Associate Vice Chancellor for Nursing and
Dean, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis

A nurse leader, educator and scientist and a nationally-recognized expert in gerontological nursing and rural health care, Heather M. Young was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Nursing at UC Davis Health System in 2008. She also serves as the founding Dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis.

Young's research and clinical interest is the promotion of healthy aging, including both personal factors (such as resilience) and environments, with a particular focus on the interface between family and formal health-care systems. She played an instrumental role in shaping long-term care policies in Washington state and beyond through her research. In addition, she was a co-investigator on several longitudinal studies of family caregiving, one of which explored long-term care decision making and caregiving among Japanese-American families.

Her recent research focuses on medication management and safety in rural, assisted-living settings, technological approaches to promoting medication safety in rural hospitals and community-based strategies to promote health for rural older adults. Her current research includes the use of telehealth and community-based strategies to promote health for rural older adults.

She also serves on the California Action Coalition executive committee, leading statewide efforts to implement recommendations of the recent Institute of Medicine report, "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health." This report outlines a series of strategies to improve the nation's health-care system and advance health through nursing, a goal that is highly consistent with the vision of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. The California Action Coalition is one of five statewide coalitions to pilot implementation of the report's recommendations.

Young is a UC Davis alumna, graduating in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in dietetics. She later earned an associate degree in nursing from Sacramento City College and a bachelor's of science in nursing degree from Southern Oregon State College. She then went on to the University of Washington, where she earned a master of science in nursing degree with a specialty in gerontology and a doctorate in nursing science.

In addition to her extensive academic and research background, Young also has experience as a hospital nurse practicing in critical care and as a nurse practitioner in community-based long-term care. Previously, Young held a joint appointment on faculty at the University of Washington School of Nursing and as the chief operations officer for a retirement community company and was responsible for an academic-corporate partnership managing and designing programs in independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing. Prior to her appointment at UC Davis, she directed the John A. Hantford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing.