INDIANAPOLIS — Regenstrief faculty members are sharing the institute’s groundbreaking research with national leaders in geriatrics at the 2019 annual meeting for the American Geriatrics Society in Portland, Oregon, May 2-4.
Regenstrief Research Scientist Noll Campbell, PharmD, M.S., assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Purdue University College of Pharmacy, is presenting in multiple sessions, providing updates on the role of prescribing and deprescribing medications in various clinical settings. He presented an update in the pharmacologic approaches to prevention and treatment of delirium during a preconference session, and will lead a symposium on deprescribing medications in older adults. He also co-chairs the meeting’s Special Interest Group for Clinical Research in Dementia, bringing together experts from across the country to generate discussion on current findings and future directions of ongoing clinical research aiming to improve care of those with dementia. Special Interest Groups are self-selected sections of the American Geriatrics Society, and serve to advance focused conversations in key areas.
Kathleen Unroe, M.D., Regenstrief research scientist and interim director of the Center for Aging Research at Regenstrief, and several practitioners from the OPTIMISTIC team are scheduled to present on managing infections in the nursing home without needing to transfer residents to the hospital. They will speak about the lessons they learned from the OPTIMISTIC project regarding treatment for the most common ailments that lead to hospitalizations. In addition to her presentations, Dr. Unroe, who is an associate professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, will assume the role of Chair of the American Geriatrics Society Public Policy Committee at the meeting, stepping up from her prior appointment as Vice-Chair.
OPTIMISTIC is an ongoing project funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It has significantly reduced avoidable hospitalizations by increasing education within nursing homes and increasing compensation for treating common causes of hospitalizations within nursing homes.
Regenstrief scientists will also present posters and oral presentations. Dr. Campbell will discuss mitigating risk to brain health by deprescribing harmful medicines, Dr. Unroe will present on her ongoing APPROACHES project, which aims to improve advanced care planning in nursing homes, and Susan Hickman, PhD, a Regenstrief affiliated scientist and professor of nursing at IU School of Nursing , is set to present posters on the development of national Patient Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) program quality indicators and on the role of advance care planning in reducing avoidable hospitalizations.
The American Geriatrics Society is a nationwide society of geriatrics healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence and quality of life of older people. Their nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists and internists. The annual conference is the premier education event in geriatrics, providing the latest information on clinical care, research and innovative models of care delivery.
Since 1997, the Center for Aging Research at the Regenstrief Institute has led the nation in improving the lives of seniors through innovations in brain care, palliative care, transitional care and other aspects of the aging process.
The following are specific presentations by Regenstrief research scientists.
Regenstrief Oral Presentations
Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) – Pharmacological Management of Delirium: Current Evidence-Based Update
Noll Campbell
Presenter: Noll Campbell, PharmD, MS graduate of Butler University
The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) is a comprehensive, evidence-based, patient-care program that provides optimal care for older persons in the hospital. Dr. Sharon K. Inouye and her colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine originally designed HELP to prevent delirium among hospitalized older persons. The program also prevents functional decline and falls and allows older adults to return home at the maximal level of independence. HELP does this by keeping hospitalized older people oriented to their surroundings, meeting their needs for nutrition, fluids, and sleep and keeping them mobile within the limitations of their physical condition.
Communicating with Patients and Caregivers about Deprescribing
Noll Campbell
Presenter: Noll Campbell, PharmD, MS graduate of Butler University
Regenstrief Poster Presentations
Development of National POLST Paradigm Quality Indicator
Susan Hickman
Presenter: Susan Hickman, PhD, graduate of the University of Kansas
Systematic Advance Care Planning and Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations of Nursing Home Residents
Susan Hickman
Presenter: Susan Hickman, PhD, graduate of the University of Kansas
The APPROACHES Pragmatic Clinical Trial – An Advance Care Planning Specialist Program in Nursing Homes
Kathleen Unroe, Susan Hickman
Presenter: Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, graduate of Ohio State University
APPROACHES, an ongoing trial co-led by Kathleen Unroe, M.D. and Susan Hickman, PhD aims to integrate advance care planning into the day-to-day workflow of a nursing home. It provides staff with the tools and knowledge necessary to support decision-making for nursing home patients with dementia and their families.
Regenstrief Panel Discussions and Symposia
Special Interest Group – Clinical Research in Dementia
Noll Campbell
Co-Chair: Noll Campbell, PharmD, M.S. graduate of Butler University
Managing Infections in the Nursing Home – Lessons from the OPTIMISTIC Demonstration Project
Kathleen Unroe
Presenter: Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, graduate of Ohio State University
Healthcare for Low-Income Seniors SIG
Steven Counsell, M.D. (RI Affiliate and IU professor of medicine)
Chair: Steven Counsell, MD, graduate of University of Cincinnati
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