Greenfield resident Cynthia Jacelon was honored with The Loomis Communities’ Elvira Whiting Ball Award for her groundbreaking work to promote well-being in frail older adults during a Wednesday ceremony in Springfield.
In addition to more than 35 years of nursing practice with older adults and teaching nursing students, Jacelon’s area of research and expertise is promoting dignity, function, self-management of chronic health problems and independence in older adults, according to a press release from The Loomis Communities.
In her research, she has explored the role of older individuals in affecting the outcomes of their hospitalization, the processes used by community-dwelling elders to manage chronic health problems, the meaning of dignity to elders and the role of smart environments in promoting elders’ independence.
Jacelon’s work on the concept of dignity is internationally recognized, and her instrument to measure dignity — the Jacelon Attributed Dignity Scale — has been used around the globe including in Greece and Iran.
Jacelon is principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health-funded UManage Center for Building the Science of Self-Management. She is also associate dean for academic affairs, PhD program director and a professor with the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Nursing. She has more than 15 years of experience teaching nursing and more than 20 years of clinical practice experience in rehabilitation and post-acute care.
With a mission of enriching the lives of older adults, The Loomis Communities offer independent living apartments and cottages, assisted living and nursing care on three campuses in the Pioneer Valley: Applewood in Amherst, Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing in Springfield (where Jacelon’s award ceremony was held) and Loomis Village in South Hadley.