In the News

Caitlin W. Brennan, PhD, APRN

Care Dimensions Appoints Caitlin W. Brennan, PhD, APRN, as Director of Research

Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care organization in Massachusetts, is pleased to announce that Caitlin W. Brennan, PhD, APRN, has joined the organization as the director of research. She will conduct research initiatives that lead to improved quality of care provided to patients and families, as well as coordinate the organization’s hospice nurse residency program.

“Care Dimensions is constantly striving to develop and implement innovative programs to improve operations and the patient experience,” said VP and Chief Clinical Officer Patricia Ramsden. “A major component of that process is through research and measurement of outcomes. Caitlin’s skills, accomplishments and commitment will help Care Dimensions contribute to the national conversation on important topics in end-of-life care and to develop and advance those best practices.”

“This is the holy grail of positions for me because I will be able to seamlessly meld my clinical experience and research interests,” Brennan said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue my career mission, which is to link data and research to the bedside to improve the system of care for people with serious illness. Care Dimensions is an innovative organization and is well-established in the community, which is the perfect venue for conducting cutting-edge hospice and palliative care research.”

Dr. Brennan and the research team are currently launching two trials at Care Dimensions with investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, disseminating findings from recently completed studies, and submitting grants for future work.

Dr. Brennan earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. For the last three years, she was vice president of clinical improvement at a Cambridge firm that uses advanced analytics, such as machine learning, to improve care for the seriously ill. Before that, she was a nurse practitioner and the director of the safety and quality program in the nursing department at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars program and continues to see patients with the palliative care consult service in the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

About Care Dimensions
Care Dimensions is the largest hospice and palliative care provider to adults and children in Massachusetts. As a nonprofit, community-based leader in advanced illness care, Care Dimensions provides comprehensive hospice, palliative care, grief support in more than 100 communities in Massachusetts. Founded in 1978 as Hospice of the North Shore, Care Dimensions cares for patients wherever they live – in their homes, in skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities, in hospitals, or at our two inpatient hospice facilities, the Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln and the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers. Additionally, Care Dimensions HomeMD program provides in-home primary care to patients over age 65 in select communities on the North Shore and Greater Boston who have difficulty leaving home. The Care Dimensions Learning Institute educates more than 7,000 health care professionals and community members each year on advanced illness and end-of-life topics. Please visit www.CareDimensions.org to learn more about Care Dimensions.