Brooke Hollister, PhD Assistant Adjunct Professor Social & Behavioral Sciences School of Nursing University of California, San Francisco
Brooke Hollister, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Institute for Health & Aging at the University of California, San Francisco. Her teaching and research focus on aging health and social policy issues including: long term care, Social Security, Medicare, the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, Alzheimer’s disease supports and services, living healthy and independent with a disability, care transitions, and the use of mHealth and broadband-technology to promote the health and wellness of older adults. Dr. Hollister’s dissertation, Systems Advocacy and the Local Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, examined local LTCOPs in California, New York, and Georgia. She has published two journal articles from this research: “Factors Associated With Perceived Effectiveness of Local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs in New York and California” (Journal of Aging and Health, 2010) and “Local Long Term Care Ombudsman Program Effectiveness and the Measurement of Program Resources” (Journal of Applied Gerontology, 2011). Dr. Hollister is a member of the Administration on Aging funded, National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Technical Advisory Group (TAG). She is a co-editor of Health Policy: Crisis and Reform in the US Health Care Delivery System (6th Ed., 2012), and Social Insurance and Social Justice: Social Security, Medicare and the campaign against entitlements. She has testified before state legislature, and presented at numerous national professional conferences, and press conferences with advocacy organizations (Gray Panthers, California Association of Retired Americans, Senior Action Network, and AARP) and legislators (Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Lynn Woolsey, Susan Davis, and Jim Beall). She also serves as Vice Chair on the National Board of the Gray Panthers, and has been a member since 2004.
Health and Aging Policy Fellows Profiles
Date Profile Completed: 2-11-2014
Contact information: Brooke Hollister, PhD 2012-2013 Health and Aging Policy Fellow; Residential Assistant Adjunct Professor Institute for Health and Aging School of Nursing University of California, San Francisco 3333 California Street Suite 340 San Francisco, CA 94118 831-239-8123 [email protected]
HAPF Fellowship Q&A Describe your HAPF fellowship placement(s): I worked with Wendell Primus who is the health and budget policy advisor for Leader Pelosi. During my fellowship much of my time was spent on activities related to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. I also had additional duties related to health and fiscal policy such as working with advocates around the development of the dual eligible demonstration in California. In addition, I worked on topics related to NIH funding, and the preservation of Social Security and Medicare.
What are some of the most important new skills/knowledge that you learned during your placement? During my placement I learned political savvy and negotiating. My placement with Wendell Primus was most beneficial in that I came to understand fiscal policy and the annual start to finish process and timing that goes along with it. Being in a Leadership office I saw how important the Leadership role is to keep their Caucus together and the challenges that accompany that role.
How would you assess the impact you had at your fellowship placement? I recognized that I helped make sure things functioned smoothly and that I was a support to the people I worked with and for. Entering the placement I was able to bring my unique research and advocacy perspectives as an important contribution.
How has the HAPF Fellowship influenced your current work and career path? My Fellowship experience has helped me to tie policy into my research and teaching. With the exposure I had to the policy process, I gained a better understanding of how important research can be but also how research is only one part of the equation. In order to achieve change, you need to address the policy. I work in an applied university environment, and getting the clinical students to see policy and its importance is very valuable.