HIGN@NYU Meyers: Championing Health

The mission of HIGN is to transform the lives of older people through innovative research, practice, and policy. We envision a world that provides equitable access to healthcare and supports communities that value older adults. To make this vision a reality, we must address two of the most pressing challenges facing our aging society: workforce preparation and sustainable financial supports for caregiving.


The backbone of “age-friendly” care is a workforce that is specifically trained in the complexities of geriatric interprofessional team care. We cannot assume caring for an older adult is like caring for any adult and treat geriatric care as a “generalist” field. Older adults often navigate multiple chronic conditions, complex medication regimens, and social determinants of health that require specialized expertise. Providing this specialized standard of care with appropriate support systems can enable older adults to truly be champions of their own health. 


And, as people grow older, we believe that function, not a number, is the true marker of their age. To support the functional well-being and independence of older Americans, we must invest in evidence-based education and practice for all clinical and direct care staff. This means integrating geriatric principles into every level of formal educational curricula and providing ongoing professional development that keeps pace with new knowledge and innovative models of care. 


However, this educational preparation alone is not enough if the care system is financially inaccessible or unsustainable. Currently, many older adults and their families face a “care gap”—the space between needing assistance and being able to afford it. Financial supports for both professional caregivers and family partners are essential to ensuring that older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve. Policies needed to ensure access to a supportive health care system include those which address:


• Competitive wages and benefits for the direct care workforce to ensure recruitment and retention.
• Expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage for home-based services that support independent living.
• Tax credits and financial relief for the millions of family caregivers who provide the equivalent of billions of dollars in unpaid labor annually.
• Support for community networks and accessible housing that allow older adults to remain socially engaged and age in place.

This Older Americans Month, let’s do more than celebrate older people. Let’s commit to the policy changes and geriatric care standards that allow every older adult to truly champion their health. By aligning our societal values with the principles of person-centered, evidence-based care, we can ensure that optimal function is not just a vision, but a reality for every American as they age.

I hope you enjoyed the poem as much as I did. Happy Spring.

Best regards,

Free Age and Dementia-Friendly Courses for Interprofessionals NYU’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program provides free age-friendly and dementia-friendly education for nurses, social workers, students, direct caregivers and other members of the interprofessional team.  Visit our GWEP webpage to learn more about our courses: The Teaching Nursing Home Series Foundations of Practice for Interprofessional Age-Friendly Care Integrating the 4Ms into the Care of Older Adults Integrating the 4Ms into the Care of Older Adults for Social Workers Introducing the 4Ms: A Case Study for Direct Caregivers  Managing Dementia in Older Adults Using the 4Ms Framework: A Case Study for Direct Caregivers Managing Aggressive Behaviors in Dementia Using the 4Ms Framework: A Case Study for Direct Caregivers Dementia Clues: A Guide for Home Health Aides 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

HIGN Highlights

The Norman and Alicia Volk Lecture:Geriatric Nursing Challenges and Changes in Long-Term Care: A Fireside Chat From Right: Prof. Tara Cortes, Prof. Jasmine Travers Altizer and NYS Assemblywoman Karines Reyes

HIGN & Aliviado won the “Meyers Outstanding Team Award” at the Meyers Recognition Awards celebrating staff, student, and faculty excellence. Congratulations to Shula Adelman, Prof. Ab Brody, Prof. Tara Cortes,Aditi Durga, Brittany Hamilton and Adam Pin

Presentations:

Cynthia Chong, Prof. Tara Cortes and Prof. Donna McCabe presented “HIGN at NYU Meyers’ Nurse Residency Program” at the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care 2026 Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA

Shih-Yin Lin, Elizabeth Seidel, and Prof Tara Cortes presented “Designation of Excellence in Person-Centered Care” at the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care 2026 Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA


Prof Tara Cortes presented “Nurses on Boards” at the Nurse Trust 2026 summit in Phoenix, AZ

Achievements:

Prof. Chenjuan Ma was selected as a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine’s Now Gen Program. The program is designed to strengthen participants’ leadership and foster collaboration to address pressing health issues.


Prof. Ab Brody was honored with the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) 2026.



Publications:


Presence, prescience, and the power of nursing | Prof. Fidel Lim, American Nurse Journal

QAPI Is the Best Way to Make ‘Person-Centered Care’ Actionable in Nursing Homes, But Hurdles Remain | Featuring Shih-Yin Lin and Professor Cortes, Skilled Nursing News


Work environment of nurses and technicians in Brazilian Intensive Care Units during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicenter cross-sectional study | Prof Allison Squires, BMC Health Services Research

Psychometric evaluation of the current geriatric Institutional assessment profile: a tool for age-friendly care evaluation | Prof Allison Squires, BMC Nursing

HIGN at NYU Meyers | 433 First Avenue Fifth Floor | New York, NY 10010 US