General Robert Wood Johnson, who led Johnson & Johnson from 1932 to 1963, believed nurses should have a greater role in patient care and should be given greater responsibility, and he spurred the creation of several programs to help elevate the professional standing of nurses in the mid-20th century. Years later, Johnson’s interest in nursing inspired the founding of the Johnson & Johnson Wharton School Fellows Program for Nurse Executives at the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1953, Johnson & Johnson instituted an annual nursing scholarship program. Five decades later, the company inaugurated the Campaign for Nursing’s Future in 2000 to address a critical nursing shortage in the U.S. by recruiting new nurses and nurse faculty and helping to retain nurses currently in the profession. Today, the company’s more than 120-year support for nursing continues with a focus on supporting and elevating the impact of nursing by championing nurse-led innovation, reflecting the long partnership between the company and the nursing profession, as well as their shared roots in innovation and caring. This support includes the founding of the Center for Health Worker Innovation in 2020, the creation of innovation challenges to share new ideas for treatments, protocols and devices that could profoundly change human health; and resources and career guidance to build skills, develop leaders and advance nurse-led innovation in healthcare for nurses at every stage of their careers -- as the company’s support for nursing – and all frontline health workers, which began so long ago in the 19th century, continues in the 21st century.
Image courtesy: Johnson & Johnson Archives
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