Senior Scientist & Director, Investigative Science Division
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Dr. Susan Hickman is a clinical geropsychologist focused on improving quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias through improved decision-making and communication about treatment preferences. Her expertise is in palliative care and advance care planning, with a focus on the nursing facility setting. Dr. Hickman is a founding member of National POLST, which aims to honor the treatment preferences of patients with life-limiting illness at risk of a life-threatening events and is used widely in nursing homes. She has spent nearly 25 years studying POLST Portable Medical Orders, and her research findings are used to support programs based on the POLST model across the country. Recent projects include serving as a co-principal investigator on a National Institute on Aging trial of an advance care planning training program in 180 nursing facilities across the country and on National Institute of Nursing Research grant to map advance care planning workflows and identify outcomes in different settings of care.
Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial of Advance Care Planning for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia
Thursday, March 5, 2026
10:30am - 10:50am PST
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose