Linda Aiken, the Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor of Nursing and the director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, was presented with the Gustav O. Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine. She was honored for her “rigorous research demonstrating the importance of nursing care and work environments in achieving safe, effective, patient-centered, and affordable health care.” The award includes a medal and a $40,000 prize. The Lienhard Award is funded by an endowment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Victor Dzau, president of the Institute of Medicine, stated that “by illuminating the key role nursing care plays in patient safety and health and identifying concrete ways to support that role – such as maintaining staffing levels and encouraging high levels of education for nurses – Linda Aiken has made tremendous contributions to the quality of health care here and abroad.”
Dr. Aiken holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Florida. She earned a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Texas at Austin.