Excellence Award Winners 2023

Dr. Federovich-Hogan, an affiliate faculty member of the Pittsburgh Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), is recognized this year for her work caring for older adults in the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Dr. Federovich-Hogan implemented the Nurse Practitioner Led Care-COordination and eMpowerment of Patients in System-to-System (COMPASS) Transitions Program, which supports veterans discharged to nursing homes. This program incorporates caregiver education empowerment to ensure high quality communication between the hospital and post-acute care setting, with the intent to reduce potentially avoidable emergency department visits and hospital readmissions. Each veteran’s case is presented at a daily interdisciplinary team meeting where Dr. Federovich-Hogan assists with care coordination and facilitation of complex transfers. Since 2021, the COMPASS program has completed 435 visits and 101 follow-up encounters, identifying 1,252 medication discrepancies! The 30-day readmission rate improved from 22.5% to 14.5% with the benefits of this program. Dr. Federovich-Hogan presented these data at the Cleveland VA’s Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine for Hospitalists Lecture Series and continues to advocate for patients. Congratulations, Dr. Amanda Federovich-Hogan!

Dr. Jennifer Young provides compassionate care above and beyond her day to day role as a primary care provider form homebound seniors. After a hurricane devastated the state of Texas, Dr. Young identified a need to better prepare seniors and their families for natural disasters. She led a team to develop a quality improvement project to increase the number of participants in the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR). This team coordinated with their local county office of emergency management to provide education to seniors and local nurse practitioner groups. The team raised funds to provide STEAR education to over 200 seniors, both homebound and at local community centers. STEAR registrants for Dr. Young’s county increased by 227% during the 2022 hurricane season! Dr. Young’s team received funding through a presidential cabinet award to continue expanding the project for the 2023 season. Additionally, Dr. Young provides geriatric syndromes education to a physician assistant program and remains a passionate clinical instructor and preceptor to advanced practice students. Congratulations, Dr. Jennifer Young!

Dr. Sharon Wexler has dedicated her career to caring for older adults. She champions gerontological care by ensuring nurses and advanced practice nurses receive high quality education. Dr. Wexler’s titles include Certified Nurse Aid Educator and Examiner, Staff Development Instructor in Long Term Care, Continuing Education Provider, Faculty and Director in an undergraduate nursing program, and currently Professor and Chairperson of the PhD Nursing Program at Pace University. Because of Dr. Wexler’s influence in this program, two graduates of the first PhD cohort completed dissertations focused on vulnerable older adult populations. Dr. Wexler maintains involvement in multiple educational efforts in the larger nursing community as well, including service as the Chair of GAPNA’s Research Committee, Chairperson of the Content Expert Panel for the ANCC Gerontological CNS Exam, author of certification review exam courses, and a Distinguished Educator of the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence. Congratulations, Dr. Sharon Wexler!

The Great Lakes Chapter of GAPNA has worked very hard over the year in member recruitment and retention, community engagement, legislative activities, research, and education. In addition to the number of routine member meetings and education events, the chapter offers mentorship opportunities to students on topics like building resumes, negotiating contracts, and other professional topics for new graduates. The chapter collects donations for food banks, the Area Agency on Aging, and participates in several community charity events. Members participate in state activities such as contacting their local officials in support of the I CAN Act, which promotes full practice authority for nurse practitioners. Great Lakes members have publications in various media such as the Journal of Geriatric Emergency Medicine, website postings and webinars, and poster presentations. The chapter also maintains presence within GAPNA as a whole with member involvement in Committees, Special Interest Groups, national office positions, and several individuals receiving the GS-C credential.

This year the Education Committee is recognized for its work in producing education and materials that clarify misconceptions surrounding Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner roles. The committee members first recognized a gap in the number of AGNP graduate programs in addition to misconceptions about the certification and role. After reviewing the history of AGNPs they performed a focused analysis of AGNP competencies. The committee prepared manuscripts for a broad nursing audience that resulted in two publications: Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioners: A Discussion of Scope and Expertise in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, and Recognizing the Role of the Adult-Gerontology NP in the American Journal of Nursing. The committee’s dedication to this effort laid the foundation for continued publications, dissemination, and education to the broader nursing community, and will help inform curriculum and policies with the intention to increase the number of AGNP professionals in the workforce. Congratulations to the Education Committee!

As a prior David Butler Spirit Award recipient from the GAPNA Foundation, a Distinguished Educator of the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners fellow, Dr. Evelyn Duffy’s prominence as a leader in the nursing community is well-recognized. She is engaged in multiple committees, workgroups, roundtables, and task forces benefitting gerontological care and professional development. She led a national effort educating 3,000 advanced practice nurses on Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms care model across 1,100 Minute Clinics, a project that resulted in two publications and numerous presentations. Since 1996, Dr. Duffy has served as director of the Gerontology, then Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program at Case Western Reserve University and Associate Director of the University Center on Aging and Health. Under Dr. Duffy’s leadership the School of Nursing received funding from the William R Hearst Foundation, one of only five schools in the nation to receive this endowment. In 2020 Dr. Duffy was honored with an endowed chair in nursing; the recognition of her commitment to excellent geriatric care, education, policy, and leadership is well-deserved. Congratulations, Dr. Evelyn Duffy!

Dr. Candace Harrington’s nursing career boasts a very full resume, including 33 peer-reviewed presentations to over 42,000 professions from 42 countries, and 36 publications. Dr. Harrington’s work informs practice, research and policy for older adults in community and long-term care settings. She conducted two HRSA funded studies as a principal investigator that eliminated academic silos in interprofessional geriatric education; these studies resulted in the Two-As-One Preceptor Model and the Troika InterProfessional (TIP) Gerontology Education Model. She was also the principal investigator on the first population-based study of 1500 older adults in medically underserved eastern rural North Carolina, uncovering gaps in family caregivers’ dementia-related knowledge. She and her team addressed these gaps by connecting caregivers with farm-based AgriSafe nursing services and providing workshops. More recently, Dr. Harrington published research examining female caregivers’ experiences (such as kitchen fires, self-endangerment, or financial exploitation), and such experiences impact caregiving. This research highlighted policy gaps and has significant implications for practice and additional research. Congratulations, Dr. Candace Harrington!