Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
Eastern Colorado GRECC Team
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Stephanie Hartz, LCSW, BCD
Title: Geriatric and Palliative Care Telehealth Senior Social Worker, GRECC Connect Site Director
Contact: stephanie.hartz@va.gov
Research Activities:
— Home-Based Palliative Care for Rural Veterans
Personal Statement
Stephanie Hartz, LCSW, BCD is a geriatric and palliative care telehealth senior social worker at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, CO. Ms. Hartz has been the Eastern Colorado tele-geriatrics/dementia social worker since program inception in November 2010 and tele-palliative care rural social worker since 2016. Within the Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS), Ms. Hartz also served as the VA-Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) liaison.
She spent 8 years working in the Denver Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) team and helped to expand HBPC in 2014 to Pueblo for southern Colorado veterans. In January 2022, Ms. Hartz became the GRECC Connect Site Director for the Eastern CO Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center. Since 2019 she has been GRECC Preceptor for the ECHCS Social Work Graduate Student Program helping educate future social workers and health trainee professionals to work on transdisciplinary medical teams caring for older veterans.
Ms. Hartz received her Bachelor’s degree is Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa in 2006. She worked in long-term care and skilled nursing homes in Wisconsin and Denver, CO for 3 years until earning her Masters of Social Work from the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver in 2010. Stephanie’s MSW concentration was in adults/late life challenges with a certificate in Interpersonal Trauma Studies. She went on to completed a post Master’s Certification in Palliative and End-of-Life Care through Smith College School for Social Work in 2021.
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Dementia Caregiver Survival Guide: Tips for caring for a Veteran with dementia
- This 66 page guide is intended to help family members care for a Veteran with dementia. The strategies and information included in this guide can be applied no matter where you live, no matter what stage of dementia the Veteran has, and no matter what resources are available near you.
- This is a veteran-focused adaptation of the dementia Careblazer survival guide by Natali Edmonds.
- Order the Dementia Caregiver Survival Guide via email
Recent Publications
2024
McLaren JE, Hoang-Gia D, Dorisca E, Hartz S, Dang S, Moo L. Development and Evaluation of a Clinician-Vetted Dementia Caregiver Resources Website: Mixed Methods Approach. JMIR Form Res. 2024 Apr 4;8:e54168. doi: 10.2196/54168.
PMID: 38573761.
Learn more about this publication on Dimensions
