David Hage, PhD, MSW, LCSW, FACHE, ACSW, C-ASWCM, CDP 

David Hage currently serves as Assistant Professor of Social Work and an Affiliate Faculty member of the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging at Florida Gulf Coast University where he teaches within the BSW and MSW programs and the medical case management certificate. He is a gerontologist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the states of Florida and Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), a Jewish Healthcare Foundation Feinstein Death & Dying Fellow, a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW), a Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM), a Certified Advanced Aging Life Care Professional, and a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP).

Prior to beginning his employment at Florida Gulf Coast University, Dr. Hage was previously a full-time faculty member & Director of Field Education at Misericordia University’s Social Work program based in Northeastern Pennsylvania. There he served as Gerontology Minor Coordinator, Geriatric Care Management Certificate Director, and as the Faculty Liaison for the university’s Institute on Aging. Dr. Hage has taught undergraduate through doctoral level courses in geriatric care management, gerontology, health care management, health science, occupational therapy, patient navigation, psychology, social work, and sociology.

Dr. Hage serves as an editorial advisory board member for both Today’s Geriatric Medicine and Social Work Today. In addition to his previous direct practice social work, geriatric care management, mental health, and geriatric care management work, he has also served as the Chair of PA Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers state wide Aging Committee, and on regional hospital biomedical ethics and palliative care committees, as a board member of a statewide end-of-life care coalition, and advisory board member of an adult mental health hospital.

Pat McKnight, MS, RDN, LD, FAND

Pat McKnight is a licensed registered dietitian nutritionist and an assistant professor of nutrition at Mt. Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus, OH, where she facilitated the integration of nutrition education into all nursing courses, both theory and clinical. This is a unique program — no other nursing education program provides this in depth nutrition education, yet science tells us that nutrition is “key” in the prevention and treatment of the chronic diseases that plague all segments of our society.

McKnight also facilitates cooking classes for medical residents at Mt. Carmel with the objective of increasing physicians’ “comfort” in talking about food to their patients so they will refer their patients to dietitians for the expertise needed in disease management.

In addition, McKnight serves as state policy representative for the Ohio Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, coordinating the public policy activities of dietitians in Ohio. She was instrumental in the legislation that established dietetic licensure in Ohio. McKnight advocates for nutrition at every opportunity.

LaTricia Perry, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
 

LaTricia Perry is a PhD prepared gerontologist, a registered nurse for more than 24 years, and the associate dean for the School of Nursing at Nevada State College. She has a variety of passions related to the intersectionality of geriatrics and gerontology, especially those centered around a positive aging experience and the potential influence of healthcare providers on that experience. Her research in this area has identified that there are at least four influencing factors of an elder's subjective aging experience (SAE) after the individual experiences a health alteration resulting in a hospitalization and subsequent interactions with health care providers (HCPs). The blending of these resulting concepts culminates in a Biopsychosocial Subjective Age Identity Post-Health Alteration conceptual framework which when introduced into health care provider curricula, has the potential to guide the practice of HCPs when working with elders in a way that optimizes the SAE.  

In 2015, she was recognized with an Excellence in Geriatric Education Award by the National League of Nursing and Hearst Foundation for her integration of the web-based ACE.S (Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors) resources, demonstrating exceptional instruction and innovation in this key area of nursing education. She recognizes that the students of today make a stronger health care system for tomorrow as long as human caring, kindness, and compassion are infused into an engaging curriculum.  

Over the course of more than 24 years in nursing, she’s touched many lives across the life spectrum. During her career, she has been humbled by the opportunity to be with families as they welcome life into the world and to have also had the opportunity to hold the hands of individuals as they were transitioning from this life. Additionally, she's spent a significant amount of time as an academic nurse, a position in which she recognizes the importance of contributing to the future of the profession through educating and supporting those who educate others.  

James Siberski, MS

James Siberski is coordinator of the Gerontology Education Center for Professional Development and an assistant professor of gerontology at College Misericordia, as well as an adjunct professor of psychiatry at Pennsylvania State University. He’s a former director of Misericordia’s Alternative Learning program. Prior to his retirement, he was director of staff development of Danville State Hospital. He’s certified in re-motivation therapy and gerontology instruction and has had extended training in several areas, including cybernetics of treatment, behavior modification, and geriatrics. He has presented more than 100 workshops nationally on various aging-related topics and has been published in a number of professional and trade journals. He’s a member of the board of trustees at Maria Joseph Manor and an affiliate of the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatrists.