A nurse leader, educator, scientist and nationally recognized expert in gerontological nursing and rural health care, Heather M. Young is national director of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship Program for Nurse Leaders and Innovators and a professor in the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis.

Young researches healthy aging with a particular focus on the interface between individuals, family and formal health care systems. She is co-PI of the California Caregiver Resource Center Evaluation and associate director of the Family Caregiving Institute at UC Davis. She co-leads the Healthy Aging in a Digital World initiative and is a Senior Policy Fellow with the AARP Public Policy Institute focusing on policy and systems supports for family caregivers.

Her research has played an instrumental role in shaping long-term care policies in Washington state and beyond and she conducted several longitudinal studies of family caregiving in the context of cognitive and functional decline associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Her systems research includes use of technology, such as telehealth, and community-based strategies to promote healthy aging and management of chronic conditions. Young was co-director of the Latino Aging Research Resource Center, one of seven National-Institutes of-Aging-funded Research Centers for Minority Aging Research. She was the principal investigator for a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) study seeking to improve health for individuals with diabetes through technology-enabled nurse coaching.

She was a member of the Stakeholder Advisory Group for the California Master Plan on Aging, released in early 2021. She also served as a Commissioner on the California Future Healthcare Workforce Commission, contributing to a vision for a future health care workforce that can meet the needs of older adults and persons with disabilities and their families.

As founding dean and Associate Vice Chancellor for Nursing for UC Davis Health, Young led the establishment of the School of Nursing, the development of five new graduate programs in Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership, the design and construction of the 70,000-square-foot Betty Irene Moore Hall and the formation of a nursing science research program focused on healthy systems and healthy people.

Prior to moving to California, she was the Grace Phelps Distinguished Professor at the OHSU School of Nursing, where she directed the John A. Hartford Center for Geriatric Excellence and the Office of Rural Health Research.

Division

Dean's Team

Center/Program Affiliation

Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing

Education

A.D.N., R.N., Sacramento City College, Sacramento CA 1983

B.S.N., Southern Oregon College, Ashland OR 1986

M.S.N., University of Washington, Seattle WA 1989

Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle WA 1991

B.S., Sacramento City College, Sacramento CA 1981

Board Certifications

State of California, Registered Nurse License, 2008

State of Oregon, Registered Nurse License, 1983

Professional Memberships

American Academy of Nursing

American Gerontological Society

American Society on Aging

Association of California Nursing Leaders

Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science

Gerontological Society of America

Sigma Theta Tau

Western Institute of Nursing/Western Society of Research in Nursing

Honors and Awards

UC Davis Dean�s Hero Award for Diversity, 2016

Women Who Mean Business, Sacramento Business Journal, 2015

Dignity Health Dean�s Chair in Nursing Leadership, Endowed Deanship, 2015

Doris Schwartz Gerontological Nursing Research Award, Gerontological Society of America Health Sciences Section, 2014

Excellence in Writing Award, Nursing Outlook editorial board, American Academy of Nursing, 2013

Health Care Hero, Sacramento Business Journal, 2012

Anna M. Shannon Mentorship award, Western Institute of Nursing, 2012

Best Practices in Innovative Education, Association of California Nurse Leaders, 2012

Regional Geriatric Nursing Research Award as Senior Researcher, Western Institute of Nursing, 2007

Faculty Senate Recognition for Outstanding Research, Oregon Health & Sciences University, 2006

Select Recent Publications

Fishman SM, Young HM, Lucas Arwood E, Chou R, Herr K, Murinson BB, Watt-Watson J, (et al) (2013) Core Competencies for Pain Management: Results of an Interprofessional Consensus Summit. Pain Med. 2013 Apr 11. doi: 10.1111/pme.12107. [Epub ahead of print].

Siegel, E.O., Leo, M.C , Young, H.M., Castle, N.G. Nursing home administrator self-assessed preparedness, Health Care Management Review

Siegel, E.O., Young, H.M., Leo, M.C., Santillan, V. Managing up, down, and across the nursing home: roles and responsibilities of directors of nursing, Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice

Young, HM, Sikma, S., Reinhard, S., Mccormick, W., Cartwright JC. (in press) Strategies to Promote Safe Medication Administration in Assisted Living, Research in Gerontological Nursing

Miyamoto, S., Young, HM, Henderson, S., Ward, D., Santillan, V. (2013) Recruiting Rural Participants for a Telehealth Intervention on Diabetes Self-Management, The Journal of Rural Health: 29(1): 69 - 77

Toles, M., Young, HM, Ouslander, J. (2013) Improving Transitions in Nursing Homes, Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 36(4)

Meyers, FJ, Young, HM, Nesbitt, TS, Pomeroy, C. (2013) Re-visioning Academic Health Center Structure to Advance Interdisciplinary Function and Outcomes: The Schools of Health at UC Davis, Academic Psychiatry, 37:2

Bennett, JA, Young, HM, Nail, LM, Winters-Stone, K, Hanson, G. (2008). A telephone-only motivational intervention to increase physical activity in rural adults: A randomized controlled trial. Nursing Research, 57(1): 24-32.

Hickman, S.E., Cartwright, J.C., & Young, HM. (2008). Administrators perspectives on ethical issues in long-term care research. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 3(1): 69-78.

Young, HM, Gray, SL, McCormick, WC, Sikma, SK, Reinhard, S, Johnson-Trippett, LS, Christlieb, C, Allen, TL. (2008) Types, Prevalence, and Clinical Significance of Medication Errors in Assisted Living: Is there a Problem? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56(7): 1199-1205

Zisberg, A, Young, HM, Schepp, K, and Zysberg, L (2007). A Concept Analysis of Routine: Relevance to Nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 57 (4): 442-53.

Lin, Y-C, Huang, L-H, Young, HM, Chen, Y-M. (2007). Beliefs about physical activity - Focus groups results of Chinese community elderly in Seattle and Taipei. Geriatric Nursing, 28: 236-244.

Colclough, Y., Young, HM (2007). Decision making at end of life among Japanese Americans. Journal of Family Nursing. 13(2): 201-225.

Reinhard, S, Young, HM, Kane, RA, Quinn, W. (2006) Nurse Delegation of Medication Administration for Elders in Assisted Living. Nursing Outlook, 54(2): 74-80.

Beverly, C, Maas, M, Young, HM, Richards, K, Scalzi, CC, Kayser-Jones, J (2006). Leadership Development: John A. Hartford Centers for Geriatric Nursing Excellence. Nursing Outlook, 54(4):231-5.

Young, HM, Sikma, S, Trippett, LSJ, Shannon, S, and Blachly, B. (2006). Linking Theory and Gerontological Nursing Practice in Senior Housing. Geriatric Nursing, 27(6), 346-354.

Young, HM, Swanson, EA, Richards, K, Wallhagen, MI, Archbold, P, Spool, M, Flaherty-Robb, M (2006). Extending Influence through Partnerships. Nursing Outlook, 54(4): 204-11.

Young, HM and Young, EWD, (2006). Almost Home, but not quite. The Gerontologist, 46(4): 565-6.

Gray, SL, Odegard, PS, Sales, AEB, Young, HM, Sullivan, JH, Hedrick, SC, and. (2006). Quality of medication records and use of pharmacy resources in community residential care facilities. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 40(5):894-9.

Harrington C. Beverly CJ. Maas ML. Buckwalter KC. Bennett JA. Young HM. Sochalski J. Naylor M. (2006). Influencing health policy for older adults: initiatives by the John A. Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. Nursing Outlook. 54(4):236-42