Emma Beier was selected for her work, "How Medicare's Quality Incentive Program Effected Dialysis Facilities' Quality of Care." She was nominated by Vincent Mor, who stated, “I was so impressed with the quality of Emma’s work and her appreciation of the fact that focusing on understanding the financial incentives under which health care providers operate is an essential ingredient in designing policies that are intended to improve the care offered to the frail older persons who are the object of the health care systems’ care and treatment. Emily’s work in her Master’s thesis is highly consistent with the main themes of research that are undertaken by the faculty in the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research.”
Matthew Campos was selected for his work, "Comparing Healthcare Utilization Among Hispanic Medicare Beneficiaries with Complex Chronic Conditions: A Comparison of Puerto Rico and Florida." He was nominated by Maricruz Rivera-Hernandez, who stated, “During the past two years, Matthew immersed himself in the Medicare literature and attended two different aging conferences to present the work he is leading regarding Medicare in Puerto Rico. Matthew is contributing to a very important topic in the gerontological literature.”
Sirui (Rita) Zhang was selected for her work, "Hypertension Treatment, Blood Pressure, and Deprescribing Among U.S. Nursing Home Residents With and Without Dementia Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic." She was nominated by Kaley Hayes, who stated, “Findings by Ms. Zhang suggest potential overtreatment of hypertension among residents with dementia and increased BP monitoring for all NH residents after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results highlight the need for targeted deprescribing and improved clinical decision-making to balance BP control and medication burden in cognitively impaired older adults in NH.”
This prize is awarded to a graduating undergraduate or Master's public health student, recognizing their completion of a research project in gerontology leading to a public presentation, publication, or publication-quality manuscript.