I have been a family practice clinician (FNP) since 1998.  My career has been primarily dedicated to the provision of healthcare to the home-bound elderly.  I am certified as a Gerontological Specialist (GS-C) thru GAPNA.  I also have family practice clinic experience and inpatient hospital experience.  I've been a clinical preceptor and mentor for many students all these years, and I have served as adjunct faculty.  I have a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) from CSULA and a PhD in Nursing from UW Milwaukee.   In 2018, I joined Azusa Pacific University (APU) where I am full-time faculty in the Department of Nursing.  I am currently the director of the Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) Program at APU and the Director of the Master of Science in Nursing Program at APU for the Inland Empire Campus.

In September 2019, I was awarded the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA).  The GACA is a 4 year post doctoral grant, the purpose of which is to support the career development of junior faculty in geriatrics at accredited schools of allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, social work, psychology, dentistry, pharmacy, or allied health as academic geriatric specialists and to provide clinical training in geriatrics, including the training of interprofessional teams of health care professionals.  Established in 1998, this award has provided vital support for the career development of more than 200 clinician-educators in geriatrics.  This award has never been given to Nursing before.  Two nurse practitioners received this award in 2019 and I am one of them.

In an Age-Friendly Health System, older adults get the best care possible without experiencing health care-related harms and they are satisfied with the health care they receive.  My primary goal is to increase access to age-friendly care for older adults.  Nurse Practitioners with gerontological expertise make excellent community-based Primary Care Providers (PCPs) for the homebound older-adult population.  My aim is to develop education and curriculum that support their development as leaders of highly qualified interprofessional teams in a community based and Age-Friendly Health System.  This will reduce hospitalization, meet the needs or older adult population, and reduce inappropriate hospitalization and other massive wastes of precious resources.  This is particularly important for the underrepresented and underserved segments of the older adult population.