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INTRODUCTION
VISION
The Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence strives to improve the lives of older adults in positive and personcentered ways.
MISSION
We are an interdisciplinary community of clinicians, nurse educators, researchers, scientists, and learners whose leadership involves actively improving health care and quality of life for older adults in America.
SUPPORT
Our work is made possible by generous supporters like you. Gifts of any size help us to continue to improve the healthcare and quality of life for older adults through innovative and integrated educational programming, rigorous clinical and translational research, and community outreach. Donations can be made online: raise.psu.edu/CGNE; or mail to Penn State College of Nursing, Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, 201 Nursing Sciences Building, University Park, PA 16801.
Donna Marie Fick, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN Elouise Ross Eberly Professor; Director of the CGNE Janice Whitaker, MEd, BSN, RN Administrator and Community Liaison CGNE
Ann Kolanowski, PhD, RN, FAAN Professor Emerita of Nursing; Professor Emerita of Psychiatry; Penn State Hershey College of Medicine; Founder, CGNE
Marie Boltz PhD, GNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Endowed Chair; Professor; Associate Director of Translation, CGNE Nikki Hill PhD, RN Assistant Professor; Associate Director of Education, CGNE Kimberly Van Haitsma, PhD Associate Professor; Associate Director of Scientific Research, CGNE; Director of Program for Person-Centered Living Systems of Care; Adjunct Research Scientist, Polisher Research Institute, Abramson Senior Care Christine Binduga, Education Program Assistant, CGNE
Judith E. Hupcey, EdD, CRNP, FAAN Professor of Nursing & Medicine; Associate Dean for Research & Innovation Diane Berish, PhD Assistant Research Professor Ying-Ling Jao, PhD, RN Assistant Professor Andrea Yevchak Sillner, PhD, GCNS-BC, RN Assistant Research Professor
Susan Kukic, Director of Development and Alumni Relations Morgann McAfee, Marketing and Creative Services Manager
Dear colleagues and friends,
Welcome to the 2019 CGNE Annual Report. We hope that you and your families are well during these historic and taxing times. 2020 thus far has been a challenging one, where many have suffered and died. We are hopeful that it will also be a year of learning from this crisis and years of resiliency and growth in the future.
In the following pages, we highlight new and exciting initiatives such as Age-Friendly Care, PA which provides education to providers, nurses and other healthcare workers, and community members about evidence-based practices related to the 4Ms framework. Please read about increased student involvement and achievement including the ways in which students are impacting the lives of older adults. Learn how our team is moving forward by reviewing and updating our vision and mission statements, prioritizing center goals, and developing a strategic plan that aligns with the goals of our college and university.
We would be remiss if we didn’t also mention how the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of our endeavors to advance and support care for older adults and families, as well as our efforts to develop the next generation of nursing educators and researchers who specialize in gerontology. As most of you know, older adults have been the most affected by this pandemic. As of May 2020, even though older adults in residential facilities make up 0.6% of the population, they accounted for 42% of all deaths from COVID-19. CGNE has worked with several community partners to learn about the experiences of older adults while providing evidence-based guidance and resources. We have educated our communities on the importance of knowing and acting on what matters, mentation, medications, mobility, and safely staying active and connected during social distancing. Our center has also been involved in various state-wide and national initiatives to address specific aspects of this crisis. With the pandemic serving as a backdrop, many health care providers and caregivers have been adjusting the way they deliver safe and effective care while promoting quality of life. Our expertise serves as the framework for ensuring that the needs of older adults are still being met, and for addressing the health disparities that exist in healthcare and in our communities.
Finally, we want to thank Dean Laurie Badzek and our supporters for their continued engagement and support, while reassuring our strategic partners that CGNE remains committed to goals and outcomes that will improve the lives of older adults in positive and person-centered ways. Our work is more vital now than ever, a perspective that is shared by our leadership and funding agencies. As our strategic activities continue to grow and expand, we look forward to our continued partnerships and advancing the science and education of aging.
As always, we are open to feedback about our annual report as well as any specific content it contains. We hope that you find it interesting and informative. If you would like to connect with CGNE, please do not hesitate to reach out!
Warmest regards,
Donna Fick Janice Whitaker
INFOGRAPHIC DATA SOURCED FROM 2019 ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUT
Nursing Continuing Professional Development Events
249 Contact Hours Issued
94 Publications by CGNE researchers
E D U C A T I O N A L EXCELLENCE
COLLABORATIVE SEMINAR SERIES
Each academic year, the CGNE and the Penn State College of Nursing Center for Nursing Research (CNR) collaborate to plan and implement a series of seminars. In addition to promoting skill-building, mentoring, and scholarly discourse among students and faculty, seminars provide interprofessional educational opportunities to the broader community, including many that offer nursing continuing professional development contact hours credit for Registered Nurses (RNs), which are provided by the College of Nursing Outreach and Professional Development office.The following descriptions highlight the seminars that involved learning objectives and content relevant to gerontology.
Treatment Fidelity Joanne Roman Jones, MS, JD, RN Joanne shared principles, methods, and practical considerations related to treatment fidelity. By designing research plans and projects that incorporate treatment fidelity, as well as collecting and monitoring data to determine the degree to which fidelity is maintained, nurse scientists will improve effectiveness, consistency, and results obtained from implementation research.
Delirium Assessment, Risk Factors, Nursing Interventions Tanya Maihot, PhD, RN Aside from presenting key components for nursing assessment and intervention, Tanya shared strategies for involving families in detection and management, as demonstrated by the expertise she acquired with postoperative delirium among older cardiac surgery patients. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Pharmacy and Health Systems Sciences of the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, her work focuses on cognition among older patients hospitalized in acute and critical care settings. As nurses play a critical role in assessing and intervening with patients, they are well positioned to prevent, detect, and manage delirium. Mindfulness in Nursing Leadership Kathryn Maxwell, DEd, CHES Kathryn shared strategies for integrating mindful practices into leadership domains. These practices have been found to boost leadership performance by improving personal and professional effectiveness, workplace satisfaction, and overall organizational productivity. Maxwell, who served as an academic adviser, career counselor, and instructor in kinesiology and special topics honors courses at Penn State for over 25 years, taught courses in stress management, emotional intelligence, health education, human sexuality, and strategies for resisting disease.
The Purpose Therapy Box Ali Izzo, COTA and Holly Masters, COTA Penn State Shenango alumnae and Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants developed an innovative tool to facilitate meaningful connections with family members and older adults to improve their sense of purpose. The Purpose Therapy Box won these entrepreneurs the grand prize in the April 2019 Inc.U competition.
Mental Fog after Concussion and Traumatic BrainInjury Tyler Bell, PhD A post-doctoral scholar and member of the ReMind Lab in the College of Nursing. Bell shared information and research findings related to cognition and mental functioning after a person has experienced a concussion or other traumatic brain injury.
The Electronic Rapid Fitness Assessment (eRFA): A Comprehensive Assessment of Older Adults with Cancer Mary Elizabeth Davis, DNP, MSN, RN, CHPM, ADCNS As an advanced practice oncology nursing professional and Penn State DNP student, Davis explained how this comprehensive assessment of older adult cancer patients can help to improve health outcomes in older adult patients undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer treatment.
Check out our website to learn about our upcoming seminars:
