$1 Million Awarded to Scale Four Innovative Models of Care

New York, NY (October 20, 2026) — The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation (RAHF) today announced four new awards from the Hillman Innovations in Care (HIC) program. Representing the leading edge of nursing innovation, this year’s grantees will each receive $250,000 to expand promising interventions that address the needs of marginalized communities.

The Hillman Innovations in Care program, one of the Foundation’s defining initiatives, was created to accelerate the spread of evidence-based interventions that meet the health and social needs of people who experience inequity, discrimination, and indifference. The 2026 cohort of HIC grantees addresses some of society’s most urgent challenges, including promoting the safety and mental health of adolescent boys and young men, expanding access to essential care for uninsured adults, easing pain and distress for rural dementia patients, and integrating perinatal mental health into routine prenatal care.

“Nursing has a long history of addressing inequities in care,” said Ahrin Mishan, Executive Director of the Rita and Alex HillmanFoundation. “Building on that tradition, with an intimate knowledge of the communities they serve, this year’s grantees are uniquely positioned to improve the nation’s health.”
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• BrotherlyACT: Preventing Firearm Injury and Improving Mental Health Among Black Adolescents and Young Men
  Firearm injury is the leading cause of death for young Black men and boys, yet school-based health centers, often the only consistent point of care for low-income youth of color, typically lack tools to move beyond screening and referral when students disclose trauma or risk. BrotherlyACT is a culturally tailored digital therapeutic intervention, co-developed with young men and community partners, that pairs a brief nurse-led activation protocol with independent, skill-building video modules to strengthen coping and safety skills. This grant expands and evaluates the platform, positioning nurses to deliver structured behavioral interventions directly at the point of care rather than relying on referrals alone.
  Principal Investigator: Chuka Nestor Emezue, PhD, MPH, MPA, CHES, Rush University
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• Pain Pause: Chronic Pain Care and Management for Uninsured Adults
  Uninsured adults with chronic pain face steep barriers to non-pharmacologic care, while evidence-based behavioral treatments often remain out of reach in free clinics with limited time and staffing. Pain Pause addresses this gap through a three-minute, nurse-led intervention embedded directly into routine clinical visits to deliver immediate pain relief and introduce self-management skills. Funding supports a partnership with Shepherd’s Hope to adapt the intervention for safety-net clinic workflows and scale this evidence-based model to more patients, establishing a pathway toward equitable pain care nationwide.
  ‍Principal Investigators: Geraldine Martorella, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Adam Hanley, PhD, Florida State University
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• Aliviado: Addressing Pain and Unmet Needs in Dementia Patients in Hospice and Palliative Care
  Underserved minority and rural communities face severe disparities in dementia care, where healthcare systems frequently default to antipsychotic medications to manage behavioral symptoms rather than addressing root causes. Aliviado Dementia Care equips interdisciplinary hospice and palliative care teams to identify and alleviate unmet needs that trigger dementia-related distress, supported by a dual-platform mobile app for clinicians and family caregivers. This grant expands Aliviado’s infrastructure to new hospice and palliative care organizations and establishes a new membership model to sustain long-term scale and equitable access.
  Principal Investigator: Abraham A. Brody, PhD, RN, FAAN, FPCN, New York University
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• Center M: Scaling Group-Based Perinatal Mental Health in Routine Prenatal Care
  Depression is the most common complication of pregnancy and a leading driver of maternal mortality in the U.S., yet systemic barriers leave behavioral health care largely inaccessible for underserved patients. Center M is a nurse-led, group-based intervention designed to integrate preventive mental health directly into routine prenatal care with minimal burden on clinics or patients. Funding supports expanding this evidence-based model to four additional states, establishing standardized training tools and sustainable billing pathways to ensure long-term access for at-risk perinatal populations.
  Principal Investigator: Ellen Tilden, PhD, CNM, RN, FACNM, FAAN, Oregon Health and Science University

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‍About The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation

The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation advances bold, nursing-driven innovations that promote equitable, person-centered, and trustworthy care. It is committed to helping ignite and develop game changing interventions and cultivating a vibrant ecosystem of nurse innovators, grantees, and partners dedicated to building a healthier future for all.
For more information, please visit www.rahf.org.

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Media Contact
Takouhi Mosoian, The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation (press@rahf.org)

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