• Stephanie Hartz, LCSW, Site Director:Geriatric and palliative care social worker dedicated to GRECC Connect (tele-geriatrics) and tele-palliative care clinics. Completes psychosocial assessments, gathers collateral information to supplement interdisciplinary team evaluation via Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) or VA Video Connect (VVC), assists patients and families with complex psychosocial issues and provides resources for caregivers and veterans. Leads outreach and coordination efforts to improve access for older rural veterans and family caregivers.
  
  
• Sarah Beck, MD: Geriatrician at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, board certified in geriatric medicine. Involved in tele-geriatric visits via CVT and VVC. Previously worked as a PACT provider for the last 6 years.
  
  

• Elizabeth Ellis, PharmD: Clinical Geriatric Pharmacy Specialist who provides pharmaceutical recommendations focusing on medication optimization in older adults with use of potentially inappropriate medications and polypharmacy. Director of the Geriatric Pharmacy Residency program and involved in interdisciplinary case conference presentations and SCAN-ECHO presentations.

• Larry Bourg, MD: Geriatrician at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, board certified in geriatric medicine. Involved in tele-geriatric CVT visits to CBOCs and contract nursing homes.

• Carolyn Horney, MD: Geriatrician and Home Based Primary Care provider at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, board certified in geriatric medicine. Involved in tele-geriatric CVT visits.

• Steven Huart, AuD: Audiologist and Supervisor of the Audiology Department at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, involved in interdisciplinary case conference presentations, and supervises audiology trainees who rotate with GRECC Connect.

• Courtney, McGuire, LCSW: Research Social Worker and ECHCS Gerofit Program Coordinator. Completes evaluations and national reporting for the GRECC Connect and related programs.

• Kathryn Nearing, PhD: Associate Director for Education and Evaluation of the VA Eastern Colorado GRECC. Develops evaluation methods for education and clinical demonstration projects related to GRECC Connect and related programs.

• Erin Kube, PhD: Geriatric Clinical Psychologist and VISN 19 Clinical Resource Hub Geriatric Mental Health Lead.  Provides non-pharmacological recommendations regarding mental health issues and caregiver support via VVC visits.  Provides supervision for the SLC VA Psychology Fellowship program.  

• Jill Steagall, NP: Adult nurse practitioner, board certified in hospice and palliative care medicine.  Completes palliative care visits via CVT and VVC with Veterans who have life limiting diagnosis focusing on goals of care conversations, symptom management and advance care planning. 

• Lynette Kelley, FNP: Eastern Colorado GRECC Geri-TEC site lead and Geri-Navigator, focus on optimizing the virtual care experience and stakeholder and community engagement for older and cognitively impaired Veterans. Additional support to focus on coaching Virtual Geriatrics expansion sites, participating in the Virtual Geriatrics Adoption and Implementation Core group, providing qualitative Veteran and provider evaluation support.

*For more information or questions about the Eastern Colorado Virtual Geriatrics Program please contact Stephanie Hartz, Stephanie.Hartz@va.gov

The GRECC Connect Program at Eastern Colorado GRECC encompasses an interprofessional team consisting of a geriatrician, palliative care nurse practitioner, geropsychologist, geriatric pharmacist, and geriatric social worker. The team receives referrals from rural and highly rural CBOC providers in Eastern Colorado regarding complex, geriatric related cases or palliative care cases. The majority of these patients and family caregivers live a great distance from geriatric and palliative care specialty services, which are currently only available at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center. These Veterans often have significant functional or symptomatic limitations that make traveling great distances a challenge.  Providers can access the Virtual Geriatrics Program through a menu of services clinical video teleconference visits (CVT) for geriatric evaluations, including a comprehensive memory evaluation clinic or palliative care consultation. All consults have input from the interdisciplinary team, with a focus on community resources, medication management, and caregiver assessment and communication with the local PACT team. The GRECC Connect interprofessional team triages each consult to ensure that the service requested is most beneficial and appropriate for the provider and patient. Patient and caregiver interactions may occur at the designated rural CBOC sites or the Veteran’s home via Tablet or Virtual Medical Room technology.