The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education is pleased to announce that Loyola University Chicago has joined the Nexus Innovation Network, a national research partnership testing new approaches to health care delivery and health professions education.

Loyola University joins 18 sites in 16 states already testing new models and methods of integrating health care practice and education. Each of the 31 projects in the Nexus Innovation Network focuses on the real-world testing of interprofessional strategies with the potential to improve the experience, outcomes and costs of health care.

Interprofessional health care is widely acknowledged as the next major advance in the improvement of health care delivery. Interprofessional care occurs when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds blend their expertise to provide comprehensive health services to patients, families and communities.  

The concept is not new, but health systems, governmental agencies and educational institutions are beginning to look at how to fully implement it in practice and measure its outcomes on patient care.  Introducing and mastering interprofessionalism is a challenge that necessitates careful planning and evaluation. 

In joining the Nexus Innovation Network, Loyola’s Institute for Transformative Interprofessional Education will facilitate interprofessional research throughout clinical sites and learning environments and institutions. The institute will connect students from Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, including those in the dietetics program. These students will be directly involved in providing coordinated, interprofessional care to patients at the Loyola University Health System Family Medicine Clinics. 

“We are thrilled to have Loyola University Chicago join our growing Nexus Innovation Network,” said Barbara Brandt, PhD, director, National Center. “As longtime supporters of interprofessional practice and education, we’re excited to tap into the expertise of the Loyola faculty and staff as we work to change how people learn about and experience health care.”

“Loyola’s intervention to study the impact of interprofessional teams on the prevention and management of diabetes, and the healthcare providers themselves, will not only improve health outcomes locally, but will also contribute to the national conversation on the effects of such teams for improving the process of care,” said Frank Cerra, MD, senior advisor, National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. 

A focus on education to provide interprofessional, coordinated care for diabetes 

Under the leadership of Loyola’s Institute for Transformative Interprofessional Education co-directors Fran Vlasses, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, professor in the Niehoff School of Nursing, and Aaron Michelfelder, MD, FAAFP, FAAMA, professor in the Stritch School of Medicine, interprofessional teams have been working to complete a project centered on improving outcomes for diabetes patients while integrating health professions student learners on the team as part of their formal education. 

The project measures the effect of health care delivered by interprofessional teams on patients with diabetes and their care providers. Led by a registered nurse care coordinator, an individual’s care team consists of an advance practice nurse, a physician, a social worker, a dietician, and a medical, nursing or dietetics student as available. 

“At Loyola, we believe that interprofessional work is key to the development of our students,” said Vlasses. “This project with the Nexus Innovation Network allows them to receive hands-on experience and use interprofessional strategies to collaborate and improve health care experiences in the future. We are excited to be working with the network because they are known for moving interprofessional research forward, and are already seeing the benefits of collaboration.”   

The project began in January 2014 and will run through June 2016. Loyola has collected data that will soon be submitted to the National Center where it will be measured against data from other Nexus Innovation Network sites and national and federal databases. 

Scientists at the National Center will then analyze the information and share key findings through reports and peer-reviewed publications, increasing evidence on the effectiveness, and return on investment, of interprofessional models in developing the skills necessary for effective and efficient health care. 

Learn more about the work occurring at Loyola University Chicago and other Nexus Innovation Network sites at nexusipe.org/advancing.

About Loyola University Chicago
Founded in 1870, Loyola University Chicago is one of the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic universities, with nearly 16,500 students. More than 11,000 undergraduates call Loyola home. The University has four campuses: three in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy, as well as course locations in Beijing, China; Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Vernon Hills, Illinois (Cuneo Mansion and Gardens); and a Retreat and Ecology Campus in Woodstock, Illinois. The University features 11 schools and colleges, including the Quinlan School of Business, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Stritch School of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Communication, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, School of Education, School of Law, School of Social Work, Graduate School, and Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago. Ranked a top 100 national university by U.S. News & World Report, Loyola is also among a select group of universities recognized for community service and engagement by prestigious national organizations like the Carnegie Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service. To learn more about Loyola, visit LUC.edu, “like” us at Facebook.com/LoyolaChicago, or follow us on Twitter via @LoyolaChicago or @LoyolaNewsroom.