Assistant Professor of Nursing Denise Gilliland believes all patients deserve excellent care, no matter their age. It’s a conviction she shares with the late Audrey Cochran, a nurse and philanthropist whose $1 million gift to California State University, Bakersfield in 2005 created the Robert and Edith Cochran Endowed Chair in Gerontological Nursing, a position Gilliland was chosen for earlier this spring.
The endowed chair position, named in memory of Cochran’s late husband and mother-in-law, emphasizes the importance of quality nursing care for the elderly. Gilliland has taught gerontological nursing since she joined CSUB’s nursing faculty last fall.
“I am profoundly and humbly honored by this new position,” Gilliland said. “My biggest goal is to continuously honor this endowment and ensure that Audrey Cochran's dreams about the gerontological nursing program become a reality. I look forward to the challenge and can't wait to get started.”
Cochran was the second graduate of CSUB’s master’s in nursing program, earning her degree in 1990. With a passion for senior care, she went on to start Care Planning and Education for the Elderly and Their Families. Seeing a need for an improved gerontology curriculum at her alma mater, Cochran donated the funds to support it 18 years ago.
Dr. Debra Wilson, chair of CSUB’s Nursing Department, said the endowed chair position is a prestigious award that benefits not only the department and university but the whole community. Because of both the aging baby boomer generation and medical advancements that are allowing people to live longer, the population of older adults is a rapidly growing number, she said.
“Thanks to Audrey’s generous contribution to the Department of Nursing, her passion for the care of the elderly will ensure that our students are well prepared to meet the health care needs of our older patients,” Dr. Wilson said.
“Gilliland shares Audrey’s vision and is passionate about ensuring that our students have excellent training in this area,” she continued. “In her short time at CSUB nursing, Gilliland is already developing relationships with our clinical partners and seeking out clinical experiences for our students that will improve health care outcomes for the elderly in our community.”
A nurse of 20 years, Gilliland has previously worked in medical-surgical and skilled nursing, as well as with Native elders when she lived in remote Alaska.
“Especially while working in Alaska, I saw the health disparities in the elders as many of their concerns were often overlooked as ‘common elderly occurrences,’” she said. “However, we know that while there are many normal aging-related issues, concerns by older adults must be assessed, as they may be from a cause that can be treated.”
This is something Cochran was adamant about, Gilliland explained; in particular, Cochran focused on incontinence issues with older adults. It is essential for nursing students to understand age-related issues and how to provide the best evidence-based care for senior patients, Gilliland said.
In her position, Gilliland will update the gerontological nursing curriculum, including increasing diverse clinical settings for student nurses and using research critical to advancing the health and quality of life for older adults.
“Gerontological nursing is critical because a large majority of the types of patients and clients the student nurses will come into contact with will be elderly,” she said. “I hope that after completing the course, each nursing student will become an advocate for our elderly patients. They will see each elderly patient from a different perspective and recognize that being older does not mean they should not be cared for in the same manner as a younger person."
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