Geriatric Health Services Research Lab

This past weekend Dr. Beth Fields and Dr. Ben Canter presented on OT & Microtransitions in Post-Acute & Long-Term Care: Best Practices for Recreational Outings & Outpatient Appointments at the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference in Anaheim, California! They were supported by first year occupational therapy students and GHSRL members, Kendall Downs and Kendall Crackel!

On Tuesday, November 10th, 2026, the UW-Madison Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (CIPE) will be hosting an event centered around Youth Caregivers. This event is free to register for and will be a great opportunity to hear from students, caregivers, and other members of the community about youth caregiving!

AARP Wisconsin is hosting a screening of “TAKING CARE”: The Documentary on Thursday, April 9th 6:30pm-8:00pm! This is a free event, but you must register at the link below to attend!

https://www.aarp.org/events/details.movies-for-grownups-taking-care.rznwqgmz8fm.html

Join us in celebrating one of our great community partners, Katie Samuelson, the CEO at BEAMING, Inc. She was recognized as Remarkable Woman of the Year in Northeast WI.

She has been a fierce advocate of Riding in the Moment, and BEAMING was the second site nationally to launch the program.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.wearegreenbay.com/remarkable-women/to-me-this-is-not-a-job-its-who-i-am-ceo-in-winnebago-county-named-wfrvs-remarkable-woman-winner/

First-year Occupational Therapy students Luke Busse, Maddelynne Tabaska, and Anna Speckien represented the Geriatric Health Services Research Lab at the Community Care Mixer hosted by Morgridge Center for Public Service! They served as facilitators to foster meaningful discussions amongst practitioners, scholars, and community members that have interest in work related to Community Care!

Our very own, Dr. Beth Fields, will be presenting at UIC's Scholarship of Practice Day on 3/6. Her presentation, Reimagining Aging Care: From Innovative Interventions to Supportive Policy, will discuss various interventions seeking to meet the needs of older adults and caregivers.

Congratulations to Kayla on presenting at the WisconsINFORMATICS Clinical Informatics Conference held by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health! Kayla, a PhD student in the GHSRL, presented a poster about the Dementia Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool (D-CHAT)! Great job Kayla! 🎉

Help us recognize UW Health, a pivotal partner in our D-CHAT study, which was recently selected to participate in a learning collaborative with CAP-CT.

Congratulations, UW Health!

Link to collaborative/more information: https://carepartners.ucsf.edu/content/cap-ct-learning-collaborative

Congratulations to our Second Year OTD Students who celebrated their pinning ceremony last night! They presented their research posters that they have spent the past semester working on! We wish them the best of luck as they head off to their fieldwork placements!

Meet our new lab members! Kendall, Rebecca, Kendall, Anna, and Emma joined us in the GHSRL this semester and have jumped right into lab activities. We are excited to watch them grow during their time in the lab.

First-year Occupational Therapy students Luke Busse, Maddelynne Tabaska, and Anna Speckien represented the Geriatric Health Services Research Lab at the 2025 Fall Community Conversation: Addressing Hearing Loss for Better Brain Health, hosted by the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). The students engaged in meaningful conversations with community members, learning about the challenges faced by individuals living with hearing loss and how these challenges affect daily life. They also shared information about the lab and our current research initiatives, helping to build awareness and strengthen community connections!

If you are interested, a recording of the event is linked here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/gFj5wd5wKyo?si=FT6AWsFy3ZRPGxCp