Nursing enters mask contest

By entering the Hospice of Michigan Mask Project 2 Contest, Grand Valley
nursing faculty and staff members hope to draw attention to the nationwide
nursing shortage.

Mask Project 2 is a statewide exhibition and auction of more than 250 clay
masks painted by local and national celebrities and community organizations..
The masks will be displayed in an exhibit at Woodland Shopping Center in
Grand Rapids from September 13-October 24. Through the auction, Hospice
officials hope to raise nearly $500,000 to support patients and families
served by the organization.

Kirkhof School of Nursing faculty and staff members, along with other
members of the West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council, submitted a mask
designed by Arianna Baker titled 'The New Face of Nursing.' The mask has a
mirror-like surface, symbolically reflecting anyone who looks at the mask as
a potential nurse.

Phyllis Gendler, KSON dean, said submitting a mask entry was an avenue to
increase public awareness of the nursing shortage.

'We need to continue to have information out there that there is a shortage,
there is a group working on the shortage, and that all people can become
nurses,' she said.

Gendler was instrumental in establishing the WMNAC, formerly the West
Michigan Nursing Summit, two years ago to discuss and address issues related
to nursing care in West Michigan. The WMNAC was recently named an advisory
group of the Alliance for Health.

Grand Valley's Art and Design Department has sponsored 10 other masks for
the project.

Hospice of Michigan is featuring photos of the masks on its Web site,
www.hom.org.