Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN
Mary Naylor is a pioneer in the design, evaluation, and spread of health care innovations that have significantly improved the outcomes of chronically ill older adults and their family caregivers, while reducing health care costs. In collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of clinical scholars and health services researchers, her work has resulted in the Transitional Care Model, a cost-effective advanced practice nurse-led model to improve the transitions of older adults who are navigating complex and often fragmented systems of care.
Initially, her team’s efforts were focused on the transitions of older adults from hospitals to home. More recently, they have extended their work to prevent avoidable hospitalizations among older adults living in their communities. This evidence-based solution has not only demonstrated better care but also has improved older adults’ functional status and quality of life. Dr. Naylor has demonstrated how knowledge generated from her research can be used to address the broader challenges associated with chronic illness, the endemic problem of this century.
“We collaborate with the best minds to design and implement solutions that advance health, while encouraging the next generation of nurses to do even better”
Education
- PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1982
- MSN, University of Pennsylvania, 1973
- BSN, Villanova University, 1971
Teaching
Students at all levels—from undergraduates to post-doctoral fellows—have the opportunity to be mentored by Dr. Naylor and members of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, the research center which she directs. Additionally, she leads a seminar as part of the course of study for first-year undergraduate students.
Research
Dr. Naylor has worked tirelessly to advocate for evidence-based changes in health care practices and policies across the globe. As a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, for example, Dr. Naylor advised the U.S. Congress on policies designed to offer a more promising future for Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, the use of evidence-based transitional care is now included in multiple policies designed to foster health care delivery and payment reforms, including several provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
Clinical Practice
Findings from three multi-site, National Institute of Nursing Research-funded randomized clinical trials led by Dr. Naylor have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of the Transitional Care Model in improving high-risk older adults’ health care experiences, and health and quality of life outcomes, while reducing overall health care costs.
In another clinical trial, funded by the National Institute on Aging, the model was refined for hospitalized older adults whose care is complicated by cognitive impairment and shown to improve patient and health resource outcomes when compared to other proven strategies. Another National Institute on Aging/National Institute of Nursing Research-funded study examined the potential value of the model for frail older adults receiving long-term services and supports.
With the support of multiple foundations, Dr. Naylor and her team also have tested the integration of the Transitional Care Model within primary care settings. In collaboration with leaders at multiple patient-centered medical homes, they designed a nurse-physician team approach to addressing the needs and goals of high-risk community-based older adults and found that it improved outcomes relative to the patient-centered medical homes only.
To accelerate the movement of this evidence into practice and with the support of many foundations, Dr. Naylor has partnered with leaders of health systems, payers, and other stakeholders. A 2015 study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation revealed that 59% of 582 responding health systems have adopted or adapted the Transitional Care Model. Another Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study is supporting a partnership with system engineers at the Stevens Institute of Technology to develop a simulation model that will accelerate decision-making regarding adoption of the model. The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy (now a part of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation) has recognized the model as a “top-tiered” evidence-based approach that, if scaled, could have a positive impact on the health and well-being of chronically ill older adults, while assuring wiser use of societal resources.
Selected Career Highlights
- Distinguished Investigator Award, AcademyHealth
- Fellow, National Academy of Medicine, member, Leadership Consortium for Value & Science-Driven Health Care, and Co-Chair, Care Culture and Decision-Making Innovation Collaborative
- Member, RAND Health Board of Advisors
- Member, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Advisory Council
- 2015-2016 Presidential Chair, University of California, San Francisco
Selected Publications
Naylor, M.D., Kurtzman, E.T., Miller, E.A., Nadash, P., & Fitzgerald, P. (2015). An assessment of state-led reform of long-term services and supports. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law , 40(3), 531-574. (PMID: 25700376). doi:10.1215/03616878-2888460
Bowles, K.H., Hanlon, A.L., Glick, H.A., Naylor, M.D., O’Connor, M., Riegel, B., Shih, N.W., & Weiner, M.G. (2011). Clinical effectiveness, access to, and satisfaction with care using a telehomecare substitution intervention: a randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, Epub Article ID 540138, 13 pages. DOI:10.1155/2011/540138
Naylor, M.D., Shaid, E.C., Carpenter, D., Gass, B., Levine, C., Li, J., … Williams, M.V. (2017). Components of comprehensive and effective transitional care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, published online 4/3/2017, (PMID: 28369722). doi:10.1111/jgs.14782.
Hirschman, K.B., Shaid, E., McCauley, K., Pauly, M.V., & Naylor, M.D. (2015). Continuity of care: The Transitional Care Model. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20, published online 9/30/2015, (PMID: 26882510). doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No03Man01
Naylor, M.D., Hirschman, K.B., Hanlon, A.L., Bowles, K.H., Bradway, C., McCauley, K.M., & Pauly, M.V. (2016). Effects of alternative interventions among hospitalized, cognitively impaired older adults. Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research, 5(3), 259-272. (PMID: 27146416). doi:10.2217/cer-2015-0009
Naylor, M.D., Hirschman, K.B., Hanlon, A.L., Abbott, K.M., Bowles, K.H., Foust, J., …, Zubritsky, C. (2016). Factors associated with changes in perceived quality of life among elderly recipients of long term services and supports. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association,17(1), 44-52. (PMID: 26412018; PMCID: PMC4696886. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2015.07.019.
Toles, M., Moriarty, H., Coburn, K., Marcantonio, S., Hanlon, A., Mauer, E., … Naylor, M.D. (2015). Managing chronic illness: Nursing contact and participant enrollment in a Medicare care coordination demonstration program. Journal of Applied Gerontology, published online 8/31/2015. doi:10.1177/0733464815602115
Van Cleave, J.H., Egleston, B.L., Abbott, K.M., Hirschman, K.B., Rao, A., & Naylor, M.D. (2016). Multiple chronic conditions and hospitalizations among recipients of long-term services and supports. Nursing Research, 65(6):425-434. (PMID: 27801713).
Lamb, G., Newhouse, R., Beverly, C., Toney, D.A., Cropley, S., Naylor, M., … Task Force Members. (2015). Policy agenda for nurse-led care coordination. Nursing Outlook, 63(4), 521-530.
Hirschman, K.B., Shaid, E., Bixby, M.B., Badolato, D.J., Barg, R., Byrnes, M.B., …Naylor, M.D. (2017). Transitional care in the patient-centered medical home: Lessons in adaptation. Journal for Healthcare Quality, 39(2), 67-77. doi:10.1097/01.JHQ.0000462685.78253.e8.
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Investing in Women’s Mental Health, a new paper by Foxwell, Kennedy & Naylor
In a new commentary, predoctoral students Anessa Foxwell and Erin Kennedy, and NewCourtland Center director Mary Naylor, discuss the urgent need to address mental health challenges experienced by women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Penn Nursing Professor Receives Lienhard Award from National Academy of Medicine for Pioneering the Field of Transitional Care
The National Academy of Medicine today announced Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and Director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, is the recipient of the 2022 Gustav O. Lienhard Award for Advancement of Health Care for improving the lives of millions of older adults living with complex health and social needs through her role as the architect of the Transitional Care Model and pioneer of the field of transitional care. The award will be presented at the National Academy of Medicine’s annual meeting on Oct. 16. Naylor is one of four University of Pennsylvania faculty, and the third from the School of Nursing, to have received this national honor.
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Penn Nursing Center Joins with 50 Leading National Organizations to Curb Infodemic of Health and Science Misinformation and Disinformation
The creation of The Coalition for Trust in Health & Science, was formally launched during the 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The alliance, which includes Penn Nursing’s NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, was formed to unite leading organizations from across the entire health ecosystem to advance trust and factual science-based decision-making. NewCourtland Director, Mary Naylor, PhD, RN, the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology, is part of the Core Convening Committee which spearheaded the creation of the Coalition.