Resnick Receives William Dodd Founder's Award for Distinguished Service by AMDA

Resnick is the first non-physician to be recognized with the Dodd Award.

Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Barbara Resnick, PhD ’96, RN, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, professor, Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology, and co-director of UMSON’s Biology and Behavior Across the Lifespan Organized Research Center, has been named the recipient of the 2021 William Dodd Founder’s Award for Distinguished Service. The award was bestowed by AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (formerly known as the American Medical Directors Association) at the organization’s 2021 conference on March 11. Resnick is the first non-physician to be honored with the Dodd Award.

“I was truly speechless after hearing I was selected as the 2021 Dodd Award recipient,” said Resnick. “The award, in honor and memory of Dr. Dodd who helped established AMDA back in 1978, recognizes individuals who have facilitated the work of the organization. AMDA has changed since 1978 in name, in the inclusion of non-physician providers, and has helped to defend, support, and help increase the number and quality of long-term care providers across all disciplines. As the first non-physician recipient of this award, I have to say I am so proud to be a long-standing member of the organization and to have had the opportunity to work on so many initiatives within AMDA that include and benefit all members of the team.” 

The Dodd award recognizes significant contributions by those individuals who contribute to the organizational strength, image, and mission of the Society to promote medical direction and physician services in long-term care and advance the Society’s goals to improve the care delivered to patients throughout the long-term care spectrum. Resnick has worked as a member of AMDA’s Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) Steering Committee since 1998 and participated in the development and revision of many CPGs. She has been a Foundation board member since 2006 and served as its chair from 2017 - 19.

Resnick has been practicing in long-term care for more than 40 years starting first as a nursing assistant, then as a nurse, and since the 1980s as a geriatric nurse practitioner. Both her ongoing clinical practice and her nationally and internationally recognized research has focused on the care of older adults, particularly with regard to optimizing health, function, and physical activity. Findings from her work have shown that by changing how care is provided to older adults, they can maintain or improve function and physical activity, decreasing falls and transfers to acute care settings, improving mood, and decreasing behavioral symptoms.  

“We congratulate Dr. Resnick on this wonderful and well-deserved honor. Her body of work as a researcher has significantly influenced practice across care settings,” said Jane Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “As a clinician, teacher, and researcher, she continues to move the field of gerontology forward. It is a testament to her deep and longstanding commitment to advancing practice, shaping health policy, and improving the lives of countless individuals.”

AMDA represents a community of medical directors, physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other practitioners working in various post-acute and long-term care settings. The society’s 5,500 members work in skilled nursing facilities, long-term care and assisted living communities, home care, hospice, Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and other settings. The Society’s Foundation for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine oversees awards, community outreach, education, and research with the mission to advance the quality of life for persons in post-acute and long-term care through inspiring, educating, and recognizing future and current health care professionals.

# # #

The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,100 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.