Barbara Bowers Appointed Senior Advisor for Pathway Health
Barbara J. Bowers, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Professor Emerita and Founding Director of the Center for Aging Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing, has been appointed a Senior Advisor for Pathway Health.
“We are pleased to have established a relationship with Dr. Bowers. Her interest in improving the work-life quality for health care staff has driven her to explore ways to enhance the effectiveness of staff development,” said Pathway Health Chief Executive Officer Peter B. Schuna. “As we continue to develop and enhance solutions that support our clients’ workforce development and training goals, Dr. Bowers’ expertise will contribute to our objective of providing best-in-class training that improves both excellence of care and work-life quality.”
Dr. Bowers’ research focuses on organizational models of care, particularly culture change models, staff development and resident quality of life. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Commonwealth Fund, The Cargill Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Additionally, she has collaborated with researchers across many countries and has served on local, state and federal policy workgroups related to long term care.
Dr. Bowers is the founding director of the Center for Aging Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the developer of the Geri-Res Long Term Care Residency Program, and served as Director of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Education for the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and as Associate Editor for The Gerontologist®. She has published widely on organizational models of long term care and workforce development.
Dr. Bowers received the Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award in 2022 and is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and in the Gerontological Society of America.
“Through years of research and teaching in various environments, I have come to recognize that individuals receiving care in skilled nursing facilities often have complex care needs that necessitate specialized skills for competent practice,” said Dr. Bowers. “Moreover, direct care staff exhibit a strong desire to continue their learning in order to continuously enhance their knowledge and skill sets,” she continued. “I am excited to support Pathway Health’s professional consultants as they assist long term care and senior care leaders in implementing additional learning opportunities and ongoing education to provide the best possible care.”