Our team

Pamela Parsons, Ph.D., RN, GNP-BC, FNAP

Clinical Professor and Associate Dean for Practice and Community Engagement and Judith B. Collins and Joseph M. Teefey Distinguished Professor
Richmond Memorial Health Foundation Equity and Health Fellow
Department of Family and Community Health Nursing

TEACHING:

I teach content to faculty and students related to geriatrics and interprofessional practice. I maintain a clinical practice focused on complex care of the older adult. I am currently  Project Director for the Richmond Health and Wellness Program, an interprofessional education and collaborative practice model serving health disparate older adults residing in senior housing apartment buildings.

RESEARCH:

My research focus is implementation and evaluation of models of care targeting chronically ill older adults and vulnerable populations.

SERVICE:

I am the Director for the interprofessional Richmond Health and Wellness Program. I serve as the Co-Chair of the VCUHealth Equity Strategic Planning Steering Committee, focusing on strategies to improve health outcomes impacted by factors related to social determinants of health. I co-lead the VCU iCubed Health and Wellness in Aging Populations Research Core. I am helping lead the community agency collaborative innovation project focused on providing technology smart speaker access to older adults in our community. I work closely with our housing partners and agencies to address solutions for those that are homeless or at risk of housing instability. Locally in the community, I serve as a Board Member for the Lucy Corr Foundation in Chesterfield County, VA.

EDUCATION

• B.S.N. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
• M.S.N Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
• Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

AWARDS/HONORS

• Health Quality Innovator of the Year Award: Patient Centered Care 2018
• Virginia Commonwealth University Currents of Change Award for Richmond Health and Wellness Program 2018
• VCU Council on Community Engagement Outstanding Research Partnership Award- Richmond Health and Wellness Program 2018  
• Outstanding Faculty Contribution 2016-2017 VCU Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation 08/17
• Richmond Memorial Health Foundation Equity and Health Fellow 1/17-10/17
• Mary C.  Payne Award for Exemplary Advocacy, Leadership, and Service On Behalf of Older Adults, Senior Connections Capital Area Agency on Aging 9/2016
• Best Practices Award Honorable Mention: Richmond Health and Wellness Program of the VCU School of Nursing and a Partnership of Housing Communities and Other Service Organizations by The Commonwealth Council On Aging 2016
• National Academies of Practice (NAP) and the Nursing Academy as a Distinguished Practitioner & Fellow 2015
• Judith B. Collins and Joseph M. Teefey Distinguished Professor 2014
• Third Place Innovations in Service Coordination Award, American Association of Service Coordinators, sponsored by Critical Signals Technology for the Richmond Health and Wellness Program, in partnership with Beacon Communities. National Award 2014
• Martha M. Borlick Research Award, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing 2004
• Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society 2002
• Veterans Administration, National Performance Review, Presidential Hammer Award 1998
• Department of Veterans Affairs Special Contribution Award 1998

RESEARCH FUNDING

• 1/20-12/22 AARP Foundation-The Richmond Health and Wellness Program: Supporting Wellness and Aging Needs. Implement and evaluate impact of program to social connectedness and health care outcomes. Parsons, P. PI $518,698.00 
• 12/19-6/21 Regirer Foundation. Housing Instability Risk Reduction: Strategies for Improving Health and Wellness for Community Dwelling Older Adults, Parsons, P. PI, $15,000.   
• 6/19-7/20 Bob and Anna Lou Shaberg Foundation, Homeless Adults Coalition, King-Horne, PI. Develop a system of care for homeless senior, map and connect services, and train providers. Parsons, P.  Co- investigator, $7,000.00, total award $40,000. 
• 6/19- 6/24 Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program, Ansello, Ed, PI, Grant #2UIQHP28744- 04-00, Parsons, P. Core Faculty (10% effort) $749,783.00   
• 7/18 – 6/20 PIONEER – HRSA Nurse Education Practice Quality and Retention – BSN Practicum Community Settings. Zurakowski, PI, Parsons, Co-investigator (3% effort), $2,400,000.  
• 5/16 Internal funding for tenure and term faculty in School of Nursing to promote research and support the Richmond Health and Wellness Program Parsons co-iCubed Proposal through VCU – Health and Wellness in Aging Populations    
• 7/15-6/18 Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program HRSA Grant No. U1QHP28744-01-00 Ansello, E, Project Director, Parsons,PL. core faculty (10% ) 2,538,983.
• 2013-2016 The Richmond Health and Wellness Program (RHWP): Expanding Nurse-Led Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP) Teams for Community-Dwelling Older Adults. NEPQR HRSA Grant No UD7HP26044; Parsons, PL, Project Director (50%); Ogbonna KC, Sargent L, Hamric A, Moczygemba LR, Feldman, M, Cross, S, Conlon, AM, Mazmanian P, Boling PA, Dow, A, Slattum PW. Arrington, R. (2013-2016); $1,488,584.00
• 2012-2013 Dominion Place Health and Wellness Program for Older Adults Council on Community Engagement, Internal Pilot Funding, Parsons PL, PI and Slattum PW, $16,000
• 2011-2014 Next Steps: Inter-professional Geriatric Education for Physicians, Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Reynold’s Foundation, Boling, PA, PI. $999,946; Parsons, PL, Core Faculty (15%)
• 2011-2012 Oral Health Care Training of Direct Care Providers and Health Care Professionals Geriatric Education Training Center, Virginia Center on Aging. Lucy Corr Foundation, Patricia Bonwell, PI, Parsons P.L. co-investigator. $19,740
• 2010-2015 Virginia Geriatric Education Center, HRSA (2010-2015). Ansello, E. PI and Boling PA, co-pi; Parsons, PL. Core Faculty (7%). $2.1 million
• 2010-2011 A Feasibility Study of Symptom Burden and Frailty in Community Dwelling Elders: AD Williams Committee VCU Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Parsons, PL, PI and McCain, N. $15,000
• 2006 Physical Function Among Urban Community Dwelling Elders: Implementing Community Based Research in a Low-Income Housing Development. Internal Medicine Pilot Funding, $10,000. Bohannon, A. PI and Parsons, P, co-investigator

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Badawoud, A, Salgado, T,  Lu, J, Peron, E, Parsons, P and Slattum, P. Measuring Medication Self-Management Capacity: A Scoping Review of Available Instruments,  Drugs and Aging,. Accepted for Publication, April 2020.
• Zanjani, F; Brooks, M; Waters, L; Parsons, P; Slattum, PW “Geriatric Opioid Harm Reduction: Interprofessional Student Learning Outcomes" Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine. DOI: 10.1177/2333721420908985 journals.sagepub.com/home/ggm
• Davis, K and Parsons P. Book Chapter. Health Care Delivery: Care Coordination, Concept 49, Theme 11 in Concepts in Nursing Practice, Giddens, J. Ed. Ed. 3. 2019
• Parsons, P, Slattum, PW, Bleich, M. Mainstreaming Health and Wellness: The RHWP Innovation Model to complement Primary Care. Nursing Forum. 2019 DOI:10:1111/nu.12323.
• Coe, A, Moczygema,L, Ogbonna, KC.,  Parsons,P., Slattum, P, Mazmanian, P.  Predictors of emergent emergency department visits and costs in community-dwelling older adults. July 2018, Health Services Insights.
• Coe AB, Moczygemba LR, Ogbonna KC, Parsons PL, Slattum PW, Mazmanian PE. Low-income Senior Housing Residents’ Emergency Department Use and Care Transition Problems. J of Pharm Pract 2017; doi: 10.1177/0897190017734763. [Epub ahead of print]
• Ogbonna, K, Dow, A, and Parsons, P.  Issues and Trends in Nursing: Essential Knowledge for Today and Tomorrow   Editors:  Gayle Roux and Judith A. Halstead    Chapter Title  Interprofessional Collaborative Practice  2016.
• Dow, AW,  Boling, PA, Lockeman, KS, Mazmanian, PE, Feldman, M, DiazGranados, D, Browning, J, Coe, An, Selby-Penczak, R, Hobgood, S, Abbey, L, Parsons, P, Delafuente, J, and Taylor, S. Training and Assessing Interprofessional Teams Using a Web-Based Case System. Academic Medicine, 2016, Jan;91(1):120-6.
• Bonwell, P, Parsons, PL, Best, A and Hise, S. An interprofessional educational approach to oral health care in the geriatric population, Gerontology &Geriatrics Education, Feb 2013. DOI:10.1080/02701960.2013.827572. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2013.827572.
• Flora, D, Parsons P, & Slattum, P. Transitions in care:  A source of medication related problems” Generations Winter 2011.
• Parsons, P. Mezuk, B, Ratliffe, S and Lapane K. Winter 2010. Subsidized housing not subsidized health: Health status and fatigue among elders in public housing and other community settings. Ethnicity and Disease (21): 85-89.
• Golant, S.M., Parsons, P, and Boling, P.A.  2010. Assessing the quality of care found in affordable clustered housing-care arrangements: Key to informing public policy. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, 12(2); 5-28.
• Parsons, P, & Boling, P.  2007. Patterns of emergency care use in residential care settings suggests opportunity to improve quality of transitional care in the elderly. Home Health Services Quarterly, published as Special Edition: Charting a Course for High Quality Care Transitions, ed Eric Coleman, Hawthorn Press 26(4):79-92
• Boling, P, & Parsons, P. 2007. A research agenda for transitions from nursing homes to home. Home Health Services Quarterly, published as Special Edition: Charting a Course for High Quality Care Transitions, ed Eric Coleman, Hawthorn Press 26(4):7121-130.
• Parsons, P. Gifford, C. Characteristics and outcomes of elderly patients receiving transitional care. Outcomes in Nursing Administration. November,  2002.
• McMurtry, CT., Parsons, PL. 1997 “bilateral psoas muscle abscesses in an elderly diabetic male.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Oct; 45(10)1286-87.
• Parsons, PL. McMurtry, CT, “NP care/discharge planning saves money”. 1997 Nurse  Practitioner March 22(3):239-40.

SELECTED LOCAL PRESENTATIONS

• An Education in Meeting Patients Where They Live Health Affairs April 2019
  https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00225 4/19
• VCU Clinic For Low-Income Seniors Aims To Alleviate Health Disparities. NPR / VPM
  https://vpm.org/news/articles/5912/vcu-clinic-for-low-income-seniors-aims-to-
  alleviate-health-disparities Published August 8, 2019.
• Champions Toolbox: For People with Lifelong Disabilities sponsored by Area Planning and Services Committee on Aging with Lifelong Disabilities, Podium Invited speaker.  How to Communicate with Health Care Providers, Parsons, P. 11/07/15
• Jewell and Carl Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium, Podium, Invited Speaker, with Sierra Alewine, MSG, Kelechi Ogbonna, PharmD, CGP, Richmond, Virginia Panel C: The Richmond Health and Wellness Program. 04/25/15 
• Who is Driving:  Miss Daisy? Podium, Invited Speaker Aging and Mobility Conference Sponsored by Virginia Department of Aging and VCU Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Richmond, Virginia. 06/03/11

SELECTED REGIONAL PRESENTATIONS

• Housing Virginia’s Most Vulnerable Virginia Housing Alliance: Breakout Session: Podium, Invited Speaker: Addressing Housing Needs of Older Adults, Treglia, D, MacDonald, C, Parsons, P, and Ankiel, S. Omni Hotel Richmond Virginia. 6/19
• VNA State Conference Innovations in Nursing: Business Meeting Podium, Invited Speaker: The Richmond Health and Wellness Program: An Innovative Nurse -Led Care Delivery Model Short Pump Hilton Richmond Va 9/18
• HQI Virginia Care Transitions Forum - Collaborative Panel Presentation Podium Invited speaker, RHWP 2/18
• Marrs S, Davis K, Ansello E, Parsons, P, Slattum PW, McIntyre M. Care of the Complex Older Adult: Impact of a Faculty Development Program’s ClinicalComplex Older Adult: Impact of a Faculty Development Program’s Clinical Experience. Poster at the 6th Annual Jewell and Carl Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium, Henrico, VA February 2018   2/18
• Engaging the Brain: Aging with Lifelong Disabilities sponsored by Area Planning and Services Committee on Aging with Lifelong Disabilities, Podium Invited speaker Wellness and Communication with Health Care Providers, Parsons, P. 6/06/16
• Hopkins/Notre Dame Interprofessional Symposium, invited Podium, with Alan Dow, MD, Victor Yanchick, Pharm D, PhD, Baltimore, MD 11/03/14
• Managing Medications for Improved Care Transitions: Focus on Long Term Care.  Slattum, P and Parsons, P. Podium, Invited Speaker Virginia Pharmacists Association, Roanoke, Va. 2/2013
• Impact of Adverse Drug Events on Transitions, Podium, Invited Speaker. Boling, P and Parsons, P. Virginia Health Quality Center Statewide Conference, Richmond, Va. 6/2012
• Ensuring Safe Transitions: Don’t Throw Mama from the Train: Med Rec: Patient Literacy: Adherence, Coping, and Education Podium, Invited Speaker:  Boling, PA, Slattum, PW, and Parsons, P  Virginia Geriatrics Society Statewide Conference, Richmond, Va. 4/2012
• Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?  Alcohol and the Older Adult. Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners Annual Conference on behalf of the Virginia Alcohol and Aging Awareness Group Homestead, VA Podium, Invited Speaker. 03/09/12
• Psychoneuroimmunology: A Framework for Understanding Fatigue and Frailty in Community Based Elder Research Parsons, P.  Poster  Southern Gerontological Society Meeting, Richmond Virginia.   04/10
• Alcohol and Drug Use: Is it Commonplace in Your Community and What Can You Do About It? Podium, Invited Speaker: Virginia Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging Regional conference, targeting nursing home, long -   continuing care retirement communities. Presentation provided at Lucy Corr Nursing Home. 11/03/09
• Care Transitions in Long-Term Care” Identifying the Cracks Podium, Invited Speaker: Bohannon A, and Parsons, P. Virginia Health Quality Center, State Training Program. 2/26/08
• What’s at Stake When Chronic Disease Prevention Fails  Podium, Invited Speaker: Boling PA and Parsons, P.Virginia Department of Health, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, biannual state conference. 4/19/07
• Interprofessional Service Learning with Underserved Community Dwelling Elders: The Richmond Health and Wellness Program at Dominion Place. Parsons, P, Ogbonna, KC, Sargent, L, Kovacs, P, Roberson, E, Bean, M, Slattum, P, &  Dow, A.  Poster Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium, Richmond Va. 03/13

 

SELECTED NATIONAL PRESENTATIONS 

• Health Affairs: Leading to Health: Symposium Podium, Invited Speaker: Panel Presentation: Academic Medicine’s Role in System Transformation: Parsons, P ,Warrenton VA  10/19
• Interprofessional  Education Collaborative: Advancing Collaborative Practice Through Team-Based Care and Community Engagement. Podium, Invited Speaker: Parsons, P, and Ford, G. Washington, DC. 6/19
• Slattum PW, Parsons,PL, Dow AW, Ford G, Gendron TL, Gough MZ, McQueen-Gibson E, Ogbonna KC, Patel KB, Price ET, Prom-Wormley EC, Sargent LJ, Zanjani FA. Building the Health and Wellness in Aging Populations Core (abstract). Poster at the 11th Health Disparities Conference, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA. 4/2018
• Learning Together at the NEXUS: National Center Summit on the Future of IPE Invited participant for the NEXUS Health Fair to present the Richmond Health and Wellness Program Minneapolis, Minn Podium, Invited Speaker. 8/23/16
•  “Affordable Housing Plus Services for Vulnerable Elders- Policy Recommendations to Improve Care and Avoid Unnecessary Spending” Congressional Briefing panelist participant with LeadingAge. Podium, Invited Speaker. 6/2016
• Flag Webinar “Teaching Reimagined: A New Web-Based Method for Geriatric Interprofessional Education: Interactive Unfolding Case”. Boling, PA, Parsons, PL, Johnson, S. Sponsored by the University Minnesota National Hartford Center for Geriatric Excellence Webinar  10/27/15
• “ Effect of an Interprofessional Case Study on Gerontologic Nursing Competencies within a Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum” Poster Johnson, S, Parsons, P and Sargent L. Gerontological Society of America National Conference, Washington, D.C. 11-2014
• “Cooling the Hotspot: Community Based Interventions Targeting High Utilization Individuals”, Podium, Invited Speaker Presentation: Symposium, Gerontological Society of America National Conference, Washington DC. 11/07/14
• “How Housing Matters”: Invited Panelist and Case Study- Podium, Invited Speaker Housing and Health for Older Adults conference sponsored by  John D and Catherine MacArthur Foundation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Building Museum, Washington, DC. 10/16/14
• Urban Institute, Round Table discussion, sponsored by AARP and John D and Catherine MacArthur Foundation, Invited Participant, Policy discussion on the connection between housing and older Adults, Washington, DC. 10/17/14
• IPEC Institute 2014Interprofessional Education: Building a Framework for Collaboration: Team Panel Presentation of the VCU IPE experience including Alan Dow, MD, Stephanie Umphlette, Pharm D, Alexander Enurah, MD Candidate 2014 Herndon, VA  Podium, Invited Speaker. 05/07/14
• LeadingAge:  PEAK Leadership Summit 2014, Washington DC Podium, Invited Speaker: Parsons, P National Conference, Panel presentation including the Richmond Health and Wellness Program, A breakout session focusing in housing with supportive services and models of care. This conference targets executive leadership from across the nation focusing on executive education and strategies for organizational success. 3/17/14
• Struggling Up the Hill: A Research Strategy to Address Policy Gaps in Housing and Health for Seniors: Podium, Invited Speaker Parsons, P National Center for Health and Public Housing National Conference, Washington, DC. 07/14/11
• Subsidized Housing Not Subsidized Health: Health Status and Fatigue Among Elders in Public Housing and Other Community Settings: Podium, Invited Speaker Parsons, P Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research Memphis Tennessee. Oral presentation of published paper. 06/21/11
• New Research on Resident Characteristics: Program Outcomes and  Policies in Low-Cost Housing.  Gerontological Society of America  Annual Conference, Denver Colorado. Golant S, Parsons, P, and Boling, P., Golant S. Podium, Invited Speaker by Golant S. 11/19/10
• Designing Research to Assess the Needs of Elders in Public Housing using Richmond Virginia as a Case Study; Poster Parsons, P, Bohannon A, Golant S and Boling, PA American Geriatrics Society National Conference, Orlando Florida. 5/15/10
• Implementing a Virtual Case System for Geriatric Interprofessional Education and Evaluation with Four Professional Schools.  Sargent L, Parsons, P, Dow A, Delafuente, J, and Boling PA. Poster American Geriatric Society Annual Conference, Grapevine, Texas. 05/13
• Physical Function among African-American Elders Residing in a Low-Income Housing Development Bohannon, A, Parsons, P,  Parsons, J and Boling P.A. Poster American Geriatrics Society National Conference,  Seattle Washington. 08/07
• Rate of Emergent Care Use by Elders Varies Markedly by Living Site Parsons, P Boling, P. Poster American Geriatrics Society Conference, Orlando, Florida. 05/05
• The Relationship of Nursing Home Unit Characteristics to Transfer to Acute Care Settings.  Parsons, P., Boling, P.  Poster American Geriatrics Society,. Las Vegas, NV. 05/04
• O’Keefe, E., Parsons, P. Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) in Advanced Dementia: Do Outcomes Fulfill Expectations?  Okeefe, E and Parsons, P.  Poster        Digestive Disease Week, San Francisco, CA. 06/04
• The Role of Social Support in Outcomes in Patients Receiving Subacute Care. Parsons, P.  Gifford, C. and Rosenthal A.  Poster Gerontological Society of America, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. 11/98
• Outcomes of Patients Receiving Subacute Care.  Parsons, P., Gifford, C, and Rosenthal, A.  Poster Gerontological Society of America, Cincinnati, Ohio. 11/97
• Reduction in Emergency Room Use and Hospital Readmissions in Elderl Male Veterans Cared for Longitudinally by a Nurse Practitioner. Parsons, P and McMurtry C Poster American  Geriatrics Society, Washington, D.C. 05/95

SELECTED INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS 

• Measuring the Impact of Interprofessional Education: Best Practices from  Gerontology and Geriatric Education Lead Presenter: David Dickter, Pre-Conference Workshop Collaborating Across Borders, International Conference, Roanoke Virginia  Parsons, PL, Discussant Podium, Invited Speaker. 9/29/15   
• The Richmond Health and Wellness Program (RHWP): Coordinating Care for Community-Dwelling Older Adults through Student-led Interprofessional   Collaborative Practice (IPCP) Teams, Ogbonna, K, Sargent, L, Crossman, C, and Parsons, P. Podium, Invited Speaker accepted and to be presented All Together Better Health International Conference, VII, Pittsburgh, Pa. 06/06/14
• The Richmond Health and Wellness Program (RHWP): Strategies for Successful Community Based Interprofessional Care.” Parsons, P, Slattum PW, and Feldman, M.  Poster presentation accepted and  to be presented All Together Better Health VII, 2014  Pittsburgh, Pa. 06/06/14
• Identifying Problems during Transitions of Care and Reasons for Emergency Department Utilization in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Coe, A, Moczygemba, L and Parsons, P. student Poster presentation accepted and to be presented All Together Better Health VII, Pittsburgh, Pa. 06/06/14
• The Richmond Health and Wellness Program (RHWP): Coordinating Care for Community-Dwelling Older Adults through Student-led Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP) Teams. Ogbonna, K, Sargent, L, Crossman, C, and Parsons,P .  Podium, Invited Speaker accepted and to be presented All Together Better Health VII, Pittsburgh, Pa. 06/06/14
• Integrating Interprofessional Education into a Healthcare HotSpot: The Richmond Health and Wellness Program for Older Adults. Parsons, P, Ogbonna, KC, Sargent, L, Kovacs, P, Roberson, E, Bean, M, Slattum, P, & Dow, A. Poster Collaborating Across Borders, Vancouver Canada. 06/13