GRECC Connect Program Site - Bedford, MA
Lauren Moo, MD
Dr. Moo is the Bedford site director for the New
England GRECC, the VISN-1 lead for GRECC Connect and leads
the GRECC Connect Evaluation core. As a Physician Researcher with a background
as a behavioral neurologist, Dr. Moo’s research focuses on the study of
Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, and older adults’ use of technology.
Dr. Moo directs multiple telehealth-related initiatives that increase access to
specialized geriatric care and education for rural providers and their
Veterans.
Jaye McLaren, MS,
OTR/L
Jaye McLaren is the
GRECC Connect VISN-1 Program Manager and a member of
the GRECC Connect Education core. As an occupational therapist, Jaye focuses on
dementia education, dementia caregiver support, resource development, and
clinical innovation projects. In her work with Veterans with dementia and their
caregivers, she strives to maximize safety and engagement as well as offers
activity adaptations and support services to improve quality of life.
Megan Gately, PhD, OTD, OTR/L Dr. Gately is an occupational therapist and researcher at the New England GRECC and a member of the GRECC Connect Adoption and Implementation core. Dr. Gately utilizes mixed methods to examine how telehealth can be optimized to reduce barriers to care, including remote delivery of occupational therapy services to meet the functional and quality of life needs of rural older adults and those with cognitive impairment.
Malissa Kraft, Psy.D
Dr. Kraft is a board-certified clinical
neuropsychologist at VA Bedford Healthcare System. Her time is split between
working as a neuropsychologist on the inpatient units at the hospital, heading
the Teleneuropsychology clinic, and providing training and supervision of
several neuropsychology students. She is particularly interested in expanding
access to neuropsychological services for Veterans who live in rural areas.
Meaghan Kennedy, MD,
MPH
Dr. Kennedy is a
primary care physician and investigator at the New England GRECC. She is a
member of the GRECC Connect Evaluation core, contributing to qualitative
evaluation of GRECC Connect nationally. Her research and clinical innovation
interests are focused on mixed methods evaluation and development of
interventions to address social determinants of health and support independence
among older, community-dwelling Veterans.
Eileen Dryden, PhD
Dr. Dryden is an
applied anthropologist and investigator at the Center for Healthcare
Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at the Veterans Health
Administration specializing in qualitative research methods. She leads
the national Qualitative Evaluation of GRECC Connect. Her interests included
participatory research and evaluation approaches to health services research,
particularly around patient-centered care.
Laura Kernan, MSc.
Laura Kernan is a
researcher at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation
Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System and a member of the group undertaking Qualitative
Evaluation of GRECC Connect. With a background in epidemiology, she specializes
in program evaluation and implementation of occupational contributors to health
outcomes in order to improve services for Veterans.
Camilla Pimentel,
MPH, PhD
Dr. Pimentel is an investigator, implementation scientist, and health services
researcher at the New England GRECC and the Center for Healthcare Organization and
Implementation Research (CHOIR) at the VA Bedford Healthcare System. She is a
member of the national GRECC Connect Qualitative Evaluation team and advises
GRECC Connect regarding implementation strategies. Her research focuses on
implementation of geriatrics telehealth specialty care, medication use among
older adults, pain management, and quality improvement and person-centered care
in nursing homes.
Point of Contact:
Jaye McLaren, 781-687-2848, jaye.mclaren@va.gov
Bedford GRECC-Connect provides virtual dementia specialty care to rural Veterans and providers within VISN-1 through clinical consultation, evaluation, and provider education. Our programming includes:
1. The Dementia Symposium, an annual ½ day webinar broadcast nationally for VA and non-VA clinicians that provides education regarding best practices in dementia management
2. Tele-Neuropsychological evaluation via video telehealth (CVT) to regional Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in New Hampshire
3. Dementia management visits into the home via video telehealth
4. Dementia-specific interdisciplinary e-consults
5. Virtual dementia caregiver support and education
6. Participation in national GRECC Connect case conferences
7. Qualitative evaluation lead for the national GRECC Connect network
Appleman, E. R., O’Connor, M. K., Boucher, S. J., Rostami, R., Sullivan, S. K., Migliorini, R., & Kraft, M. (2021). Teleneuropsychology clinic development and patient satisfaction. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 35(4), 819-837.
Gately, M. E., Tickle-Degnen, L., McLaren, J. E., Ward, N., Ladin, K., & Moo, L. R. (2021). Factors Influencing Barriers and Facilitators to In-home Video Telehealth for Dementia Management. Clinical Gerontologist, 1-14.
Nearing, K., Dang, S., Dryden, E., Kernan, L., Moo, L., & Pimentel, C. (2020). GRECC Connect Increases Access to Geriatric Specialty Care for Rural, Older Veterans with Complex Care Needs. Innovation in Aging, 4(Suppl 1), 795.
Nearing, K. A., Lum, H. D., Dang, S., Powers, B., McLaren, J., Gately, M., ... & Moo, L. (2020). National Geriatric Network Rapidly Addresses Trainee Telehealth Needs in Response to COVID‐19. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 68(9), 1907-1912.
Pimentel, C. B., Gately, M., Barczi, S. R., Boockvar, K. S., Bowman, E. H., Caprio, T. V., Colón-Emeric, C. S., Dang, S., Espinoza, S. E., Garner, K. K., Griffiths, P. C., Howe, J. L., Lum, H. D., Markland, A. D., Rossi, M. I., Thielke, S. M., Valencia-Rodrigo, W. M., Moo, L. R., & Hung, W. W. (2019). GRECC Connect: Geriatrics Telehealth to Empower Health Care Providers and Improve Management of Older Veterans in Rural Communities. Federal Practitioner: For the Health Care Professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS, 36(10), 464–470.
Related Program Evaluation
GRECC Connect Qualitative Evaluation:
Through partnerships between GRECC “hub sites” and community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in primarily rural communities, GRECC Connect enhances access to geriatric specialty care among older Veterans with complex medical problems and at increased risk for institutionalization and provides geriatrics-focused education to rural healthcare teams. The Qualitative Evaluation Core has evaluated the implementation of GRECC Connect through interviews with CBOC and Hub site staff and clinicians on their perspectives of facilitators and barriers to adopting GRECC Connect. Through a national participatory process, we translated the findings into implementation strategies that are being used to inform a strategic plan to enhance uptake of this promising practice. We are currently conducting a formative evaluation of a geriatric referral navigator role at four GRECC Connect Hub sites to determine best practices to roll out nationally.
Through partnerships between GRECC “hub sites” and community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in primarily rural communities, GRECC Connect enhances access to geriatric specialty care among older Veterans with complex medical problems and at increased risk for institutionalization and provides geriatrics-focused education to rural healthcare teams. The Qualitative Evaluation Core has evaluated the implementation of GRECC Connect through interviews with CBOC and Hub site staff and clinicians on their perspectives of facilitators and barriers to adopting GRECC Connect. Through a national participatory process, we translated the findings into implementation strategies that are being used to inform a strategic plan to enhance uptake of this promising practice. We are currently conducting a formative evaluation of a geriatric referral navigator role at four GRECC Connect Hub sites to determine best practices to roll out nationally.
Veteran
and Caregiver Perspectives on GRECC Connect and Rural VA Geriatric Care:
This project is qualitatively
exploring the logistical, sociocultural, and personal facilitators and barriers
rural caregivers experience while accessing caregiver support services and
examine the acceptability of using specialty care telehealth visits to connect
rural caregivers with services through the Caregiver Support Line.
Last modified: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 4:43 PM