WSU College of Nursing professor joins nurse leader fellowship program

Closeup of Roschelle (Shelly) Fritz
Roschelle (Shelly) Fritz

Roschelle (Shelly) Fritz, PhD, assistant professor at the Washington State University College of Nursing-Vancouver, is one of 10 nurse scientists accepted to the second cohort of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators.

This fellowship program, funded by a $37.5 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, recognizes early- to mid-career nursing scholars and innovators with a high potential to accelerate leadership in nursing research, practice, education, policy and entrepreneurship.

As part of the three-year fellowship program, fellows receive $450,000 to conduct an innovative project or study with the potential to address a gap in knowledge, meet a vital need, alter care delivery or design a new solution to advance health.

Fritz’s project focuses on the application of smart health technologies to improve the care of older adults with chronic conditions by extending nursing triage into the home. Building on eight years’ experience assisting with developing a health smart home and framed within a community-based care model, she will now develop and test a smart health system. This novel health monitoring and intervention system will employ environmental sensing, mobile app alerts and infographics, while also integrating family, friends, and community health workers to support older adults’ self-management of conditions. Fritz’s project aims to extend older adults’ independence, reduce care costs, and advance sensor-based data as a new type of evidence for evidence-based practice.

“We are excited to see what our nurse leader fellows, including Dr. Fritz, accomplish during this fellowship and beyond,” said Dean Stephen J. Cavanagh of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California Davis.

Said Dean Mary Koithan of the WSU College of Nursing, “This is an incredible opportunity for Dr. Fritz and for the WSU College of Nursing. The highly competitive Betty Irene Moore Fellowship positions emerging nurse leaders to accelerate their development as innovators and entrepreneurs. Shelly’s selection speaks volumes about her creativity and potential in designing systems for older adults that support their ability to live full and productive lives in their communities. We look forward to her participation knowing that all of us at the WSU College of Nursing will benefit from the skills and networks that this opportunity affords to one of our very promising scholars.”

In addition to the project, the fellowship program features a hybrid online and classroom curriculum designed and taught in partnership with the UC Davis Graduate School of Management to enhance leadership and innovation capacity, strengthen strategic thinking and collaborative skills, expand professional networks, develop entrepreneurial skills, and propel innovative ideas to fruition. A mentor selected by the fellow and an additional mentor provided by the national program office round out the educational experience.

The fellowship program is made possible by Betty Irene Moore’s passion to advance nursing with the goal of better outcomes for individuals, families and communities. With the creation of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, the foundation supports nurse leaders who take ideas to scale that advance high-quality, high-value care and optimal health outcomes.

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