of the largest such programs in the country, its graduates have found employment as nurse-midwives throughout the world. Another Advanced Practice Program produced nurse practitioners in collaboration with MetroHealth Medical Center.
Fitzpatrick achieved her global vision for the Bolton School through its designation in 1993 as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Home Care. The School won redesignation from the WHO in 1997. Faculty member Dr. Doris Modly has played a key role in the development of the School's International Health Program and serves as director of the Center. The School's international focus has helped to bring students from other countries to Cleveland and fostered the development of innovative educational programs in other countries.
In 1993, the Bolton School received a $1.5 million grant from the W K. Kellogg Foundation to collaborate with the University of Zimbabwe in setting up a Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) Distance Learning Program. This program helped educate Zimbabwean nurses for leadership roles in the country's health care and education system.
41 Report on Distance Learning," Frances Payne Bolton
School of Nursing, 30 June 1997, Traditions Room Archives, Frances Payne Bolton School of
Nursing.
42 Fitzpatrick, School of Nursing Annual Report, Case Western Reserve
University, 1985-1986, CWRU Archives.
43 Fitzpatrick, School of Nursing Annual Report, Case Western Reserve
University, 1996-1997.
