GSA on Aging

Many people assume that pain is a normal part of getting older. Although pain is not inevitable, it is a serious concern for those who experience it. Yet older adults with pain are likely to receive different qualities of treatment depending on their race and/or ethnicity. Dr. Tamara Baker talks to host Brenda Olmos about disparities in treatment for pain management and why it is critical to acknowledge the realities of pain in older adults without equating pain with aging. Along the way, they discuss how personal histories can guide professional work, bridging the gap between research and practice, and the power of diverse representation in leadership at The Gerontological Society of America.

Guest: Tamara Baker, PhD, FGSA (Bio)—Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Host: Brenda Olmos, MSN, APRN, FNP-C (Bio)—Reynolds Scholar, University of Oklahoma, Reynolds Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

This podcast episode is supported by the GSA Innovation Fund: 75th Anniversary.

Dr. Degenholtz interviewed Dr. Laura Wagner, a nurse and researcher from University of California, San Francisco, about two papers from the special issue of The Gerontologist, Workforce Special Issue on the Workforce, which was published in June 2021:
1. Medical Staffing Organization and Quality of Care Outcomes in Post-acute Care Settings by L. M. Wagner, P. Katz, J. Karuza, C. Kwong, L. Sharp, and J. Spetz
2. It Is Time to Resolve the Direct Care Workforce Crisis in Long-Term Care by K. Scales

For an overview of the special issue, check out the editorial by Drs. Degenholtz and Meeks:
Workforce Issues in Long-Term Care: Is There Hope for a Better Way Forward?

The Real Faces of Careers in Aging Podcast episode with Akira McPherson, Staff Development Coordinator, Vi Lakeside Village, Lantana, Florida

This episode is part of a continued series that will provide insights into the experiences of GSA Policy Interns from various cohorts. Join former policy intern Bailee Brekke (’23) as she speaks with the 2021 interns, Lei Chen and Kaleigh Ligus, about their internship experience and how it has impacted their current work.

Guest Bios:

Lei Chen, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. She is a transdisciplinary and cross-cultural researcher whose work focuses on long-term services and supports, immigrants’ access to health care, migrant workforce, aging and health policy, aging and technology, and cross-cultural study. Dr. Chen is working on a National Institutes of Health–funded project that aims to advance research on the health care workforce that serves people living with dementia. She applies quantitative and qualitative methodologies to her research. Before joining UCSF, she worked on several research projects at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Health Policy Research and collaborated with the UCLA Human-Centered Computing and Intelligent Sensing Lab. Dr. Chen also engages in policy-related work such as assisting in developing and implementing the Master Plan for Aging in California.

Kaleigh Ligus, PhD, is a social science research analyst at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Her work includes developing, implementing, and evaluating new CMS patient care models aimed at improving Medicare beneficiaries’ health care experiences and health outcomes. Dr. Ligus currently works on the team for the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model. She has been dedicated to serving older adults living with chronic disease since 2015 during her experience at the University of Connecticut (UConn) Health Center on Aging. She earned her doctoral degree in human development and family sciences, with a specialization in adulthood, aging and gerontology, from UConn in 2023. During graduate school, she served as the Greg O’Neill Policy Intern for the Gerontological Society of America (summer 2021) and Health Policy Fellow at AcademyHealth (summer of 2022), working with like-minded community collaborators and political leaders to advocate for health policy change.

The Real Faces of Careers in Aging Podcast episode with Jacqueline Pelliccione-Friel, MBA, CALA, Executive Director, Brandywine Senior Living, Haddonfield, New Jersey