Meet the West Health Accelerator Team: Amy Bulger, RN, MPH, GERO-BC, CPHQ

With a background as a surgical trauma nurse and leader with a master’s in public health, Amy Bulger is driven by a deep commitment to patient health and safety.  

She brings this passion and experience to her role as the director of nursing strategy and implementation for the West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham, an initiative between Mass General Brigham and the West Health Institute that is transforming healthcare for older adults. 

Q&A

What drives your interest in caring for older adults? 

Amy Bulger: During my training in public health, I became interested in prevention, and especially in how we can prevent hospital-acquired conditions. From there, I fell in love with quality and safety and have worked in several related leadership roles since. I’m very passionate about improving care and preventing harm and injury in the hospital, and have focused on older adults who have surgery. When people are in the hospital, they are at risk for things that can go wrong. Nurses have specific expertise and are natural advocates for patients, and we can work with patients, teams and systems to prevent harm. I’m dedicated to improving the system of care for patients.  

Why is the work of the Accelerator so crucial? 

AB: Improving care for older adults in the hospital has always been important, and with all the changes in healthcare it’s become more crucial than ever. The West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham is focused on hardwiring change in a standardized way, so all patients receive consistent, age-appropriate care. This initiative is also incredibly important for staff, enabling them to do the right thing for older adults and reducing variability in care. The Accelerator is also providing staff with the training to understand best practices and to implement them in a consistent way.  

We have a very engaged group of West Health Champions and other front-line staff who really believe in the work and know it’s the best thing for patients. They are excited to learn more about preventing falls, getting patients out of bed, reducing doses of certain medications and reducing the risk of delirium.  

What excites you the most about the Accelerator?  

AB: It’s exciting to see the dedication from virtually everyone involved, and to see our systems come together and gain consensus around the changes in care we’re providing. The Accelerator leaders are incredibly supportive and excited to share this information with frontline staff. It has also been fun to work with the Champions, who come from different clinical backgrounds, and to learn about how we can support each site across Mass General Brigham. Learning from one another has been critical; we tend to work in silos, so getting people together and sharing knowledge has been pivotal to the work. Overall, I’m excited about the scale of change and the potential impact the Accelerator will have. 

How will the Accelerator change the landscape of care for older adults at Mass General Brigham and throughout the country? 

AB: My hope is that we will make impactful changes so that we can mitigate risk for hospitalized older adults. We’re already learning a lot. I think that we’re a good test case because we have so many types of hospitals and care practices within our system. These changes could benefit such a large number of patients and staff and chart a course for the future of health care.