Mason Media Blog

With baby boomers starting to turn 65 in only two years, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the nation’s older population will double to 71.5 million by 2030. Created in response to this population shift, the new Partnership for Education in Gerontology (PEG) at Mason will prepare the nursing faculty to train students to manage the unique needs of older adults.

Robin Remsburg, associate dean of the School of Nursing in the College of Health and Human Services, notes that older patients who are hospitalized are much more likely to develop conditions such as delirium, hospital-acquired infections and adverse reactions to medication that can prolong their hospitalization and exacerbate the original medical issues for which they were being treated.

“As we join forces with community stakeholders and partners, the School of Nursing will do our part to fend off a potential public health crisis in Northern Virginia by helping older patients in hospitals or nursing homes receive the best possible care. Ultimately, patients will benefit, and that’s what this is all about,” says Remsburg.

Prior to joining Mason, Remsburg  served as the long-term care statistics branch chief and the deputy director of the Division of Health Care Statistics at the National Center for Health Statistics. As a nationally certified gerontological clinical nurse specialist, a past president of the National Gerontological Nursing Association, a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a member of the editorial board of Geriatric Nursing, and a member of numerous advisory groups for nursing and long-term care, Remsburg is available to comment on the looming nursing shortage and other gerontological issues.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Faculty Expertise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.