Launched in 2023, the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center is an inclusive, research-based initiative that convenes key stakeholders, including schools, employers, associations, government and nurses around complex issues.

The COVID-19 pandemic plainly exposed the underlying problems nurses faced in their work. This exposure fueled an urgency for meaningful change in the nursing profession.

Our center uses science and evidence-based practices to examine and provide solutions to the:

• way nurses lead in all work settings;
• health and well-being of nurses individually and as members of the care team;
• approaches health systems use to build, sustain and retain their nursing workforce;
• best practices for optimal patient care experience; and
• ways to deliver optimized or new care to patients.

We welcome collaboration with anyone interested in ensuring nurses are equipped and patients are cared for.

Meet our Team

• Barbara MacArthur, MN, RN, FAAN, Director, Kansas Nursing Workforce Center, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Amy Garcia, DNP, MSN, RN, FAAN, Principal Advisor, Kansas Nursing Workforce Center, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Barbara Polivka, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Associate Dean for Grants and Research, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Shin Hye Park, PhD, RN, Nurse Scientist, Kansas Nursing Workforce Center, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Teresa Stenner, MA, Operations Manager, Kansas Nursing Workforce Center, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Alexander Alsup, MS, Data Scientist, University of Kansas Department of Biostatistics and Data Science
• Amy Curtis, Marketing and Communications Manager, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, PhD, MBA, Assistant Professor, University of Kansas Department Biostatistics and Data Science