Newswise — Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Professor Sarah L. Szanton, PhD, ANP, FAAN, has been named an American Academy of Nursing Edge Runner for her Community Aging in Place: Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) intervention. The honor recognizes nurses and models of care that improve health, impact cost, and influence policy.

"Along with my colleagues and my extraordinary participants, I am honored to be designated an American Academy of Nursing Edge Runner," says Szanton. "Our goal is to test ways to help older adults age where and how they would like. We are thrilled that this approach also has long-term sustainability and cost savings. I’m grateful for the Academy’s support and the privilege to continue such meaningful work." 

Through a multidisciplinary approach based primarily on increasing patient strength, mobility, and house safety, CAPABLE combines home visits from a nurse, occupational therapist, and handyman to equip low-income older adults to live more comfortably and safely in their homes. The program lets patients set their own functional goals, like taking a bath or walking to church, while also improving their living environment though renovations like installing hand rails or lowering shelves.

Results show that CAPABLE improves self-care of participants and decreases disability and depression while saving costs to Medicaid and Medicare. The intervention has been expanded to 16 cities in nine states and has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation.

"This is a stellar recognition of Dr. Szanton’s work within the profession and our aging population,” says JHSON Dean Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN. "It’s this sort of innovation and the Academy’s support that continue to advance health care and accelerate nurses in leadership.”

At JHSON, Szanton has been named director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging beginning in February 2018. She has been recognized as a top influencer in aging by Next Avenue and received the Protégé Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research and the Baltimore Business Journal Health Care Innovator award.

***

Located in Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing is a globally-recognized leader in nursing education, research and practice and ranks No. 2 nationally among graduate schools of nursing and No. 2 for DNP programs in the U.S. News & World Report 2018 rankings. In addition, the school is ranked by QS World University as the No. 2 nursing school in the world and is No.1 by College Choice for its master’s program. The school is No. 1 among nursing schools for total Federal Research Grants and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. For more information, visit www.nursing.jhu.edu.