CARE at the UW-Madison School of Nursing
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 the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The measures would establish minimum staffing levels for nursing homes, encourage …
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 across older populations, and inspiring future health care professionals. This rewarding program prepares nursing students to support aging populations across …
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 potential problems. That’s what panelists at a recent Careers in Aging Week discussion told University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing …
“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 and Executive Director of Hope and a Future, a nonprofit organization. “We created facilities that keep people safe, so they …
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 population, strict controls were implemented limiting visitors and oversight. Langlade County Healthy Aging in Rural Towns (HeART) Project member Paul …
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 has provided her with clear examples of ageism. “I did a study where I looked at conversations between physicians and …
“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 Healthy Aging in Rural Towns (HeART) coalition in Iowa County, Wisconsin. For three years, HeART coalitions in Iowa County, Langlade County, and …
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 my belongings, and I moved into the nursing home,” says Janelle Zacho, RN, DNS-CT, the Director of Nursing at Columbia …
“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 dig through policies and practices and make changes to meet the needs of all older adults, in particular older adults …
“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 as both an outcome and as a social determinant of other aspects of health,” she says. She points out that …