What is MT CAHN

MT CAHN is the official state action coalition of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action; it was formed by state coalition co-leads Casey Blumenthal, Vice President, MHA…An Association of Montana Health Care Providers and Cynthia Gustafson, Executive Director of the Montana Board of Nursing.

The Montana Center to Advance Health through Nursing (MT CAHN) was formed in response to the October 2010 Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.

The IOM report’s recommendations are being brought to life through the work of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and AARP Center to Champion Nursing’s Initiative on the Future of Nursing, which formed the current Future of Nursing:  Campaign for Action.  MT CAHN was named an official state Action Coalition for this initiative in September, 2011.

The Montana Action Coalition (AC) has created both mentoring and precepting programs. The mentoring program has been taught in workshops across the state; the precepting program is composed of evidence-based, online modules with interactive blogs for participants to share ideas.

Thanks to the work done through our Academic Progression in Nursing grant, the AC helped facilitate Montana’s Department of Labor and Industry to secure a $15 million TAACCCT grant from the US Department of Labor to improve the number of healthcare workforce occupation programs and placements. This work includes creating more seamless pathways for RNs from the Community College system to advance to their BSNs.

The AC presents an annual nursing conference to bring national speakers in to present to a growing gathering of nurse educators and practice partners; the first of its kind in the state to do so. This has become a very popular event that has turned into a sustainable revenue stream to help support our work.