The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition (SNAC) is a regional coalition of representatives from major healthcare organizations, academic centers educating nurses, and community members in Florida’s Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. The coalition was formed as a grassroot level workgroup of the Florida Action Coalition to implement recommendations from the 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report entitled The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. This landmark report addressed the critical role of nurses to advance the health of the nation, including the recommendation to increase the percentage of Baccalaureate-prepared nurses (BSNs) to 80 percent and doubling the number of nurses with doctorates in the United States by the year 2020 to positively influence the health and healthcare outcomes in the nation.
SNAC was visioned and implemented by Jan Mauck, previous CNO, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and Charles Baumann, Community member retired from Kerkering & Barberio. They currently continue to Co-Chair the coalition that has met regularly since 2013. The Patterson Foundation supports this collaboration by funding a consultant who provides facilitation and strategic guidance as the Coalition works to create new healthcare realities in our region.
Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition developed an innovative approach to improve the academic progression of nurses in the region called the Triad Model. The structure consists of healthcare employers, nursing schools/programs, and the community. Key leaders of all three areas became the core members of SNAC. While membership has changed over time, the foundational structure of the Triad Model has continued to evolve and harness the strengths of all three entities.
Through the collaboration of the regional nursing schools, healthcare employers, and community members, SNAC has developed and implemented key tactics over the years to achieve SNAC’s Mission, Vision and strategic plan. One of these strategies is the expansion of the regional educational system’s capacity for advanced education of nurses to achieve higher percentages of BSNs in the region. The region was challenged by a lack of BSN programs and an assessment of needs was completed to chart the course for additional programs. As a result, academic institutions in the region have expanded the number of programs to achieve a BSN by adding or streamlining pathways for education. Keiser University added one traditional BSN program, and regional second-degree options were implemented by Keiser and the University of South Florida at the Sarasota-Manatee campus.
Other strategies included the development of a Tool Kit to guide organizations in successful approaches to increase BSN percentages and the implementation of the Nurse Education Navigator (NEN) role to guide potential or current students applying for nursing school or scholarships. Community donors committed to SNAC’s mission provided scholarship funds to nurses seeking BSN and higher degrees with support of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County (CFSC). The CFSC serves as SNAC’s fiscal sponsor and administrative support for facilitating grants and donations. Through the successful implementation of these initiatives, the number and percentages of BSNs in the region are demonstrably increased.
Along the journey to improve the community’s healthcare, Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition has communicated its mission and vision through numerous presentations and publications. These include Town Hall presentations, local news broadcasts, a White Paper, local newspaper articles and presentations to the state coalition and are available for viewing in the “News” and “Resources” tabs. SNAC has achieved recognition for its work at the state level. Jan Mauck was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Summit of the Florida Action Coalition in 2019 for her leadership and advocacy work advancing the Future of Nursing Campaign and specifically for “advancing education transformation” and her outstanding work and leadership of SNAC.
SNAC Team Members
The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition was established in 2013 as a community effort to enhance the professional education advancement of registered nurses, professional nurse leaders and local nursing education faculty. As a coalition of volunteers from a variety of health care employers (hospitals, nursing homes, and public health agencies), local academic nursing programs as well as interested members of the community the SNAC coalition seeks to support the goals of the national Future of Nursing report through scholarship fundraising as well as other strategic initiatives within Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Specific SNAC goals include:
- Increasing the percentage of working RNs with BSN or higher degrees
- Increasing the number of Doctorate and PhD prepared nurses
| Member | Title | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Andrea Bresnahan | Member | Community |
| Anita Smith | Director Clinical Education | Tidewell Hospice |
| Barbara Battin Little | Member, Scholarship Team | Community |
| Betty Jordan | Senior Assistant Dean Undergraduate Programs | University of South Florida College of Nursing |
| Bobby Holbrook | Nursing Program Director | Florida South West |
| Sarah Cloud | BSN Program Director | State College of Florida |
| Charles Baumann | Co-Founder Finance and Communications | Community |
| Christine Schlesinger | Member | Community |
| Deborah Gauvreau | NCOA/Aging Mastery Program and SNAC Consultant | The Patterson Foundation |
| Diane Hogan | Member | Community |
| Gerri DeStefano | Chief Nursing Officer | Manatee Memorial Hospital |
| Heather Casillo | Director of Clinical Education | Galen College |
| Jacqueline Guy | Education Manager | Lakewood Ranch Medical Center |
| Jan Mauck | Co-Founder | Community |
| Jan Wyatt | Member – Web | Community |
| Jean Marie Lucas | Chief Nursing Officer | Sarasota Memorial Health Care System-Venice |
| Judy Young | Chief Nursing Officer | Lakewood Ranch Medical Center |
| Kimberly Hatchel | Chief Nursing Officer | Blake Medical Center |
| LaVerne Green | Nurse Education Navigator – Web | Community |
| Linda Louis | Educator | Venice Regional |
| Lisa Baumgardner | Director, Education | Sarasota Memorial Health Care System |
| Melissa Shelton | Member, Scholarship Lead | Sarasota Memorial Health Care System |
| Natasha Zurcher | Assistant Professor College of Nursing | University of South Florida |
| Pam Beitlich | Executive Director of Women and Children’s Services | Sarasota Memorial Health Care System |
| Rachel Taylor | Member | Community |
| Sandra Letourneau | Hospital Clinical Educator | Manatee Memorial Hospital |
| Kristi Hoskinson | Vice President | CareerEdge |
| Sue Shkrab | Member, Website Lead | Community |
| Susan Cohen | BSN Program Director | Keiser University |
| Tammy Sawmelle | Director of Nursing | State College of Florida |
| Terrance Hays | Professor-Student Success Advisor | Florida South Western College |
| Kathy Harnick | Administrative Support |