News Releases

Collaborating to Achieve Nursing Excellence Throughout Northeast Ohio

Collaborating to achieve nursing excellence by sharing knowledge and best practices in nursing practice, education, research, quality and safety is the overarching goal of NEONI’s Practice, Education, Research, Quality and Safety (PERQS) Center.

“NEONI, The Center for Health Affairs’ workforce initiative, came together with its members in 2012 to develop NEONI’s PERQS Center,” said Rita Spirko, BSN, MSN, director of NEONI’s PERQS Center, The Center for Health Affairs/NEONI. “Since then, we’ve been working hard to develop four divisions with goals that will help accomplish nursing excellence across hospitals, schools, long-term care and homecare organizations throughout Northeast Ohio.”

The work of each division is carried out by a committee of professionals in the nursing field, each focusing on projects and goals emphasizing best practices in practice, education, research, quality and safety. More about each division and its goals is as follows:

• Practice Division: Focuses on nursing workforce development and professionalism.
• Education Division: Works on narrowing the gap between nursing education and practice.
• Research Division: Develops opportunities in nursing research and works on fostering collaboration.
• Quality and Safety Division: Strives to advance patient safety and quality through best practices and the use of quality indicators.

If you would like to learn more about how NEONI’s PERQS Center is collaborating with its members in an effort to achieve nursing excellence, contact Rita Spirko, BSN, MSN, director of NEONI’s PERQS Center, The Center for Health Affairs/NEONI, via email or at 216.255.3654.