HIGHLIGHTS

The CGNE & CNR had the pleasure of hosting Lisa Alves Gomes, PhD, professor of nursing at the University of Minho. Gomes spent much of the week meeting with College of Nursing faculty and leadership, guest presenting in several undergraduate and graduate nursing classes, and touring College of Nursing facilities. Gomes, whose interest and expertise is in the area of nursing rehabilitation, delivered her presentation titled " Heart Disease, Now What? Promoting Self-Care with Education" on August 29 to 50 Penn State faculty, staff, and community members. She also shared her lecture with Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Nittany Valley staff the following day. The goal of the presentation was to foster an understanding of an educational program’s effectiveness and develop related skills that enhance patient self-care after acute coronary syndrome.

Penn State alum (MA in French ‘75 and PhD in French ’85), Régine Lambrech, PhD presented to a packed room on September 5. Her seminar focused on dementia’s second victim: the caregiver. Her aptly titled presentation " Dementia: A Second Victim’s Perspective" examined demographics and economic data as well as physical, psychological, social, and financial ramifications of dementia on the caregiver. Lambrech’s talk explored healthcare provider knowledge of caregiver stress and how it affects interactions with staff and the resident/ patient. Her lecture encouraged healthcare providers to develop partnerships with caregivers in order to provide person-centered care for dementia patients while supporting dementia’s second victims.

Image credit: Morgann McAfee

Photo of Régine Lambrech's talk on September 5 Lambrech, who was named a Distinguished Alumna of Penn State in 1996 and currently serves as President of the Penn State Society of Distinguished Alumni, has had a long career creating and managing international educational and research exchanges both in the United States and France. As a result of her mother’s Lewy Body Dementia diagnosis in 1999, Lambrech sought opportunities to learn

about dementia to provide the best possible care for her mother. She studied and received the Certified Dementia Specialist certificate from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, founded the Phone Angel caregiver support program for the Alzheimer’s Association of Connecticut, and ran several Alzheimer caregiver support groups. Lambrech used her experience and training to teach dementia care as an adjunct lecturer with the Avila Institute of Gerontology and currently coordinates the grant writing and fundraising efforts of the independent living, assisted living, and nursing home facilities of The Carmelite System.

Faculty, students, and local community members gathered on November 7 for a seminar presented by Kimberly Oosterhouse, PhD, RN, CNE, assistant professor in the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University, Chicago. Her talk titled " EMR Delirium Identification: CUIs and TUIs and AUIs – Oh my!" centered on the incidence and prevalence of delirium in hospitalized older adults, identifying barriers to older adult delirium assessment in acute care, types of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and how to register for Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus access.

Oosterhouse is Chair of the Midwest Nursing Research Society’s (MNRS) Gerontological Nursing Science Research Interest Group and a member of the Education Committee of the National Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence. Her expertise includes adult critical care nursing, nursing education, and older adult nursing care.

L to R: Janice Whitaker, Kimberly Oosterhouse, Donna Fick, Kimberly Van Haitsma

Want to be a visiting scholar or collaborate with our team?

VISIT NURSING.PSU.EDU/CGNE OR EMAIL CGNE@PSU.EDU

IMPROVING CAREGIVER EMPATHY BY IMPLEMENTING DEMENTIA LIVE® SIMULATIONS

Since August of 2018, CGNE has provided funding to support faculty and staff at University Park as well as several commonwealth campuses to become certified as Dementia Live coaches. This eldercare program is sponsored by the AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and involves an experiential learning opportunity that immerses participants into what life might be like for a person living with cognitive impairment and sensory change. Upon becoming Dementia Live certified coaches, Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN, CGNE Administrator and PEEC Director, Ruth Bish, Program for Enhancing Excellence in Care (PEEC) Project Coordinator, and Donna Massari, CGNE Education Program Assistant conducted the Dementia Live experience with over 300 Cambria Care Center and SeniorLIFE employees as part of PEEC. It was so well received, that SeniorLIFE ‘s executive leadership requested that it be provided to family members as well. In addition, CGNE gero faculty affiliate Daniel Eaton, DNP, RN, assistant teaching professor of nursing at Penn State Behrend focused his dissertation and practicum project on studying the potential impact of this type of education.

Eaton, teaches NURS 310 Therapeutic care of the older adult, NURS 420 Mental health nursing, and NURS 415 Community health nursing. As part of his studies and eventual graduation from Clarion University in 2018, his interest was in the impact of dementia simulation on participants’ empathy. He developed a pilot study that was conducted at a continuing care retirement community in Northwest Pennsylvania. There were 27 total participants in the study, with experience working with persons living with dementia ranging from less than 1 year to over 30 years. Participants included nurses, nurse aides, dietary workers, housekeepers, and therapy staff. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was used pre and post simulation to evaluate participants' empathy. Upon analysis

Image credit: Morgann McAfee

Cambria Care Center employees are outfitted with DementiaLIVE gear.

of the data, statistically significant results were found, indicating that participants' empathy increased. In fact, every participant demonstrated some increase in their empathy score after experiencing Dementia Live.

Eaton is using his study results to guide current and future research. In addition, he’s in the process of developing: a scale that evaluates empathy, specifically as it relates to dementia; and, a virtual reality dementia simulation to provide participants a view of what life is like for someone living with dementia.

Image credit: Morgann McAfee CENTRE COUNTY GERIATRIC INTEREST NETWORK (GIN)

The Centre County GIN strives to educate, advocate, and provide networking opportunities for individuals and organizations that serve the needs of older adults in Centre County. As part of the educational arm, biannual conferences, which are co-sponsored by the CGNE, offer various disciplines continuing education units, some of which are provided by the College of Nursing Outreach and Professional Development office.

The 2019 spring program, “Leadership & Communication” was offered March 31 in Boalsburg, PA. Ninety-three health practitioners, administrators, and community members learned about the Servant model of leadership, which focuses on leading by example. The allday conference was presented by Benjamin Elman, PhD, leadership development consultant of Bartell & Bartell, Ltd., pioneer in organizational and leadership technologies.

In the fall, Magaret Calkins, PhD, CAPS, EDAC, who presented at the seventh annual CGNE Alumni & Friends Spring Brunch, returned to Happy Valley to showcase her expertise and work. Nationally recognized as an innovative expert and dynamic leader in architectural research and gerontology, with a background in psychology, Calkins offered multiple sessions in addition to providing the keynote presentation at the October 18 conference. Dr. Calkins is the president of IDEAS: Innovative Designs in Environments for an Aging Society, a consulting firm that improves care and quality of life for older adults through therapeutic physical, social and organizational environments.

S C I E N T I F I C R E S E A R C H & TRANSLATION OF BEST PRACTICE

COLLABORATIVE BRINGS 4MS FOCUS TO HEALTH CARE IN PENNSYLVANIA

Collaborations yield important and meaningful results difficult to achieve without a shared approach. Age-Friendly Care, PA is a collaborative for age- and dementia-friendly care that came together in the summer of 2019 with support from the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), a five-year 3.2-million-dollar grant to help ensure older adults in Pennsylvania receive quality primary health care that meets their needs.

The CGNE & CNR are working in collaboration with partners including the Primary Health Network (PHN), Area Agencies on Aging, Alzheimer’s Association, Leading Age, PA Department of Aging, and community-based organizations. The College of Nursing brings together a strong and vibrant team of researchers that are leading this collaborative endeavor. These include Judith Hupcey EdD, CRNP, FAAN, professor of nursing & medicine, Associate Dean for Research & Innovation and Donna Fick (co-PI’s), PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, Elouise Ross Eberly Professor, Director of the CGNE and team members,

Marie Boltz, Lisa Kitko, Diane Berish, Kimberly Van Haitsma, Madeline Mattern, Marianne

Adam, and Britney Wardecker. Each of these members brings a complementary expertise to the team.

The team also includes Erica Husser, PhD, project director, Jenny Knecht Fredo, MSN, CRNP, project nurse practitioner, and Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN, CGNE Administrator and Community Liaison. Members from the Primary Health Network include George Garrow, MD, medical director, and Marie Mulvihill, executive director and PHN GWEP liaison.

The Age-Friendly Care, PA team understands that older adults are unique, and their health care needs are different from middle aged or younger adults. Older adults are complex individuals with a lifetime accumulation of experiences and preferences, and they need health care and communities that can meet them where they are. The goal of Age-Friendly Care, PA is to improve the health and quality of life for older adults in Pennsylvania, including those living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, and with a special attention to older adults living in rural parts of our state. To achieve the goal, the team is educating and training health care professionals, and all involved in caring for older adults and older adults themselves, on the 4Ms of an Age

Friendly Care Health System. This includes integrating age-friendly care into the College of Nursing undergraduate and graduate curricula.

The 4Ms are: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. When practiced as a set, these four essential elements can improve patient care, save resources, reduce harm, increase job satisfaction, and empower older adults and their caregivers. The 4Ms model is part of a national social movement initiated by the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) and the John A. Hartford Foundation, and in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA).

The collaborative approach is at the heart of efforts and functions to bring the work to fruition. Age-Friendly Care, PA is one of 48 GWEPs across the nation.

Visit us at www.agefriendlycarepa.psu.edu to learn more and join the movement.

Jenny Knecht, NP (on left) poses with Primary Health Network providers and nurses during an AFC-PA pilot site visit. L to R: Jenny Knecht, CRNP AFC-PA, Marie Mulvihill, Grant Champion PHN, Jody Peters, Practice Manager PHN, Frank Conly, MD PHN, Kayla Davis, LPN PHN.

REDUCING DISABILITY VIA A FAMILY-CENTERED INTERVENTION FOR ACUTELY-ILL PERSONS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS

Marie Boltz, PhD, GNPBC, FGSA, FAAN, Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Endowed Chair and Professor of Nursing, along with her research team, focused on advancing current research testing the efficacy of Family-Centered Function Focused Care (Fam-FFC). The team has enrolled about 2/3 of the planned sample of patients who are living with dementia and their family caregivers. Along the way to final enrollment and data analysis, important findings about the hospital experience of persons with dementia have surfaced. Preliminary findings show occurrences of untreated pain and its association with functional decline and behavioral distress; health disparities in symptoms among black and white persons with dementia; and the positive influence of family-centered goal attainment upon cognitive and functional outcomes.

The project has been enriched by the work of two Penn State PhD students: Project Director, Ashley Kuzmik (Epidemiology, College of Medicine), who completed an analysis of MotionWatch

data (a measure of physical activity) validating the use of this measure in hospitalized persons with dementia; and, Research Evaluator, Joanne Roman Jones (College of Nursing), who presented the project’s treatment fidelity work at the 2019 Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) virtual conference. In addition to contributing substantially to the project, both have passed comprehensive examinations and successfully defended their dissertation proposals.

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RISK FACTORS AS MEDIATORS OF SUBJECTIVE MEMORY IMPAIRMENT AND OBJECTIVE MEMORY DECLINE: A CONSTRUCT-LEVEL REPLICATION ACROSS FOUR STUDIES

Nikki Hill, PhD, RN, assistant professor; associate director of education, Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence reports that the results of this National Institute of Health (NIH)-funded study highlight relationships between reports of memory problems among older adults without cognitive impairment and future mental health. Although these memory complaints are often considered benign, Hill and team found that they are in fact associated with the development of future depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as perceived stress. These findings feature the need for clinicians to consider the potential implications of memory complaints as early indicators of psychosocial health needs. Hill has been leading the research team to disseminate results and develop research proposals to extend this work based on findings. In 2020, the team will examine how memory complaints, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms influence the risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

GERONTOLOGY RESEARCH INTEREST GROUP (GERO RIG)

The Gero RIG, a newly created group founded and led by Diane Berish, PhD, assistant research professor, kickedoff with its first meeting on August 28. Each month, students, faculty, and others meet to discuss gerontology related research. Berish, who joined the College of Nursing in 2018, says her intent in creating the group was to allow a space for faculty, students, and others to talk about and receive feedback on their ongoing research, research ideas, research issues/problems, and other research related topics.

SERVING THE PROFESSION

A member of the INTERDEM taskforce on Methodology, Ann Kolanowski, PhD, RN, FAAN, and other taskforce members are applying new methods (non-RCT) to build upon the body of evidence for psychosocial INTERvention for people with DEMentia. The taskforce was originally initiated at the INTERDEM meeting in Barcelona in 2018 and expanded at the Den Hague meeting in 2019. INTERDEM is a panEuropean network of researchers collaborating and disseminating research on psychosocial

interventions aimed at improving the quality of life of people with dementia.

Kolanowski further serves her profession as a member of the Research Steering Committee for the NIA- and Alzheimer’s Associationfunded Leveraging an Interdisciplinary Consortium to Improve Care and Outcomes for Persons Living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia (LINC-AD) project (Sheryl Zimmerman and Sam Fazio MPIs). This project is an outgrowth of the recommendations of the 2017 National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and their Caregivers, specifically, the development of methods for measuring person-centered outcomes. The project also builds on the Alzheimer’s Association recently developed recommendations for quality dementia care. The overarching goals of LINCAD are to broaden interdisciplinary interest in measuring person-centered outcomes that: foster a constructive balance between strengths and deficits assessment, add a new emphasis on evidence-based tools to guide structures and processes of care, and provide a novel conceptual framework to inform measurement and care.

INMATES CARE

Susan Loeb, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, professor of nursing and medicine, recently completed her twofold research where one aspect focused on the research, development, dissemination, and implementation of a toolkit for training prison staff in strategies to enhace geriatric and end of life (EOL) care in prisons. Stages of this research included:

A paper and electronic files Toolkit for Enhancing End-of-Life Care in Prisons was developed and implemented in six state prisons; The Toolkit was transformed into 3 prototype computer-based training (CBT) modules and renamed Enhancing Care of the Aged and Dying in Prisons (ECAD-P) in a Phase I STTR study; and A refinement and extension of that work was achieved in our recently completed Phase II STTR study, which resulted in a fullscale highly interactive CBT program that was usability tested in diverse correctional settings.

In the second focus of the research, Loeb and team transformed and programmed a highly interactive and media-rich set of prototype modules that are based upon best practices in inmate peer caregiving in the STTR Phase I study E-training of Inmate Peer Caregivers for Enhancing Geriatric and EOL Care in Prisons. The product has been branded as Inmates Care. Face-to-face usability testing of three prototype modules has been completed.

Research was conducted in collaboration with Valerie Myers, PhD, senior scientist at Klein Buendel, Inc., a small business in Golden, CO.

PRAGMATIC TOOLS TO FACILITATE PREFERENCE BASED, PERSONCENTERED CARE

Building upon Kimberly Van Haitsma’s, PhD associate professor, early research on the value of individualized care for nursing home residents with dementia, VanHaitsma and team created the PELI, a questionnaire co-designed with older adults to promote daily care responsive to individual preferences. This first-of-its-kind tool was initially validated in testing with 500 home health care clients. Subsequent versions have been developed for nursing homes, and with varied populations such as LGBT older adults, seniors in adult day care, and home health recipients.

A new subscale for technology-assisted communication preferences for older adults and their family caregivers is being tested with funding by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and under the leadership of Andrea Yevchak Sillner, PhD, GCNS-BC, RN, assistant research professor.

In addition, Britney Wardecker, PhD, assistant professor, has been awarded a grant to make the PELI more inclusive to gender identity and orientation issues, aka the Rainbow PELI.

Seeking to address long-term care providers’ real-world needs and challenges, Van Haitsma and team have created a robust set of practical resources for practitioners at all levels that include webinars, training videos, conferences and websites (Visit preferencebasedliving.com to view resources). Since 2017, the website has had over 9,000 users from the US (50 states) and internationally (46 countries).

HOSPICE CARE IN RURAL PA

A new grant from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania will enable researchers in the College of Nursing and the Department of Health Policy and Administration in the College of Health and Human Development to assess the need for hospice and palliative care in rural Pennsylvania.

Co-investigators Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, associate professor of nursing, Associate Dean for Graduate Education, and Joel Segel, assistant professor of health policy and administration, will analyze Medicare data to determine current and future demand for hospice services in rural Pennsylvania. In addition, their team — which also includes graduate assistant Elizabeth Thiede, a student in the Ph.D. Degree Program in Nursing — will conduct interviews with hospice and palliative care providers to identify challenges and opportunities for delivering these services.

After the data has been analyzed and interpreted, the team will discuss the policies currently in place and how they can be updated to better serve patients who receive hospice and palliative care.

AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY (AGS) BEERS CRITERIA® UPDATE

In January 2019, the AGS unveiled the third update to the AGS Beers Criteria, a frequently cited reference tool for healthcare professionals to help improve the safety of prescribing medications for older adults. An interdisciplinary panel of experts co-chaired by Donna Fick, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, Elouise Ross Eberly Professor of Nursing and director of the Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, updated and expanded the guidelines by reviewing more than 1,400 clinical trials and researching and identifying more than 40 potentially problematic medications and classes of medications.

RESEARCHING EFFICIENT APPROACHES TO DELIRIUM IDENTIFICATION (READI)

The purpose of this NIH funded R01, which ends in 2021, is to determine the best approach to implement systematic delirium identification at the bedside. Donna Fick, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, Marie Boltz, PhD, GNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN, Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Endowed Chair and Professor of Nursing, and co-MPI Edward Marcantonio, MD, SM, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and team are evaluating the ultra-brief screener, including determining the effectiveness and cost of having physicians, nurses, and certified nursing assistants administer the two-step delirium identification protocol.

Qualitative findings from direct observation and interviews will inform implementation of hospital-wide systematic delirium identification, including ways to improve adherence. This study also has an Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) supplement funded in 2017 with an additional aim for understanding screening in persons with ADRD.

To date, researchers have completed enrollment with over 900 assessments, 934 older adults and clinicians enrolled. Enrollment and main aim papers for two thirds aims have been completed. Over ten READI papers have been published, though data is still being analyzed. Fick and Marcantonio have written specific aims, which are now under review by the larger team for a grant submission in 2020.

Image credit: Morgann McAfee

Project Director Erica Husser, PhD (right) on shift at Mount Nittany Medical Center screening for enrollment into the READI study with Logan Foreman, research assistant (left).

S E R V I C E , S T R A T E G I C P A R T N E R S H I P S A N D SUSTAINABILITY

EXPLORING THE INTERSECTIONS OF ART, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

Bill Doan, professor of theatre in the College of Arts and Architecture, has always recognized the connection between health care and the arts. Through this understanding came a collaboration with the College of Nursing for a unique artist-in-residence pilot program. The residency aims to infuse artistic representation into the science of nursing by focusing on caring for individuals experiencing some of life’s most difficult challenges.

In a project with Nikki Hill, PhD, RN, assistant professor; associate director of education, Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, a methodology known as story circles was used to investigate the potential for enhancing research aimed at improving illness representation, communication and intervention. Story circles involve the creation of original plays and the telling and listening to stories to cultivate an appreciation for the unique experiences of each participant.

One of Hill’s doctoral student advisees, Logan Sweeder, shared some of the early results of her study exploring cognitive problems in aging in a poster session as part of the College of Medicine's University Park Medical Campus Research Symposium on May 2. Doan and Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, associate professor of nursing, Associate Dean for Graduate Education, also conducted a pilot story circle event at Juniputer Village at Brookline with individuals who received an advanced heart failure diagnosis. Doan is looking forward to obtaining the results from a pilot and is interested in exploring future College of Nursing collaborations including the possibility of examining the experiences of individuals with dementia with Donna Fick, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN.

Image credit: Morgann McAfee

Bill Doan, professor of theatre and 2019–20 Penn State Laureate, capped off his first year as artist-in-residence with the College of Nursing with a new performance piece from his Anxiety Project, "Frozen in the Toilet Paper Aisle of Life."

CGNE FOUNDER’S NEW ROLE AT KING’S COLLEGE

Ann Kolanowski, PhD, RN, FAAN, became an invited member of the President’s Council at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. King’s College is a liberal arts college run by the Holy Cross

Fathers that serves over 2000, primarily first generation, college students. In this position she experiences an academic institution from a new perspective, advising the college leadership advocating for older adults’ lifetime learning. Kolanowski is also a champion for the King’s College new nursing program, which is headed by Cynthia Mailloux, PhD, RN (chair) and Julie L. Murphy, PhD, RN (Director of the RN to BSN Program), both proud graduates of the Penn State College of Nursing doctoral program.

CGNE LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBERS SERVE AS NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING (NIA) IMPACT COLLABORATORY, DISSEMINATION AND IMPLEMENTATION (D&I) CORE ADVISORY MEMBERS

Kimberly Van Haitsma, PhD associate professor, and Marie Boltz, PhD, GNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN, Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Endowed Chair and professor of nursing, have been asked to serve as advisory members of the D&I Core as a part of the large-scale NIA IMPACT Collaboratory (2019-2024), which is directed by primary investigators from Brown University and Harvard University. The Core is comprised of international experts in dementia implementation research and led by Laura Gitlin, PhD, MA, Founding Director, Center for Innovative Care in Aging at Johns Hopkins University. The aim of this project is to provide the national infrastructure necessary to catalyze and support pragmatic clinical trials of non-pharmacological interventions for persons with dementia. The D&I core will provide technical assistance to investigators and identify pilot trials ready for full-scale evaluation and implementation within health care systems.

CGNE CELEBRATES ITS HIGHEST PARTICIPATION IN ANNUAL STATE COLLEGE WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S

The 2019 State College Walk to End Alzheimer’s was held on October 26 at Medlar Field/Lubrano Park. This year’s College of Nursing CGNE team celebrated its highest participation to date with 66 faculty, staff, and students walking, donating, or raising funds (placing 2nd in State College in terms of team size). In addition, the team doubled its fundraising goals, raising $4,300 in just six weeks (placing 3rd in the State College walk in terms of funds raised).

CGNE BRINGS HOLIDAY CHEER TO OLDER ADULTS IN CARE COMMUNITIES

Twenty-six generous College of Nursing faculty members, staff, and students provided gifts to 29 older adults residing at 2 care communities: House of Care, State College and Salem Hill, Spring Mills. The gifts were delivered by CGNE elves on December 19 and 20; the latter included refreshments and a special musical performance by Diane Berish, PhD, assistant research professor. Residents enjoyed the hearing and telling of special holiday memories and a fun sing-along.

Image credit: Christine Binduga

The Musical Stylings of Diane Berish, on the flute

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Festive photo of donated gifts

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L to R - Diane Berish, Donna Fick, Christine Binduga, Janice Whitaker

SETTING THE STAGE FOR ACTION IN RURAL HEALTH AND AGING

In July, Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN, CGNE Administrator and Community Liaison, participated in an invitation-only two-day summit in Scranton, PA, which was organized and facilitated by The Honorable Kathy Greenlee, JD, President & CEO, Greenlee Global, LLC/ former Assistant Secretary for Aging, US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the summit, which was co-sponsored by the John A. Hartford Foundation and Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, was to draw on the wisdom and energy of nearly 40 local, regional, and national experts in the fields of aging and health. With a goal to “understand the strategies that can be deployed now, not in the distant future, to support the health and independence of rural older Americans,” the aim was to identify and prioritize action.

Participants were separated into three workgroups: coordinating care, technology for connectivity, and geriatrics workforce. Conversations focused on adapting proven programs, closing the gaps in rural care, older adults and digital technology, and expanding the workforce to meet the needs of older adults. After many hours of collaborative discussion, the experts identified the following calls to action that can be taken immediately:

Identify community assets for older people Engage older adults (advising communities on the nature of their needs) Integrate care (via care coordination) Address social determinants of health Age-friendly rural health by implementing the 4Ms Address social isolation Backbone organizations (identification of) Build upon the Project ECHO model Capacity building and technical assistance Partnerships (local businesses) Promote greater use of technology Upskilling and advancement of direct care workforce Map the rural landscape (research workforce shortages/service gaps)

STATE COLLEGE COMMUNITY FORUM

In collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association, the CGNE co-hosted a community forum on February 19th in State College, PA. Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN, CGNE Administrator and Community Liaison, and Jill Curtis, Alzheimer’s Association led a discussion to identify the needs and gaps in resources and opportunities for older adults in the State College area. The event also served as an invaluable opportunity to build and strengthen strategic partnerships with the Borough of State College, local media outlets, AIDS Resource Alliance, Sage Life Technologies, and Centre Volunteers in Medicine.

UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS APPLY CLASSROOM LEARNING VIA OUTREACH ACTIVITY

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Junior nursing students who particpated in the health fair

On October 15 and 16, Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN, CGNE Administrator and Community Liaison, and Mary Ellen Yonushonis, MS, RN, CNE, assistant teaching professor, and more than a dozen undergraduate nursing students participated in the Mount Nittany Residences Resource Fair. The event, which brought together over 150 older adults and resource professionals, was designed to provide helpful information to older adults in a familiar and comfortable setting. The College of Nursing team provided health screenings to Mount Nittany residents and educate them on the 4Ms of age-friendly care, while offering students an opportunity to apply material learned in the classroom.

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Nursing students and a Mount Nittany Residences resident

INTERGENERATIONAL FRIENDS FAIR

On June 1, Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN, participated in the Intergenerational Friends Fair, sponsored by the Penn State Intergenerational Leader Institute and the State College Friends School. The fair, which was held at the State College Friends School, provided activities for all ages including crafts, games, and interactive workshops on various topics. Whitaker’s workshop, which was co-presented by Jomara Sandbulte, PhD student from the College of Information Sciences and Technology, was titled, “Family Conversations About Health.”

Image credit: Morgann McAfee

Nursing students and a Mount Nittany Residences resident

CGNE TAKES 2ND PLACE IN JUNIPER TRAIL OF TREES CONTEST

In recent years, the CGNE has entered the Juniper Trail of Trees contest, a communitywide event hosted by Juniper Village at Brookline, a State College continuum of care community. The contest features dozens of holiday trees creatively decorated by local businesses, organizations, and Juniper departments. In 2019, the CGNE submitted a“Snowflakes that Warm Our Hearts” themed tree, which was adorned with photos of College of Nursing faculty, staff, and students alongside their loved ones.The CGNE was awarded 2nd place, which came with a donation to our charity of choice, the Alzheimer’s Association.

Image credit: Christine Binduga

Judith Hupcey and her mother, aged 93 in the photo

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Janice Whitaker and her mother, Connie

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Rae Brown and her aunt, aged 101

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Dean Badzek and her family on a trip to celebrate her 92 year old father

ANNUAL EVENTS

SEVENTH ANNUAL CGNE ALUMNI AND FRIENDS SPRING BRUNCH

The Seventh Annual CGNE Alumni and Friends Spring Brunch was held on March 31 at the Nittany Lion Inn. The event, which was attended by 132 faculty, staff, and clinical/ community partners, featured keynote Margaret Calkins, PhD, CAPS, EDAC and offered one Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) unit to each Registered Nurse (RN) in attendance. The keynote presentation, “Environmental Design for Older Adults: Research and Practice Recommendation,” centered on environmental characteristics that positively impact the quality of life of older adults in various types of residential settings. Attendees also celebrated the CGNE and its partners while enjoying brunch, opportunities for fellowship, and music.

2019 CGNE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

The CGNE Holiday Open House was held on December 11th at the Nursing Sciences Building Atrium.The annual event provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, alumni, and community/clinical partners to celebrate the season, enjoy togetherness, and look back on the year’s accomplishments. Fortyfive attendees viewed a slideshow of the year in images while enjoying music and refreshments.

Image credit: Morgann McAfee

Members of the CGNE leadership team*

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Photo from the Spring Brunch

Image credit: Christine Binduga

Photo from the Holiday Open House