Dear Friends,
Nursing homes have a unique and important role in the continuum of care for older adults in America. Many nursing homes offer post-acute care for people needing short-term rehabilitation after a hospitalization. However, the majority of nursing home beds are for older people who no longer have the ability to live independently.
Nearly 1.2 million people reside in nursing homes across this country. Although nursing home care is often incorrectly perceived as "custodial", it is some of the most complex care a nurse can provide. Nursing home residents most often have multiple chronic conditions and dementia as well. There are no protocols. It requires nurses to use evidence-based practice and critical thinking to provide age-friendly care and achieve quality outcomes for this vulnerable population. However, the preparation of nursing students to assume this role as graduates is minimal or non-existent.
This month's guest columnist talks about a model to promote academic clinical partnerships in long-term care to provide stimulating learning experiences that enhance the understanding by nursing students about the critical role of the nurse in that setting. The model also provides a collaborative opportunity for the staff in working with the academic partner. We know we need an adequately prepared workforce in long-term care. This model is intended to help accomplish that.
Best wishes,
| | Tara A. Cortes, PhD, RN, FAAN | |
The Teaching Nursing Home
Donna E. McCabe DNP, GNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Assistant Director, Education Programs, HIGN
Clinical Associate Professor, NYU Meyers
The Teaching Nursing Home model, originally introduced in the late 20th century, was developed in response to growing concerns about the quality of care in nursing homes and a critical lack of geriatric education among healthcare professionals. The model entails the formation of academic-practice partnership between schools of nursing and long-term care facilities with students having regular clinical learning rotations in the facilities. The early effort, begun by Mathy Mezey and Ethel Mitty, was led largely by academic institutions aimed to transform nursing homes into sustained settings for clinical training, interprofessional collaboration, and practice innovation. Though some gains were achieved, the model did not produce a widespread sustained effect.
Today, the Teaching Nursing Home model is being reimagined through renewed academic-practice partnerships largely in response to the post-pandemic call for reform in long-term care. The Pennsylvania Teaching Nursing Home Collaborative is an exemplar of success in this renewed model with the involvement of 20 nursing schools and over 40 nursing homes across the state.
The Power of Academic-Practice Partnership
Clinical placements in nursing homes play a vital role in nursing education. Well-structured clinical experiences in long-term care settings allow students to gain essential exposure to caring for individuals aging with complex health conditions in a positive environment. Students can develop competencies aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Baccalaureate Essentials, including clinical judgment, systems-based practice, and interprofessional collaboration. The integration of Age-Friendly Care: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility, also grounds students in the core principles of high-quality geriatric practice.
Nursing homes provide robust opportunities for interprofessional education. Student nurses engage in collaborative care alongside nurses, physicians, social workers, and other allied health professionals and students, gaining practical experience in coordinated, team-based approaches to complex care. In addition to clinical skill development, Teaching Nursing Homes support leadership growth and policy engagement. Nursing home settings are ideal for the implementation of evidence-based practice models and often serve as sites for student-led capstone projects. Such initiatives both enhance student learning and can also result in measurable improvements to staff education, care processes, and resident outcomes.
The Teaching Nursing Home model offers a powerful opportunity to elevate both education and practice. It positions nursing homes as valuable partners in the preparation of a geriatric-competent, age-friendly workforce and reinforces the critical role of academic-practice collaboration.
To support the advancement of this model, HIGN has created The Teaching Nursing Home Series, an eight-part on-line interactive learning series to prepare nursing home staff and nursing school faculty to develop academic-practice partnerships. This series, which is now available at no cost, describes how to create successful student clinical rotations in nursing homes that allow students to care for older adults with complex and overlapping illnesses, provide exposure to and interaction with healthcare teams, and with faculty supervision that fosters the student’s appreciation of both the complexity of the care and the opportunities to achieve improvements that promote quality of life. A new book from Sigma Marketplace, Practice & Leadership in Nursing Homes, is an excellent companion resource for The Teaching Nursing Home Series. This book challenges educators and students to look beyond incorrect perceptions and negative attitudes to see a vibrant, growing healthcare sector ripe for nurses to make an impact and build rewarding careers. An accompanying Coaching Guide and Workbook will be available from Sigma Marketplace before the summer.
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The Critical Role of Adult Day Care Centers During Natural Disasters and Emergencies
Prof. Tina Sadarangani, NYU Meyers, wrote a column for McKnight's Long-Term Care news underscoring the vital support adult day care centers provide during devastating events especially to older adults with disabilities, dementia, or mobility challenges. Prof. Sadarangani details how this helps prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, reduces strain on emergency services, and supports family caregivers.
Click here to read the full column.
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Health and Aging Policy Fellows
The Caregiver Policy Track
The Health and Aging Policy Fellowship program is an opportunity to join a dynamic community who are all committed to improving health and quality life for older Americans. The program is now accepting applications through April 15.
The Caregiver Policy Track enables Fellows based in and serving Western New York and Southeastern Michigan to become effective advocates and help shape and implement family caregiving policies at the state and federal levels that improve the lives of caregivers and those they care for.
Click here to learn more and apply!
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FREE COURSE
Foundations of Practice for Interprofessional Age-Friendly Care
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The Foundations of Practice for Interprofessional Age-Friendly Care course is for healthcare professionals who are interested in developing a foundational practice for age-friendly care. This course is divided into three sections: The Aging Population, Models of Care and the Interprofessoinal Team and Age-Friendly Care. By taking this course, you will be able to: describe trends among the aging population, describe different models of care, state the roles and responsibilities of the interprofessional care team, and discuss standards of practice that impact age-friendly care.
Nursing Continuing Professional Development contact hours are available for this course.
The NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing Center for Nursing Continuing Professional Development is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (Provider # P0367)
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HIGN Highlights
Prof. Chenjuan Ma was selected for the Commission for Nurse Reimbursement's inaugural Fellowship in Nursing Economics. She will join a selected group of nursing leaders who will shape the future of nurse reimbursement and healthcare finance.
Prof. Haeok Lee’s research on dementia among people with HIV in Malawai was highlighted by Nature in a roundup of recent scientific studies on and from Africa.
Publications:
Carney, A., & Lim F. (2025, March 31). When empty seats speak: Challenges and solutions for nursing student absenteeism. American Nurse Journal.
David, D., Jimenez, V., & Brody A.A. (In Press). Primary Palliative Care in Assisted Living and Residential Care: A Metasynthesis. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. DOI: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000001121. PMID: 40072876.
Kim, S., Chen, Q., & Ma, C. (2025) Patient Safety Cultural and Home Health Care. Journal of Patient Safety. DOI: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000001332
Lee, H., Mlombe, Y., Song, Y. E., Yang, H. S., Phiri, T., Maseke, J., Bauleni, E., Jun, G. R., Choi, Y. B., & Ngoma, J. (2025). Dementia prevalence and risk factors in people with and without HIV in Malawi: A medical record review. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 21(3), e70009. DOI: 10.1002/alz.70009
Ma, C., Brody, A., & Wu, B. (2025) Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Accessing High-Quality Home Health Care among Older Adults with and Without Dementia. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 26(5), 105539. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2025.105539
Murali, K.P., Lassell, B., Brody, A.A., Schulman-Green, D., David, D. (2025). “There Should Be a Nurse on Call”: Complex Care Needs of Low-Income Older Adults in Medicaid-Supported Assisted Living. Journal of Palliative Medicine. (In Press).
Patel, R. V., Bowden, J. M., Boselli, D., Strahley, A. E., Gibbs, S.-E. L., Murali, K. P., Patel, V. R., Kotecha, R. R., & Nelson, J. E. (2025). Utilization and perceptions of chaplaincy among hospitalized adults of Dharmic religions with cancer. Cancer, 131(7), e35797. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35797
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