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For Immediate Release: April 24, 2008 For more information contact: Raquel Ortiz, 202-263-2580 or rortiz@amplifypublicaffairs.net INNOVATIVE NURSING MODEL HIGHLIGHTED AT BIPARTISAN POLICY FORUM Washington, D.C. - A nurse-developed program that has improved the care of individuals with complex health needs while lowering costs to Medicare and Medicaid has been recognized as a health care model of quality and value. Patricia Kappas-Larson, a nurse partner of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), was pleased to present the Evercare model at The Leaders' Project forum, a health care reform initiative created by the Bipartisan Policy Center and its founders, former Senate Majority Leaders, Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell. "Evercare is an excellent example of how nurses can transform health care through nursing solutions.  With a 91 percent satisfaction rate and trips to the emergency room cut in half for nursing home residents, Evercare has demonstrated the potential nurse-led programs have to improve patient outcomes and reduce adverse events," stated Ms. Kappas-Larson, Senior Vice President of Professional Relations/Development for Evercare. "The American Academy of Nursing is privileged to be part of this historic project and is prepared to assist with improving our broken health care system by bringing nurse leaders' creative thinking and new methods to a wide range of health care challenges," said Pat Ford-Roegner, CEO of AAN. Evercare is an innovative care model serving people who have long-term or advanced illness, are older, or have disabilities. Since its inception, the program has overcome fragmentation in health services, improved access to medical and non-medical services, reduced emergency treatments and hospitalizations and lowered costs to Medicare and Medicaid.  Created in Minnetonka, MN, by two nurse practitioners, Jeannine Bayard and RuthAnn Jacobson, Evercare has now expanded nationwide, serving more than 120,000 people in 35 states. ### The American Academy of Nursing anticipates and tracks national and international trends in health care, while addressing resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy.  The Academy's mission is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. The Leaders' Project seeks to develop and promote policies that can attract bipartisan support from policymakers and lay the necessary foundation for providing all Americans access to quality, affordable health coverage. The project is guided by some of the country's leading health care experts and will create opportunities for practical dialogue and cooperative solutions on some of the key challenges facing the nation's health care system. The Bipartisan Policy Center is a non-profit organization that was established in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell to provide a forum where tough policy challenges can be addressed in a pragmatic and politically viable manner. This email was sent to editor@ania.org, by rortiz@amplifypublicaffairs.net www.constantcontact.com