THE HARTFORD INSTITUTE FOR GERIATRIC NURSING |
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Dear Friends,
Here we are into November, and it appears that we will have a new administration in Washington beginning January 20th. COVID-19 has found ways to surge again across the country. There are some positive outcomes in the vaccine trials, and hopefully, sometime in the next year, we will be able to feel safe in receiving vaccinations. It is a time of uncertainty, but also a time of hope.
This month our newsletter focuses on palliative care, which is still not fully understood by much of the public or by payers. COVID-19 has made access to palliative care more difficult, and telehealth does not provide the human interaction necessary for this type of care. This month's expert contributor, Dr. Schulman-Green, will add some insights into the opportunities and challenges of palliative care.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and please remember to follow the CDC guidelines for your celebration.
Warmly,
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Tara A. Cortes, PhD, RN, FAAN |
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Palliative Care Principles and a Program of Research
Dena Schulman-Green, PhD
Associate Professor
NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing
What do you understand about your diagnosis?
Who else should be in the room for this conversation?
What is most important to you right now?
These questions are among the first to be asked during palliative care consultations.
They represent core principles of palliative care: 1) patients should be informed and activated to participate in their care planning to the extent that they prefer; 2) care management occurs in partnership with family, friends, and the community; and 3) care plans should reflect patients’ goals and values. While these principles could and should be foundational to all healthcare, they are routine in palliative care.
Palliative care is specialized healthcare for individuals with serious, life-limiting illness. This whole-person approach addresses pain and symptom management as well as psychosocial and spiritual care for patients and their families. A multidisciplinary team consisting of nurses, physicians, chaplains, social workers, and other clinicians work collaboratively with patients’ usual clinicians as “an extra layer of support”, ensuring both continuity of care and specialized expertise.
Early use of palliative care works well for several reasons. Starting conversations early in the course of care and not during a health crisis allows for development of rapport among patients, families, and clinicians. Decision-making can occur over time, an important benefit when there are critical and often emotional decisions to be made, and for which preferences may change. Evidence is emerging that patients who receive palliative care early on may feel better physically and emotionally, may better be able to tolerate treatment, and some patients may consequently live longer than those who do not receive it.
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COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN)
HIGN's Executive Director, Dr. Tara Cortes, has been appointed as a member of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) funded COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN). The expert panel reviews US government-sponsored COVID-19 prevention efficacy trial protocols and provides an overall report of significance, impact, ethics, and recommendations. The following two animated videos developed through this panel provide important information for you about the trials and the anticipated vaccine. Click on the links below to learn more.
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Welcome New HIGN-Affiliated Faculty
Please join us in welcoming new NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and HIGN-affiliated faculty, Dr. Dena Schulman-Green and Dr. Jasmine Travers.
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Dena Schulman-Green, PhD is a new tenured Associate Professor at Rory Meyers College of Nursing. A gerontologist by training, Dr. Schulman-Green has been immersed in palliative care research and advocacy for nearly 20 years. Her mission is to help patients, their family members, and clinicians to understand what palliative care is and to incorporate it early on into care management. Her interest in palliative care stems from personal experiences volunteering in nursing homes and serving as a family caregiver.
Currently, Dr. Schulman-Green is translating her successfully pilot-tested intervention, Managing Cancer Care, to electronic platforms so that it may be tested among patients and their family caregivers as a dyadic intervention. The goal of the intervention is to improve knowledge of palliative care as a springboard for improving overall cancer management skills and experience, including symptom management, health communication, self-efficacy, management of transitions, anxiety, depression, uncertainty, and healthcare utilization. Recently, Dr. Schulman-Green and colleagues have written a series of articles on palliative care principles and practices as applied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Schulman-Green’s work has been funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the American Cancer Society, the National Palliative Care Research Center, and the Palliative Care Research Cooperative, among others. Her honors include receiving the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Research Award and the Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award from the Eastern Nursing Research Society. She is delighted to continue her work as part of the Meyers community.
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Jasmine L. Travers, PhD, MHS, RN, AGPCNP-BC is an Assistant Professor of nursing at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Harold Amos Scholar, and Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner. Her career is dedicated to designing and conducting research to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities in vulnerable older adult groups using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Her current work focuses on mitigating disparities in appropriate access and use of quality in-home and nursing home care for older adults. She is also focused on how best to improve the working conditions of the nursing home direct care workforce (i.e., certified nursing assistants). As a health services researcher, she has leveraged many datasets to investigate these issues, including the Health and Retirement Study, Minimum Data Set, and Nursing Home Compare along with focus group and in-depth interview methodology. Dr. Travers has published widely on the topics of aging, long-term care, health disparities, workforce diversity, and infections. Prior to joining the faculty at NYU, Dr. Travers completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the National Clinician Scholars Program at Yale University and a T32 funded postdoctoral fellowship at the New Courtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She completed her doctoral training in health services research with a specialization in gerontology at Columbia University School of Nursing.
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HIGN's Customized Learning Packages |
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HIGN is globally recognized for our geriatric eLearning for healthcare professionals. Our products can also be used to prepare future healthcare professionals, including students of nursing, medicine, and social work.
We offer a range of topics that can supplement educational programs or course curricula. We also work with faculty to identify materials that can supplement their instruction. These customized educational packages are available at a discounted price.
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HIGN eLearning
30% Discount on all Materials
Older adults have been hit the hardest by COVID-19. Now, more than ever, ensuring they receive the best possible care is paramount. In light of that, we are offering a 30% discount on our materials through December 31st to help make sure we can get the best knowledge into the right hands, right now.
Click here to visit the HIGN 2020 eLearning Catalog.
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