BWH Appointed as NICHE HospitalBWH Nurse - For and about the Nursing Staff of Brigham and Women's HospitalBWH Appointed as NICHE HospitalBWH Nurse - For and about the Nursing Staff of Brigham and Women's Hospital

Skip to contents

BWH Appointed as NICHE Hospital


Members of the BWH Niche committee during a recent meeting

Nationwide, more than half of all hospitalized adults older than 65 years (NICHE LTP, 2011). In the next 20 years, aging baby boomers will increase the number of older adults admitted to hospitals throughout the United States. As patients, older adults require nursing care that addresses their special physiological and social needs. At BWH, it is our belief that through the implementation of the evidenced-based NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for the Healthcare Elders) principles, we can improve our care of the older adult.

The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing developed NICHE, a nurse-led comprehensive program to promote improvements in the care of older adults and to support clinical nurses and other members of the interdisciplinary team in caring for these patients. NICHE offers educational resources and tools tailored to the unique needs of older adults in preventing pressure ulcers, falls, incontinence and delirium. These goals synergize with the initiatives that have been instituted throughout BWH within the past few years, such as CAUTI and DASH (see related story on page 1).

The BWH NICHE journey began with the formation of a nursing NICHE Committee under the leadership of Susan Gordon, RN, and Susan Kilroy, RN. Two clinical units, 10CD and Shapiro 8, were identified to participate in online NICHE education, develop an action plan to guide the assessment of BWH organizational strengths and needs in the care of older patients and, to develop an education plan for clinical staff. Committee participants include: Claudia McCarthy, RN, Alice Carroll, RN, Nayla Zreik, RN, Wendy Schwausch, RN, Alice O’Brien, RN, Melissa Hart, RN, Heidi Smith Doucette, RN, Laura Mylott, PhD, RN, and Jim Roche, RN.

As a result of everyone’s hard work, an action plan was approved in December, and BWH is officially a NICHE designated hospital. The next step is to develop an education plan for clinical staff and to survey all BWH clinical nurses and other clinicians using the Geriatric Institutional Assessment Profile (GIAP). Stay tuned for more information about the survey.

The advantages of being a NICHE hospital include:

  • Access to state-of-the-art training, tools and resources including an interactive 24/7 e-learning center

  • Project management support/mentoring for NICHE-based hospital initiatives

  • Evidence-based clinical protocols that address “never events,” Joint Commission compliance and other regulatory imperatives

  • Geriatric Institutional Assessment Profile (GIAP) tool

  • Shared information, knowledge and expertise

If you have interest in learning more about NICHE, it would be a pleasure to share our vision with you. Please contact any one of our group members for further information.