Category: de Tornyay Center News

Jun Heo was one of the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging 2024-2025’s Healthy Aging Undergraduate Research Scholars and a BSN student. Heo’s faculty mentor was Anita Souza, and his project was on “Exploring Healthcare and Housing Differences Between Older Veterans and Non-Veterans in Permanent Supportive Housing: Barriers to Healthy Aging”.

What made you choose nursing?

I was a combat medic in the army. I got discharged in 2022, and I was given the perfect chance to choose what kind of field to work in. I chose nursing because I really love to take care of people.

How did how did that experience in the army influence your choice to go into nursing?

Being an army combat medic was definitely a great experience. I got to experience both field care and hospital care. It was a good start, but I realized that in the army, healthcare is more about the speed due to the urgency and the mission. I wanted to take a look at more of the sustained perspective of care.

What interests you about healthy aging?

My family member, my grandmother, she’s the start. She had a stroke, and she had a femur fracture. She spent almost 20 years in bed, and as a kid, I was part of taking care of grandma. So cleaning, feeding, I already had that kind of experience.

Working in the VA Medical Center, I got the chance to connect with the geriatric population. It’s always interesting to listen to their stories. Some people like pediatrics because they’re adorable. I realize it’s great to be there for their beginning. But at the same time, it’s also very meaningful to be there towards the end.

What interested you about doing a research project?

In spring quarter we learned about research as part of the curriculum, and it was really interesting. The beauty of research is that I’m exploring somewhere that other people may or may not have explored before. I wanted to experience that.

Could you briefly describe what you’re doing in your research project with the de Tornyay Center scholarship?

The population of people who experience homelessness is on the rise, and it’s been a huge challenge for many people. For the geriatric population, they’re especially vulnerable to overall health and quality of life challenges when they’re experiencing homelessness.

The veteran population, they have their own unique struggles, like military PTSD and their veteran status, that sometimes cause further blockages to receiving care. I believe there’s no one size fits all solution for each case.

My mentor suggested this topic to me, and I agreed that it was a really nice way to shed a light on this struggle in the veteran population.

How did you start your work on this project?

My mentor introduced me to a couple of veterans that are nowadays doing really great. They previously experienced homelessness, but they’re advocating for their community. They go to school, they’re driving, and I’ve been listening to their stories and asking them questions, and they enlighten me with their experience. That was really valuable.

Where are you at now with the project?

We connected with the key members (housing staff, program managers, and case managers) and, as I previously mentioned, those two veterans. Then through that we were able to develop semi-structured interview questions.

We’re conducting interviews. We’re recruiting six to 10 veterans who are residing in permanent supportive housing. We’ll also record six to 10 interviews from the non-veteran population. We’ll be listening to their stories, what their challenges are, and see what their daily life looks like, what kind of care they’re receiving, and how it’s going to affect their healthy aging.

What’s the importance of doing this project? What impact do you hope it might have?

There’s not much work directly contrasting the non-veteran versus veteran population of people experiencing homelessness. So this qualitative research can be the stepping stone to develop tailored care and support for this population.

Lydia Chen was one of the center’s de Tornyay Center’s 2024-2025 Healthy Aging Scholars and a DNP student. Her project was on ‘Using Artificial Intelligence in Improving Nursing Documentation in Skilled Nursing Facilities’ and her faculty mentor was Jamie Young.

What made you choose nursing?

My career started as an occupational therapist. I was working as an occupational therapist for over 12 years, mostly with the geriatric population, in skilled nursing facilities. Over the years, I noticed there’s a lot of biases in social determinants of health and health equity toward older adults.

When I was in Northern California, we didn’t even have a primary care provider in the facility, and we had to hire health care providers from L.A.  to visit the residents to provide care, sign orders, and complete paperwork.

I felt there was something else I could do to serve those older adults better. I was looking to see what career change paths I could do. I decided nurse practitioner sounded like the care model that matches what I want to do for the patients, so I decided to pursue a nurse practitioner degree.

What interests you about healthy aging and working with older adults?

A lot of it is personal preference. Healthy aging is important to me because my grandma had a stroke and my dad has Parkinson’s. I feel that society should pay more attention to older people and spend time with older people. It’s like traveling. You get to learn so much from them. You travel through their lifespan, and you learn from their life experiences, their knowledge, and their wisdom.

It’s our responsibility, right? We take care of babies. Culturally, I was always taught to take care of our older generation and to respect our elders. So that’s why I choose nursing, and that’s why I want to work with the geriatric population.

What made you want to do this project?

When I was picking my DNP project I made a point that I wanted to do something regarding aging or geriatrics and long-term care. I realized that a lot of research excludes older people and you cannot really find much research on skilled nursing facilities. So when I saw the topic using artificial intelligence in skilled nursing facilities, I’m like, oh, yeah, we have so much technology, why can’t we use that to help our older population? When I was talking to my agency mentor, they have been working with a software development team on AI to use on their EHR [Electronic Health Record] systems.

We decided to do a needs assessment to see the nurses’ perspective on the current EHR system and what they think the AI could help them with to save them time, so that they can go back to the bedside and spend time with the patients.

What does doing a needs assessment look like?

I am developing a survey to figure out nurses’ perspective on the current EHR system. When I was doing my literature search, I found there is a lot of EHR research on nursing documentation, accuracy, and consistency, but not focused on skilled nursing facilities. Most of the published research is in acute care, and [most] research in skilled nursing facilities is not done in the United States. So we don’t know how the nurses who work at skilled nursing facilities in America feel about their EHR systems: if it’s accurate, if it’s consistent, then how easy it is to navigate the EHR systems.

When I was working in long-term care as a nurse, I had trouble finding information that I needed to care for the patient, and I spent a lot of time just navigating their EHR system. Even when I found information, I didn’t really trust it, because sometimes it was outdated.

The purpose of the survey is to find their perspective, the barriers with the EHR systems, and what they want AI to be able to do for them.

Why is this project important?

Research shows that nurses spend probably at least a quarter to 50% of their time documenting instead of spending time with patients. I think, for older adults, one of the most important parts of care is companionship. Nurses already have sometimes 15, 20, 30 patients per shift at skilled nursing facilities, and the more time they spend on documenting, the less time they have for the physical presence with the patient. I think it’s really important for healthy aging just to be there for them. Companionship greatly enhances cognitive function and emotional well-being. Even just an extra two minutes talking to them, holding their hands, I think it made a great difference to older adults’ quality of life.

Is there anything interesting you found while doing your literature review?

It sounds like common sense, but nursing documentation really affects the patient outcomes, and the accuracy and consistency of the documentation can really change older adults’ quality of life and continuity of care.

Healthcare providers are often forced to prioritize immediate patient care over detailed charting, resulting in rushed, incomplete, or erroneous records. One research study recorded the patient-provider interactions and compared the clinical encounter notes with recorded patient-provider interactions, and they found nearly half of the notes included information that could not be verified from the recorded interactions. The finding suggests EHR system might have propagated errors or omitted crucial information in addition to the inaccurate data/information due to lack of staff and time.

Sometimes we put a lot of personal assumptions into the documentation. I hope this project will help the consistency and accuracy of the documentation, and help other people who care for the same patients provide better care.

Is there anything else you want to share?

I just want to bring more awareness to our older adult population. They have contributed to society, and now it is time for the next generation to care for them.

Madison McKee was one of the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging’s 2024-2025 Undergraduate Research Scholars. Her research project was on “Examining the Impacts of Facilitated Garden Activities for Individuals Living with Dementia and their Caregivers”, and her faculty mentor was Basia Belza.

What made you choose nursing?

I’m in the accelerated Bachelors of Nursing group. So I feel like my journey into nursing is a bit more zigzaggy than others.

My background is actually in landscape architecture. I really love my work in landscape, especially the design process and the opportunity to shape meaningful spaces. While I was working that job, I was also finding other outlets to do community service work with my community, and I loved that face to face interaction. Then, combined with an injury of mine a few years ago and my own hospital and rehab experience, there were a lot of outlets pointing me in the direction of nursing and healthcare.

I came into nursing knowing that I want to do it pretty creatively. Maybe I want to work in the hospital, but I’m also really interested in seeing what other forms of nursing there are, and how healthcare can tie back to landscape architecture and art.

How do you feel like that background in landscape architecture comes together with nursing?

This project that I’m working on at the center is the synthesis of landscape architecture and nursing. I always knew that there was a tie, even before coming into healthcare. My firm designed landscape and therapeutic spaces for the local hospital. There’s a direct tie between nature and healing. I wanted to explore that both in my old job and now in nursing school.

What interests you about healthy aging?

It’s super important to work within healthy aging, because not only is it helpful for other people, but it’s also applicable to myself. We’re all going to go through this process of aging. Figuring out how to make people feel comfortable and happy is only going to benefit all of us as we all age.

Could you talk a little bit more about like what your project is?

There’s an existing garden, called Maude’s garden, at the Memory Hub. The Memory Hub is a place for collaboration and innovation and serves individuals living with memory loss. Genevieve [a staff member at the Memory Hub] helped to create a garden in the backyard space. She and others designed the garden back in 2020 based on focus groups within the memory loss community, so it could specifically meet the needs of The Memory Hub. There’s a lot of research that indicates that being in natural spaces and gardening spaces can improve anyone’s mental well-being, especially someone who’s living with memory loss.

My project is to create a garden experience for people living with memory loss and their caregivers to explore the five senses. The idea is to make this program so it’s repeatable and easy to do. Our vision is that we can create this easily replicated program, so that other gardens and hospitals or medical spaces could also do this program.

How do you plan to get feedback from participants?

It’s going to be more of a collaborative discussion. We don’t want it to feel sterile or daunting. We’ll ask people about their mood when they walk in, and then compare their mood after the group discussion. So it’ll be a check in, then the garden activity, and then a group discussion about what elements that they liked most, what they didn’t like, and what experiences stood out to them.

Has there been anything that surprised you while you’ve been working on the project?

Finding the project. It gives me hope that people are thinking about this, that there is research being conducted about this. There is this reputation that working with older adults is not very fun, or it can be a very sterile environment. But there’s a lot of people who know that it’s very fun and very variable, and it can be organic and creative. I knew that, but I’m pleasantly surprised that so many other people are also thinking about that.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I’m really inspired by both of my mentors: Genevieve and Basia. I think they are both very special people, and their passion for working with older adults and healthy aging is just infectious. It’s palpable talking to them, and I feel really inspired. I feel lucky to be a part of it.

Ashley Gougouehi is a UW School of Nursing DNP student and one of the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging’s 2023-2024 Healthy Aging Doctoral Research Scholar. Gougouehi will present work from her project at the Washington State Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research Network March 14, 2025 meeting.

Why did you first choose nursing?

My dad had a back injury when I was younger, and I helped to take care of him. From this experience I realized that I really like taking care of people, so I volunteered at a hospital that was across the street from my high school. From this volunteer experience, I realized how nurses were the go-to people in hospitals to give care, and I love that. So that’s how I found myself in nursing. I just love caring for people.

What interests you about healthy aging in particular?

I think because I’m an only child, I’ve been terrified at the idea of my parents aging and me being the only one to take care of them. It took a while for me to realize that you can age healthy. You don’t have to get older and expect to develop health issues. I think that’s why I got really interested in caring for older adults: it’s an opportunity to support older adults age in a healthy way, while also emphasizing preventative care so that people can live long, happy and healthy lives and not dread aging.

Could you briefly describe the project that you’re doing for the scholarship?

I’m working with Washington Healthcare Authority and the Dementia Action Collaborative to do a needs assessment on age-friendly health systems in Washington. Essentially, we’re trying to get a sense of what health systems in Washington are recognized as being age-friendly, then get a sense of what kind of initiatives they have and what barriers they’re facing, so we can see how we can further support age-friendly health systems and hopefully expand these systems in the future.

What’s your role in the project?

My role is to identify age-friendly health systems, contact clinical leadership, and then do interviews with clinical leadership to see what initiatives they have in place, and what is needed to support the initiatives that they have.

I also added another component, which is to contact a health system that’s not recognized as being age-friendly to get a sense of what they know about age-friendly health systems, and what barriers they can identify to age-friendly care. I added this component to get more data on what barriers there are to age-friendly health initiatives.

Why is this project important to do?

I think it’s important to identify what age-friendly health systems are out there and recognize the systems that have made an effort to be age-friendly. It is also important to get a sense of what initiatives are out there that support our older adults, and see how we can support these health systems, because we need more of them. Not every person is going to Google which health system is recognized as age friendly. They’re just going to go to whatever system is closest to them. So, it’s really important for us to see what is needed to expand the age-friendly health systems and initiatives.

Is there anything surprising or interesting that you found while working on this project?

I think one thing that was surprising is that it’s hard to get in contact with clinical leadership. Which has been a little surprising but has made me even more appreciative of the time clinical leaders take to help me with this project. I’ve had one interview so far, and learning how some health systems have been able to incorporate age-friendly initiatives into their electronic medical system has been really, really cool and inspiring.

How did they incorporate age-friendly aspects into an electronic health system?

So for this health system that I talked to, in EPIC they created a smart phrase/ templet, which helps guide clinicians to do comprehensive geriatric assessments by asking geriatric centered questions like about medications, fall risk, nutrition, and things related to the 4Ms of age-friendly care (what matters most, mentation, mobility, medication). So it’s essentially a smart phrase that prompts clinicians on how to assess an older adult and identify crucial needs for older adults. That was pretty cool to learn about.

What previous experience before this do you have working with older adults?

I have been a nurse for almost six years. I worked in acute care, and in acute care you work with a lot of older adults who are coming in for exacerbated chronic diseases. That’s where I interacted with more older adults and realized there’s a huge need to support older adults and manage chronic diseases and encourage preventative care and promote healthy aging.

Have you done primary care before, or is this program your switch into primary care?

This is the switch. My only experience with primary care has just been with my clinical rotation. I had one clinical rotation last quarter in primary care, and I absolutely loved it!

What are you looking forward to with primary care?

I think the continuity of care is what I’m really looking forward to, and then also promoting preventative care. I’m hoping to specialize in the care of older adult, specifically chronic disease management and preventative care.

Eriska Fajriyati is a UW School of Nursing BSN student and one of the de Tornyay center for Healthy Aging’s 2024-2025 Healthy Aging Undergraduate Research Scholars. Her project is on “Exploring Perceptions of Aging and Menopause in Somali and Indonesian Older Adults: A Qualitative Study” and her faculty mentor is Eeeseung Byun. Sarah McKiddy, a PhD in Nursing Science Candidate and former de Tornyay Center scholar is also serving as Fajriyati’s mentor.

Why did you choose nursing?

I’ve always been drawn to healthcare because I truly want to make a difference in people’s lives. When I was younger, I was part of a club called “Little Healthcare Helper,” and that’s when I first started thinking about healthcare as my path. At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly where I’d end up, but I knew I wanted to help people. Eventually, I became a CNA and worked with residents, many of whom had Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, and that’s when I really discovered my love for nursing. I enjoy hands-on work, being able to interact with people, earn their trust, and offer them comfort. Nursing also gives me so many opportunities to grow and take on new challenges, which is exciting. It’s just such a rewarding field to be in, and it feels like the perfect fit for me. Nursing also offers incredible opportunities for growth, whether it’s exploring other specializations or advancing to a nurse practitioner. The diversity of options is really exciting!

What made you want to do a research project?

A big part of why I decided to do this research project is because of my mom and her friends. They’re at the age of either starting or experiencing menopause and started asking me a lot of questions about it. I realized that I didn’t know enough to give them the answers they were looking for, and that really sparked my curiosity. As a nursing student, I felt like it was the perfect opportunity to dive deeper into understanding menopause—not just for my mom and her friends, but also to raise awareness in my community. My goal is to help people understand menopause better, particularly within the Indonesian community, and ensure they have access to the right resources. Through this research, I hope to improve how menopause is discussed and managed, both in my community and in healthcare overall.

Could you share a little more about your research project?

My project is focused on exploring the perception of aging and menopause in both Somali and Indonesian communities. I’m working closely with my mentors Professor Eeeseung Byun and Sarah McKiddy, as well as my co-partner, Sumaya. Together, Sumaya and I are interviewing people from our respective communities to understand their experiences with menopause. We want to learn about the symptoms, beliefs, and cultural factors that influence how they manage this stage of life. For our interviews, we’ve created questions in English, then translated them into Bahasa Indonesia and Somali to make sure we’re truly capturing authentic perspectives. I’m excited because this project is not just about learning for myself, but also about providing valuable insights that can lead to more culturally sensitive healthcare in the future.

Has there been anything that surprised you so far while working on the project?

I’ve discovered something quite interesting about the people I’m interviewing within my Indonesian community. I initially thought menopause would be a more taboo or stigmatized topic in my community, but it turns out it’s not as hidden as I expected. People are open to discussing it, but they tend to do so only within their close circles or when the topic arises naturally in conversation. What’s also surprising is that many individuals rely on traditional remedies—such as drinking a traditional Indonesian drink called Jamu or practicing meditation/praying—to manage their symptoms. Another common piece of advice I frequently hear is to maintain a positive outlook and not to dwell too much on the discomforts associated with menopause. This perspective differs from what I anticipated based on the literature I reviewed, and it has been fascinating to see how cultural beliefs influence the experience and management of menopause.

What interests you about healthy aging in general? What is your experience like working with older adults?

Healthy aging is something I’m really passionate about because it’s such a crucial part of everyone’s life. We’re all going to grow older, and it’s not just about taking care of our bodies—it’s also about looking after our emotional and mental well-being. For me, understanding how culture influences aging is really important, and how we can best support people in that process. I’ve seen firsthand how cultural beliefs shape health practices, like how in my community, people drink Jamu to manage menopausal symptoms. These experiences really made me see how vital cultural competence is in healthcare.

I’ve been working with older adults for over four years now, mostly in senior living and Alzheimer’s dementia units. Working with them has been such a rewarding experience. It’s shown me that aging is about so much more than just physical health—it’s about emotional, mental, and social well-being too. One of the most fulfilling parts of my job is helping create spaces where older adults feel supported and connected. It’s inspired me to focus on improving their quality of life and making sure they can age with dignity, joy, and comfort.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be doing this research, especially with the support of the scholarship. It allows me to focus more on my studies and my interests. It’s exciting to learn not only for my own understanding but also for the benefit of my community. Through this research, I hope to raise awareness about menopause in both the Somali and Indonesian communities and improve how healthcare providers approach it.

Antonia Cai is a UW School of Nursing BSN student and one of the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging’s 2024-2025 Healthy Aging Undergraduate Research Scholars. Her research project is on “The influence of physical activity and diet quality on the symptom experience of older adults with HIV”, and her faculty mentor is Vitor Oliveira.

What made you choose nursing?

I chose nursing because I always wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. I appreciate how nursing offers a wide range of opportunities, flexibility, and room for professional growth within a single career. Beyond bedside nursing, I can become a nurse practitioner and provide advanced care, engage in research to expand the field, work in clinical settings serving diverse populations, or even pursue a career in nursing education.

Moving to the U.S. as a teenager, I witnessed firsthand how healthcare operates and saw my parents struggle at times to navigate the system. That experience inspired me to become someone who understands the system and can provide support in meaningful ways.

What interests you about healthy aging?

My grandmother, who played a significant role in my upbringing, has been living alone since I moved to the U.S. with my parents. I spent a lot of time with her during my childhood, and not being able to be physically present as she experiences aging has weighed on my mind. This personal connection fuels my interest in healthy aging—I want to help not only her but also others who are aging alone. She is just one of many facing similar challenges, and I want to contribute to improving their quality of life.

Have you had past experience working with older adults?

Yes, my first job as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) was at Evergreen Hospital on the orthopedic floor, where I cared for many elderly patients. I saw how quickly their health status could change in the hospital setting, and I realized how aging and chronic illnesses significantly impact their recovery. While younger patients might heal quickly from a fracture, the same injury could be far more debilitating for an older adult.

I also noticed that many elderly patients had limited resources for recovery and, at times, did not seek help due to mental health struggles or a lack of support. One of the most important things I learned from working with older adults is how deeply mental and physical health are interconnected.

Could you briefly talk about the project that you’re doing for the de Tornyay Center scholarship?

My project examines how physical activity and diet quality impact symptom management in older adults living with HIV. This research is connected to the ongoing projects at the Webel Lab, where I work under my mentor, Dr. Oliveira. While the lab has been studying this topic for years, I am conducting a more focused analysis on how diet and exercise influence the experiences of individuals with this chronic condition.

How did you first get involved with this research?

Before pursuing nursing, I earned my first degree in nutrition, where I gained extensive training in how the food system—from production to consumption—affects public health.

When I had the opportunity to apply for the BSN honors program and receive support for research, I expressed my interest in the connection between nutrition and aging. This led me to Dr. Oliveira and the Webel Lab, where their research aligned closely with my interests in nutrition and exercise. That’s how I became involved in this project.

How do you feel like your background in nutrition influences your work as a nurse?

I firmly believe that we are what we eat—nutrition and lifestyle choices play a crucial role in overall health. My background in public health and nutrition helped me develop a systematic way of thinking about how different factors—biological, social, and environmental—interact to shape health outcomes.

In nursing, I see how many illnesses stem from a complex web of influences, including socioeconomic factors and social determinants of health. Many chronic conditions are passed down through generations due to these systemic influences. That’s why I believe in taking a holistic approach to patient care, considering multiple perspectives beyond just medical treatment. My nutrition background has strengthened my ability to assess patients’ health through a broader lens.

With the project that you’re working on, has there been anything that’s surprised you that you’ve learned or seen?

The level of rigor required at every step! From the initial proposal stage to data collection, everything must follow strict protocols. Even minor deviations from the approved methodology require resubmission and reevaluation before moving forward.

This experience has reinforced the importance of precision and attention to detail—not just in research but also in clinical practice. I’ve learned to approach every step with intention, knowing that careful execution is critical in both research and patient care.