Stasa D. Tadic, MD, MS is an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at University of Pittsburgh. He is also an Academic Chief of Geriatric Medicine at UPMC Mercy hospital and provides consult service on hospitalized elderly and teaching of medical residents.

Melissa Jones, MSN, RN, GERO-BC, CDP is the geriatric programmatic nurse specialist with UPMC. Mercy.   She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner through the NCCDP and is a board certified gerontological nurse. She holds a Masters in Nursing Education and has practiced nursing in various care settings including nephrology, developmental disabilities, community and medical education. Melissa is also part time adjunct clinical faculty with Duquesne School of Nursing.

Abigail Steele,PharmD, BCPS, BCGP is a Clinical Pharmacist at UPMC Mercy.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences at Cornell University, and obtained her PharmD at the University at Buffalo.  She completed a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at UPMC Mercy in 2014.  In 2020 she finished the University of Pittsburgh Gerontology Certificate Program, and is currently Board Certified in Pharmacotherapy and Geriatric Pharmacy.  Her clinical interests include age-associated changes in pharmacokinetics and reducing adverse drug effects and medication burden in older patients.

Susan Pearson LCSW, ACM-SW is the supervisor of Clinical Care Coordination And Discharge Planning at UPMC MERCY. She holds a Bachelors and Master’s  in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and is a third-generation Pitt grad. Susan has worked at Mercy since July 1997 as a SW in the Emergency Department. As the Supervisor of Clinical Care Coordination and Discharge Planning, she oversees the ED and ERC staff.  Susan is married with three children and two rescue pups. 

Bridgman, DNP, NPD-BC, RN received her BSN from The Pennsylvania State University in 1997, her MSN from Duquesne University in 2005, and her DNP from Capella University in 2022. She joined the Quality and Patient Safety team at Mercy in 2022 as an Improvement Specialist. In this role, she reviews patient safety events and works to mitigate potential risks within the hospital. In addition, she reviews Patient Fall and HAPI data and partner with an interdisciplinary team to implement process improvement initiatives to reduce these occurrences.

Prior to joining Mercy, Amy served in a variety of roles at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for over 20 years, specializing in education and professional development and clinical training in pediatric medical surgical, ortho, trauma and neurosurgical nursing. She also supported AHN Wexford as the Quality Manager throughout the opening of the hospital and during the first year of operation.

When not at work, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband Sean, son Max, and rescue pup Molly. Amy loves the Pens, going to live music events, and hanging out with friends.

Sydney Hand, PharmD is a unit-based clinical pharmacist at UPMC Mercy. Her clinical focus is endocrine and diabetes management. She works on the orthopedic trauma progressive care unit and performs geriatric medication assessments. Sydney went to pharmacy school at Duquesne University and did her postgraduate year 1 residency at UPMC Mercy. Following completion of her residency, she worked as a staff pharmacist at UPMC Passavant. She then took a 50/50 clinical position at UPMC Mercy where she worked with patients on stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury units and staffed the main inpatient pharmacy. Her clinical interests include diabetes education as well as safe transitions of care. Outside of work, Sydney enjoys spending time with her fiancé and family, reading, and running.

Ranie Patterson ,PT, DPT, GCS, Sr Manager UPMC Rehab Network

Ranie Patterson is the Senior Manager for the UPMC Rehab Network, bringing over 10 years of experience in the rehabilitation field.  As a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy, she excels in educating others on patient care within the rehab setting.  Ranie collaborates with all rehab units across UPMC, with a recent emphasis on supporting Mercy's rehab program in completing the survey process for CARF accreditation, which will help drive program improvements

Sharon Mackall, Director of Clinical care Coordination and Discharge Planning

Sherri Mackall received her BSN from Alderson-Broadus University in WV and her MSN from Phoenix University.  She has spent her entire nursing career in the acute care setting.  Her bedside experience ranged from oncology to critical care and for the past 20 years she has been in Care Management.  She started her career at UPMC Mercy as the Manager for Care Management in 2005 and in 2008 became the Director of the department.  In working closely with her staff on discharge planning, the barriers to providing the appropriate level of post hospital care for the elderly became evident.  Developing age specific discharge readiness checklists and engaging engage her staff to improve the transition and discharge planning for the elderly patients became a department goal.  Sherri has been a core team member of UPMC Mercy Geriatric COE team and leads the hospitals processes related to the IHI “What Matters” care for the elderly.

Dementia Simulation and Care Faculty

Jean Royse has been with PSCN for over 21 years, having served in various roles such as Personal Wellness and Care Coordinator with Envisage, rehabilitation, private duty home care manager, nursing assistant and serving on numerous committees. Currently, she is a care coordinator with Dementia360, as her true passion is working with families who are caring for someone living at home with dementia.  Jean has professional and personal experience with the disease, recently losing both parents to different types of dementia.

She lives in Washington, Pa, has 3 adult children, 5 grandchildren and a dog named Sadee Mae. When she is not working you will find her on her kayak, on a bicycle or simply outside watching her garden grow. Jean has been a volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association for the past 8 years, fundraising to find a cure and serving as chair and co-chair for the Western PA chapter for 2 of those years.

Michelle Govan is a Care Coordinator with Dementia360, a Presbyterian SeniorCare Network program designed to support and educate families caring for people living with dementia at home. She has provided support to families across Allegheny, Washington, Armstrong, Westmoreland, Butler, Blair and Erie counties since joining the team in 2020.

Shawna Sanders has worked in various capacities of long-term care and dementia care for over 30 years. She currently works as a Care Coordinator for Dementia360, part of the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network. Dementia360 Care Coordinators provide support, resources and connections people need to be effective caregivers to those living with dementia and to keep them living safely and comfortably, at home, for as long as possible. Shawna is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, a Certified Dementia Practitioner and a Personal Care Home Administrator. Her experiences include leading memory cafés, Alzheimer’s Association Support groups and Dementia Live education.

Susan Collier has a Bachelor of Social Work and has been with the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network for 34 years.  Her roles have changed over the years but have included providing social services support within skilled nursing and rehabilitation, Dementia Coordinator in both nursing and personal care levels, Coordinator of non-medical home care services and currently serves as a Care Manager for Independent Living residents at Longwood at Oakmont. She is a Certified Dementia Coordinator and has experience providing dementia education to both team and family members and has facilitated caregiver support groups and Memory Cafes.

Michelle Carter has been in the nursing field for over 25 years. Michelle graduated from Community College as a Nursing RN.  She also attended the California University of Pennsylvania for a BSN and Aspen University for a Master’s in Nursing Administration and Management.

Michelle’s nursing practice experience is in the long-term care setting. She has been the Director of Nursing at Longwood at Oakmont for the past seven years.

Michelle has received several certifications. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and a Certified Nursing Director in Long-term Care (CNDLTC).

Michelle is also a continuing education provider for continuing credits in nursing. She is a certified trainer for the BANK methodology. Michelle is also a Nurse Entrepreneur who assists Directors of Nursing in long-term care and nurse Leaders in overcoming obstacles using personality-driven leadership skills.

Michelle is a member of Pittsburgh Black Nurses in Action, the National Black Nurses Association, and the Pennsylvania Director of Nursing Association. She is also a long-term Expert for the Nurses Feed Their Young movement. 

Ronnie Edwards, MSW, LSW Aging Educator UPMC Senior Services 

Ronnie Edwards has a Masters in Social Work (MSW) with a concentration in Gerontology. She is a trainer in Ageless Wisdom, Powerful Tools and INSPIRE programs.

Ronnie co-manages the UPMC Senior Services Help and Referral Line where she assists individuals navigate community resources regardless of their insurance affiliation, location or who they are calling on behalf of. In her role, she also works on a variety of programs and activities including a resource center at UPMC McKeesport, resource tools, and expansion and distribution of educational materials.

Ronnie has presented on a variety of topics including psychosocial assessment, depression, advance directives, working with complex families, disability awareness, and more.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure:  No members of the planning committee, speakers, presenters, authors, content reviewers and/or anyone else in a position to control the content of this education activity have relevant financial relationships with any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients to disclose.