Janice Whitaker

“Most of my nursing career has involved caring for older adults in a variety of healthcare settings with a passion for fostering the well-being of each individual and supporting families. The age-friendly care movement and 4Ms framework provides an excellent opportunity to make a sustainable impact as it involves collaborating with key stakeholders to implement best practice approaches with innovative strategies that have positive outcomes. It is my pleasure and privilege to be a member of Age-Friendly Care, PA GWEP team at our college, and to be contributing to an initiative that will improve quality of care and life for older adults and their families throughout Pennsylvania.”

Janice Whitaker, M.Ed., B.S.N, RN, has a professional background in nursing, administration, leadership, education, and curricular and program development. Janice’s experience has provided her with the expertise to be the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Age-Friendly Care, PA grant. As a former Director of Nursing in a skilled nursing facility setting, she has knowledge and skills related to geriatric clinical practice and nursing management including clinical oversight, development of policies and procedural guidelines, alignment with regulatory standards, implementation of best practice, and quality improvement. Janice has provided staff development for nurses and interdisciplinary staff, developed orientation and on-boarding programs, coordinated interdisciplinary care plan teams, and received specialized training in dementia care as a DementiaLIVE coach. She also taught undergraduate courses and developed a nursing assistant program as a former Health Careers instructor. For the past six years, Janice has been the Administrator and Community Liaison for the Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at Penn State. She also serves on the expert panel for Penn State College of Medicine’s Project ECHO for Nursing Homes: Infection Control and Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURE Profile

Professional Interests

• Age-Friendly Care/Community
• Caregiver Skills Training
• Dementia-Friendly Care/Community
• Geriatric Workforce Enhancement
• Interdisciplinary Person-Centered Care
• Leadership & Nursing Management
• Practice & Regulatory Standards
• Strategic Planning & Implementation

Education

• MEd, Educational Leadership, University of Vermont
• BSN, Hartwick College