When nurses lead

In Fall 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began a major initiative to improve dementia care in nursing homes. The initial goal was to reduce the prevalence of antipsychotic medication use in long-stay nursing home residents with dementia by 15%. Through a new, public-private collaboration, the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care established coalitions in every state. After 18 months, a 15.1% reduction was achieved nationally. Throughout the initiative, many nurses played key roles in leading the process for change. This article describes the roles of nurse leaders in this national policy work.