Columbia Welcomes Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare into Its New Home
Jonas Philanthropies team, from left to right: William T. (Bill) Bester, MSN, NEA-BC, FAAN, brigadier general, U.S. Army (ret), senior advisor; Darlene J. Curley, MS, RN, FAAN, CEO Jonas Philanthropies and executive director of Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare; Kelly Mahoney, director; Maggie Gelwix, executive assistant; Eliza F. K. Bromfield, development and partnerships manager.
This year, Columbia University School of Nursing welcomed Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare into its new building as a part of an $11.1 million, 10-year grant to Columbia Nursing meant to underscore the organization’s enduring commitment to the future of the nursing profession.
The grant, announced in 2015, will make Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare an official partnering organization of the school.
“I want to thank Dean Bobbie Berkowitz for welcoming the Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare team into its home,” said CEO of Jonas Philanthropies and Executive Director of Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare Darlene J. Curley, MS, RN, FAAN. “We share a common goal: to improve the health of individuals, families, communities and nations through nursing.”
Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare is a part of the wider Jonas Philanthropies, which aims to “improve healthcare for the better by investing where it matters most.” It includes Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, Jonas Low Vision and Blindness and Jonas Children’s Environmental Health.
“Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare’s administrative offices are now housed at Columbia Nursing,” Curley explained. “Jonas Philanthropies will continue to make nursing grants across the country.”
Curley says the organization’s founders Barbara and Donald Jonas are long-standing donors to Columbia University, and will continue to support research, education and practice at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology and Columbia University School of Nursing.
“Barbara and I believe nurses are the backbone of the American healthcare system, and in over 10 years Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare has given more than $25 million to help advance the nursing profession in all fifty states,” said Donald Jonas, Co-Founder and President of Jonas Philanthropies. “We are honored to now join the esteemed Columbia University School of Nursing at a time of great progress. At our new home, we will continue to create and support educational opportunities for nurses and enhance public focus on the health of our country’s veterans.”
Jonas Philanthropies’ signature investment continues to be its Jonas Scholars program, which is run by Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare. The program has more than 1,000 doctoral nursing scholars who are committed to meeting the greatest health needs and advancing the care of the country’s most vulnerable populations through leadership in research, policy and practice.
“Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare wants to advance the nursing profession because we know how vital it is to the future of health care in America,” said Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare Director Kelly Mahoney. “Being located at Columbia Nursing will enable us to work closely with faculty and researchers. We look forward to finding new ways to collaborate and help support the next generation of advanced practice nurses.”
Formerly known as The Jonas Center, Jonas Philanthropies began in 2006 to support the women and men who Americans entrust their care—veterans and nurses. Learn more about its programs here.