Propelling Education, Practice, Research and Policy
on Behalf of Older Patients

Pictured left to right

Elizabeth Capezuti, PhD, RN
Co-Director

Educated at Herbert H. Lehman College, Hunter College, and the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Capezuti has focused her research on the harmful effects of restraints on residents and patients in nursing homes and hospitals. Findings from her internationally recognized research have been used to guide state and federal regulations against forcible restrictions of nursing home residents. Formerly the Independence Foundation-Wesley Woods Chair in Clinical Gerontological Nursing Scholarship at Emory University, Dr. Capezuti is currently Associate Professor at New York University College of Nursing, and since 2003 has guided the Institute's work to foster research and practice in geriatric nursing.

Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN
Director and Founder

A renowned pioneer with a distinguished career in geriatric nursing, Dr. Mezey has worked to strengthen the preparation of nurses to ensure people age in comfort and with dignity. Dr. Mezey received her degrees in nursing from Columbia University, and served as a faculty member at Herbert H. Lehman College and the University of Pennsylvania, where she directed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Teaching Nursing Home initiative. Her books The Encyclopedia of Elder Care and Geriatric Nursing Protocols for Best Practice, continue to define geriatric nursing care. In 2006 the Mathy Mezey Chair in Geriatric Nursing was established in her honor at New York University.

Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN
Co-Director

Having received degrees from Skidmore and Boston College, as well as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate from New York University, Dr. Fulmer has concentrated her research on acute care of the elderly and elder abuse and neglect. A long-time advocate of interdisciplinary care for older patients, she was Principal Investigator for the Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Resource Center funded by the Hartford Foundation. Dr. Fulmer, Erline Perkins McGriff Professor, was named Dean of the College of Nursing in 2006 and became the first nurse to serve as president of the 5,000-member Gerontological Society of America.

Elaine Gould, MSW
Director for Programs

Formerly executive director of the New York Association for Ambulatory Care, Ms. Gould, with earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Brandeis University, has a longstanding dedication to curriculum development, continuing professional education, and raising the profile of geriatric nursing. Over the ten years of the Institute's work, her strategic oversight has advanced numerous programs to shape education, practice, research, consumer education, and public policy on the care of older adults.