Jean And Ric Edelman Honoured By The American Journal Of Nursing

The American Journal of Nursing (AJN) announced that this year's AJN-Beatrice Renfield Caring for the Caregiver Award is being given to Jean and Ric Edelman, founders of Edelman Financial Services, for their commitment and generosity to nursing. The Award, recognizing individuals or organizations that have provided generous financial support for nurses and excellence in nursing practice, was presented on October 25 at the Ritz-Carlton, Tyson's Corner, Virginia. AJN is the largest circulating nursing journal in the world, and is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.

"The Edelman's generosity has been instrumental in our efforts to help create an environment of caring, learning and opportunity for nurses," said John Fay, vice president, Inova Health System Foundation. "While Jean and Ric frequently speak about how much they appreciate the daily role of nurses, we would like them to know how grateful we are to them for caring so much about us."

The commitment and generosity to nursing by the Edelmans began in 2004 when they donated $250,000 to the Inova Health System Foundation for the Edelman Nursing Career Development Center. More recently they contributed $1 million to expand the Center's services. During that time, Jean Edelman has represented and supported the Center by serving on the Inova Nursing Advisory Council for five years, volunteering at numerous nursing events and presenting at Inova nursing conferences. Ric Edelman, who with his wife founded Edelman Financial, has given presentations to the Center where he shared his expertise on financial planning with nurses to help them plan for secure futures.

The Edelman Nursing Career Development Center fosters the professional development of Inova nurses and nursing students, through staff development, conferences, mentorships, academic planning, scholarships and funding for continuing education. The Center provides Inova nurses with a place to go for career counseling, advice on certification and rejuvenation. In three years, more than 2,500 nurses have benefited. The Center also supports a summer camp for middle and high school students to explore career options in nursing.

The AJN-Beatrice Renfield Award

The AJN-Beatrice Renfield Award is named in honor of the late Beatrice Renfield who donated millions of dollars to various nursing programs and was a patron and trustee of the Beth Israel Medical Center and Visiting Nurse Service in New York City. Philanthropist Beatrice Renfield was committed to "caring for the caregivers" after witnessing the impact nursing care had on her husband, who had struggled for years with the debilitating effects of a stroke. As she became more familiar with the scientific underpinnings of nursing and the potential for research to inspire nurses, she supported several small studies by nurses at Beth Israel Medical Center, and later provided significant funding for clinical research initiatives at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Yale University School of Nursing.

The annual award, created in 2003, honors a recipient selected from nominations submitted to the AJN by institutions across the country. The selection committee is composed of AJN editorial staff members, registered nurses in New York City, and representatives from the Beatrice Renfield Foundation.

"AJN salutes Jean and Ric Edelman for their steadfast efforts and support as philanthropic leaders in health care," said Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, editor-in-chief of the AJN. "Philanthropic efforts supporting nurses are relatively rare, yet those individuals and organizations who do make an effort can dramatically improve the quality of life for nurses and quality of care that patients receive."