The NICHE Program to Prepare the Workforce to Address the Needs of Older Patients

NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders) is the only national nurse-driven program designed to assist healthcare organizations in improving the care of older adults across the care continuum. The exponential growth of the older adult population over the last three decades created the need for specialized nursing care that addresses the unique needs of this population. Originally created over 30 years ago as a small pilot of nurses trained in geriatrics, the program is now implemented in over 550 care settings in 40 states as well as Canada, Bermuda, Singapore, and Mexico. The program can be tailored to each facilities’ unique infrastructure, educational, and clinical needs by providing tools to implement and sustain geriatric sensitive care. NICHE sites improve care by creating organizational structures that address workplace needs, promote leadership skills in nursing staff, geriatric staff competence and interdisciplinary processes, patient- and family-centered approaches in an environment that is safe for older adults and focused on improving quality of care. Appropriate for any healthcare setting, the NICHE program promotes nursing practice that provides evidenced-based, patient- and family-centered care in an environment that welcomes change and is dedicated to improving the care of the older adults.