Making a difference is not a cliché for 2024 Master of Arts in Gerontology graduate, Beverly Gianna. She lives it every day as a long-term care ombudsman for the State of Louisiana.
Gianna’s role is to advocate for residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. As part of a federal grant, she also recruits and trains new ombudsmen, writes a monthly newsletter and coordinates statewide ombudsman meetings.
“Living in a nursing home can make a person lose their sense of purpose,” says Gianna. “The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology has given me the tools and confidence to help people feel seen, heard and respected.”
Finding a new career path in “retirement”
Gianna retired in 2005 after a 30-year career with the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she held several communications leadership roles, including vice president of communications. In that role, she oversaw press operations supporting major citywide events and initiatives.
After “retiring,” Gianna learned about the long-term care ombudsmen program from a poster. Louisiana was looking for volunteers, so she applied and was accepted. That volunteer position turned into a part-time paid job as an ombudsman serving residents across multiple nursing homes. She also had the opportunity to take on the additional part-time role as a volunteer recruiter and trainer.
With a new position and responsibilities, Gianna wanted to know more about aging and long-term care. She explored gerontology master’s programs across the U.S. and selected USC Leonard Davis School because it’s the oldest and best.
“I was accepted in 2015 but decided not to go — I was intimidated by online learning,” says Gianna. “A few years later, I got up my nerve and reapplied.”
Putting aging concepts into practice
One of Gianna’s most meaningful classes was Gero 508: The Mind and Body Connection Through the Lifespan. Taught by Paul Nash, PhD and Marc Vermulst, PhD, the class helped Gianna understand the link between the brain, body and healing.
And that knowledge has helped her:
- Advocate for specific interventions: Gianna met a resident with diabetes who was depressed and frequently in and out of the hospital. With permission, Gianna asked the administrator to help identify ways to alleviate the resident’s depression so he could heal better. “I never would have intervened like that before I started studying at USC Leonard Davis School,” she says.
- Create a more calming environment: On a visit to a nursing home, Gianna noticed the overhead paging system was so loud she couldn’t talk to a resident. She raised the issue to the administrator, who replaced the paging system with personal pagers. Now, the overhead speakers play a mix of music, including Mozart, The Beatles and Willie Nelson.
- Empower residents to be active: Gianna encouraged a resident to start a newsletter for her nursing home. The motivation helped the resident become so independent she lost her eligibility to be there. “We thought that would be devastating, but she now lives happily in a senior apartment with a balcony and a small container garden,” says Gianna.
Learning gerontology through a layered approach
As an older adult entering the master’s program, Gianna was deeply impressed by how each class built on the one before it. The result has been a rich understanding of the biological, sociological, psychological and environmental aspects of aging.
“The information from each class, much like making a roux, blends and deepens over time,” says Gianna. “A roux develops flavor as it simmers and thickens. Similarly, the lessons from USC Leonard Davis School gained more depth with each new layer of learning.”
From that stewpot has come other insights. Gianna turned a class paper from Gero 568: Adaptive Age-Friendly Environments and Injury Prevention into a project for her neighborhood. “I’ve crafted proposals for my neighborhood association to make our area more age-friendly. I also included a plan for developing a neighbor support program,” she says.
Spreading the word
Gianna is a natural educator and local champion for older adults. In her community, she speaks to friends and neighbors about what to look for in a nursing home and alternative options to consider.
As an ombudsman, she’s a routine speaker at local medical and law schools. “I get to help future attorneys and physicians appreciate the many ways aging applies to their fields,” she says.
Having completed her MAG degree, Gianna is also starting to educate other professionals. She’s on the faculty of a program to train elder care lawyers. Her part of the training focuses on the rights of long-term care facility residents.
Understanding the full power of gratitude
Across Gianna’s classes, gratitude was an important concept that has enriched her personally and professionally. The professors demonstrated how being thankful impacts the mind and body. It boosts the immune system, improves mood and even increases blood flow.
“I’m grateful for the work I do and the sense of responsibility it gives me,” she says. “Thanks to the USC Leonard Davis School, I feel like I’m able to make a real difference in my community.”
To learn more about the Master of Arts in Gerontology program at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, call us at (213) 740-5156.
