As the leader of UCLA Health’s Geriatric Committee, Tina is an expert in all aspects of care delivery for older adults. She is not afraid to move forward with bold, unique solutions to improve their experiences. She spearheaded the implementation of comprehensive geriatric screenings across the health system resulting in the only UC system to have a unique assessment for older adults on admission. Tina participated in the efforts that led to a Geriatric Accredited emergency room and led the efforts that resulted in UCLA Health receiving an Age-Friendly designation by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the highest recognition a health system can achieve in older adult care. She helped create a program that matches volunteers with hospitalized older adults who do not have family present. She sees her role holistically, because older adults use all aspects of the healthcare system.
During the Covid-19 pandemic—a virus that disproportionately affected older adults—Tina was dismayed by shortages in medical supplies. She got together with a colleague to create the first ever emergency product substitute and back-order supply groups. Thanks to this proactive effort, supply requests were fulfilled much more quickly and efficiently, ensuring that patient care needs were not delayed.
Tina is passionate about ensuring that care for elders is always evidence-based. She saw in the data that Benadryl was being routinely prescribed to hospitalized geriatric patients, even though the literature showed that this medication was not a good option for them. Tina worked with physician, pharmacy, and Information Services & Solutions (ISS) informatics colleagues to call attention to the problem and propose solutions. Through this collaboration and changes to the electronic health record medication ordering system, she ensured that Benadryl is no longer routinely ordered for older adults. She was able to do this even though it required educating colleagues and changing established routines. This resulted in a 90% decrease in Benadryl orders in this vulnerable population. Tina is a strong voice for the crucial importance of evidence-based nursing practice, and her advocacy has made a tremendous difference for her patients and for older adults throughout the system.