Building Nursing Capacity and Enhancing Patient Care in theU.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) Jurisdictions

Friends of the College of the Marshall Islands Foundation, Inc.

Bank of Guam, College of the Marshall Islands, World Health Organization, University of Guam, University of Hawai’i/Manoa, Tripler Army Medical Center, the USAPI schools of nursing, and U.S. Public Health Service

Steven R. Malmberg, Ph.D., Project Director, stevemalmberg@gmail.com

Judith Souviney, Grant Manager,jsouviney@cmi.edu

CAPT Cathy Wasem, US HHS, Region IX, Cathy.Wasem@hhs.gov

Wilson G. Hess, wghess@pivot.net

Telephone +692-625-2502 or +692-625-3394, Fax +692-625-7203

Brief Project Synopsis: 

The project is addressing the faculty development needs of the nursing programs in the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) jurisdictions – including the U.S. Territories of Guam and American Samoa, the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the three former trust territories of the United States, the Freely Associated States (FAS) of the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of the Micronesia.  These island jurisdictions, with over 104 inhabited islands and low-lying atolls, cover a geographic expanse greater than that of the continental United States.  Nineteen languages, in addition to English, are used in the various nations.

Almost all health indicators for individuals in the USAPI are worse than those for mainland Americans.  The region deals with health conditions typical of developing countries as well as those of developed countries. An adequate number of qualified nurses, which is dependent upon the output of the area’s nursing programs, is the pivotal factor for addressing these health issues.

The overall purpose of this project is to increase professional nursing capacity in the USAPI jurisdictions. The resources of the College of the Marshall Islands Foundation and its partners will be leveraged to develop an infrastructure that will support enhancement of instructional skills of current faculty and the development of new faculty competent in clinical and didactic methods. Through the use of informational and communication technologies via satellite and other means, these initiatives will increase the numbers of masters and doctorally-prepared nurses in the Pacific neighborhood. 

Project Goals and Objectives:

The partners will collaborate to develop and implement an instructional project designated to establish and strengthen the working relationships among the partners, implement and test communication technologies, and foster strategies for resource sharing.