Following the tragic impact of the ongoing COVID pandemic on nursing home residents and staff, is there new momentum for reform? Some signs point to yes. In February 2022, the White House outlined actions through …
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The Center for Aging Research and Education: Improving How We Age
America needs nurses, and the UW–Madison School of Nursing is focused on mitigating that shortage. Established by the university in 2011, the Center for Aging Research and Education (CARE) is building bridges, addressing health disparities …
Championing Careers in Aging Across Health Professions
Healthcare professionals who work with older adults are sleuths who dig deep to understand their patients. They collaborate across disciplines to support individuals’ health and improve care systems. They are experts in anticipating and avoiding …
Our House: The Benefits of Intergenerational Housing
“As a nurse, I never felt that nursing homes or dementia units provided what was needed for people to flourish,” said Karin Krause, ‘79 RN, a University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing alumna and founder …
Connecting Through Technology During COVID-19
Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. They are mostly older adults, often with medical conditions, who live in close quarters with many other people. To curb the impacts of the virus on this …
Ageism: Bad for Health, Healthcare, and Research
University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing Assistant Professor Kristen Pecanac, PhD, RN studies interactions among healthcare practitioners, patients, and family members as they make treatment decisions in hospital settings. She says the peer review process …
Home Is Where the HeART Coalition Is
“How can we address healthy aging within these communities in ways that are feasible, achievable, and relatively inexpensive, but also have a great impact?” asks Geana Shemak, MS, ATC, the community coordinator and educator for the …
Maintaining Connections While Fighting Infections: Long-Term Care During COVID-19
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term care staff knew they were facing multiple challenges. “When we closed the doors of nursing homes and visitors were no longer allowed, I went home, I packed …
Care, Culture, and Community: Working Towards Equity for Older Adults
“This is part of Black Lives Matter,” says Tracy Schroepfer, MSW, PhD, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work. “Racism and discrimination are embedded in systems. We need to …
Taking Stress in STRIDE: Learning How to Support Brain Health
“Almost everyone experiences stress,” says Megan Zuelsdorff, PhD, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing. “Stress is an underlying construct for a lot of my research. I think of it …