Melissa O'Connor, PhD, MBA, RN, FGSA, FAAN

Associate Dean for Research and Rudin Professor of Nursing

Melissa O'Connor is the Associate Dean for Research and Rudin Professor of Nursing at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing.

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Profile

Dr. Melissa O’Connor is the Associate Dean for Research and Rudin Professor of Nursing. A nationally recognized expert in home-healthcare services for vulnerable older adults, Dr. O’Connor also specializes in informatics, gerontological nursing, and transitional care.

Dr. O’Connor is an inaugural Fellow with the Betty Irene Moore Fellowships for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, a prestigious national program, and a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing by the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence. She is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America.

Dr. O’Connor’s research has been supported by notable fellowships, including the Eugenie and Joseph Doyle Research Fellowship from the Center for Home Care Policy and Research at VNS Health and a Claire Fagin Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing. Her work has garnered awards such as the Eastern Nursing Research Society’s Rising Star Research Award and the Gerontological Society of America’s Gerontological Nursing Award for distinguished published research.

Educational Background

Advanced Certificate, Applied Health Informatics, Johns Hopkins University
PhD, Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
Advanced Certificate, Teaching, University of Pennsylvania
MBA, Eastern University
BSN, Thomas Jefferson University
Diploma, Nursing, Lankenau Hospital School of Nursing

Honors and Awards

Main Line Today’s 2022 Top Nurses Award
Nancy Tatem RN Award for distinguished service in the field of geriatric nursing, Eastern Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society
Fellow, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing
Fellow, Betty Irene Moore Fellowships for Nurse Leaders and Innovators (Inaugural) U.C. Davis, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Fellow, Gerontological Society of America
University Scholarly Achievement Award (Inaugural), Villanova University
Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing (Inaugural), National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence
Rising Star Research Award, Eastern Nursing Research Society
Excellence in Research Award, Alpha Nu Chapter, Villanova University College of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International
Springer Publishing Company Geriatric/Gerontological Nursing Award for a distinguished published research manuscript, The Impact of Home Health Length of Stay and Number of Skilled Nursing Visits on Hospitalization among Medicare-Reimbursed Skilled Home Health Beneficiaries
Claire M. Fagin Fellow, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, John A. Hartford Foundation
Eugenie and Joseph Doyle Research Fellow (Inaugural), Center for Home Care Policy & Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Marion R. Gregory Award, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation that promises a significant impact to nursing knowledge)
Sigma Theta Tau member, International Honor Society for Nursing
Delta Mu Delta member, International Honor Society for Business Administration
Business Excellence Award, Independence Blue Cross Family of Companies
Hartman Award, Medical-Surgical Nursing Excellence, Lankenau Hospital School of Nursing

Research

Addressing the needs of an unprecedented and understudied older adult population living in the community, Dr. O’Connor is among a small number of national nurse experts in the delivery of home health care services to vulnerable older adults. Older adults are at high risk for multiple co-morbid conditions, which are challenging to manage at home and require a coordinated, interprofessional team approach. Using cutting-edge approaches to informatics, Dr. O’Connor utilizes evidence-based methods to generate clinical decision support. Her sustained commitment to frail older adults requiring home health meets a critical need throughout the United States, with many policy and practice implications. Through her research in decision support, Dr. O’Connor seeks to shift care for complex older adults by providing home health clinicians with an evidence-based tool to determine readiness for discharge from services.

Grants and Publications

Current Research

Co-I (PI: Bowles), I-TRANSFER: Improving TRansitions ANd outcomeS oF sEpsis suRvivors: A Type 1 Hybrid Implementation, R01. National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research (2R01NR016014-03), 2021-2026, $5,000,000.

Completed Research

PI, Home Health Discharge Decision Support: Impact on Patient Outcomes (HEADS-UP). Fitzpatrick College of Nursing Research Development Grant, 2023-2024, $10,000.
Co-I (PI: McKay), The Symptom Burden of Aging and Comorbidity (SBAC) and Risk for Falls in Older Adults. Fitzpatrick College of Nursing Research Development Grant, 2023-2024, $10,000.
Co-PI (Co-PI: Lengetti), Long-Term Care Quality Investment Pilot. Pennsylvania Department of Health, 2023-2024, $59,000.
Co-PI (Co-PI: McKay), The Symptom Experience of Older Adults with Mobility Limitations. Villanova University Summer Research Grant, 2021, $10,000.
PI, Home Health Discharge Decision Support (HEADS-UP). Gordon & Betty Irene Moore Foundation, UC Davis, 2020-2023, $450,000.
Co-I (PI: Diane Ellis), An Intraprofesional Mock Code: Nurse Anesthesia and Baccalaureate Nursing Students – Parkinson’s Disease Patient Missed/Omitted/Delayed Medication Simulation Case Study. Parkinson’s Foundation, 2018-2019, $7,500.
PI, The Feasibility of Electronic Home Health Record Data Extraction. Villanova University Summer Grant Program, 2017, $10,000.
Co-I (PI: Usavadee Asdornwised), Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Guideline Use in Perioperative Nurses in Asian Countries. Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)/Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Grant, 2016-2017, $5,000.
PI, Determining Readiness for Discharge from Skilled Home Health Services: A Mixed Methods Study. National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence, John A. Hartford Foundation, 2014-2016, $120,000.
Co-I (Co-PIs: Helene Moriarty, Laraine Winter), Emotional Regulation and Psychological Well-being in Late Life. NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 2015-2016, $10,000.
Co-I (Co-PIs: Helene Moriarty, Laraine Winter), Patient Values and End-of-Life Treatment Preferences. NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 2015-2016, $10,000.
Co-I (PI: Jo-Ana Chase), Physical Functioning Trajectories among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Older Adult Home Health Care Recipients: A Pilot Study. Center for the Integrated Science in Aging, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 2015-2016, $10,000.
PI, The Role of Patient Engagement and Nursing Contact on Health Outcomes in a Community-Based Care Coordination Model. NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 2014-2015, $10,000.
Co-I (Co-PIs: Helene Moriarty, Mark Toles), Nursing Contact and Patient Engagement in a Community-based Care Management Model. NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, 2013-2015, $10,000.
PI, Identifying Critical Factors in Determining Readiness for Discharge from Skilled Home Health Services. Eugenie and Joseph Doyle Research Partnership Fund. Visiting Nurse Services of New York, Center for Health Policy Research, 2013-2014, $4,645.
PI, Do Unique Clinical Risk Profiles Predict Hospitalization Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults? NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 2013-2015, $10,000.
Co-I (PI: Maxim Topaz), Exploration of Homecare Agency Admission Process for Older Adults: A Qualitative Pilot Study. Frank Morgan Jones Fund, 2012-2013, $4,600.
PI, Impact of Frontloading of Skilled Nursing Visits on the Incidence of 30-day Hospital Readmission. Individualized Care for At-Risk Older Adults, National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research (T32-NR009356). Sigma Theta Tau International/National Gerontological Nursing Association Research Grant, 2012-2013, $5,000.

Select Peer-Reviewed Articles (^*indicates data-based)

You, S.B., Hirschman, K.B., Stawnychy, M.A., Song, J., Sang, E., Pitcher, K., Oh, S., O’Connor, M., Garren, P., Bowles, K.H. (2025). Qualitative Study of Health Information Technology in Sepsis Care Transitions: Facilitators, Barriers, and Strategies for Improvement. Journal of American Medical Director Association, 26(7), 105606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2025.105606
Sang, E., Quinn, R., Stawnychy, M. A., Song, J., Hirschman, K. B., You, S. B., Pitcher, K. S., Hodgson, N. A., Garren, P., O’Connor, M., Oh, S., Bowles, K. H. (2024). Organizational readiness for change towards implementing a sepsis survivor hospital to home transition-in-care protocol. Frontiers in Health Services, 4:1436375. https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2024.1436375
Narzikul, T., & O’Connor, M. (2024). Systems caring: Guiding principles for leaders. Nurse Leader, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2024.1436375
*Oh, S., Cranston, T., Sang, E., Stawnychy, M. A., You, S., Garren, P., Spahr, M., O’Connor, M., Hirschman, K., Hodgson, N., Jablonski, J., Newcomb, M., & Bowles, K. (2024). Application of a human factors and systems engineering approach to explore care transitions of sepsis survivors from hospital to home health care. Human Factors, 66(11), 2468-2484.
*McKay, M. A., Cohn, A., & O’Connor, M. (2024). The symptom experience of older adults with mobility difficulties: Qualitative interviews. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 43(2), 129-138. https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648231205420
O’Connor, M., Kennedy, E. E., Hirschman, K. B., Mikkelsen, M. E., Deb, D., Ryvicker, M., Hodgson, N. A., Barron, Y., Stawnychy, M. A., Garren, P. A., & Bowles, K. H. (2022). Improving transitions and outcomes of sepsis survivors (I-TRANSFER): A type 1 hybrid protocol. BMC Palliative Care, 21(1), 1-16.
Oh, S., Mikkelsen, M. E., O’Connor, M., & Bowles, K. H. (2022). Why sepsis survivors need an ICD-10 code for ‘Sepsis Aftercare’. CHEST, 162(5), 979-981.
*Ma, C., Devoti, A., & O’Connor, M. (2022). Rural and urban disparities in quality of home health care: A longitudinal cohort study (2014-2018). Journal of Rural Health, 38, 708-712. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12642
*O’Connor, M., Moriarty, H., Schneider, A., Dowdell, E. B., & Bowles, K. H. (2021). Patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives in determining discharge readiness from home health. Geriatric Nursing, 42(1), 151-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2020.12.012
*O’Connor, M., Hanlon, A. L., Mauer, E., Meghani, S., Masterson-Creber, R., Marcantonio, S., Coburn, K., Van Cleave, J., Davitt, J., Riegel, B., Bowles, K. H., Keim, S., Greenberg, S. A., Sefcik, J. S., Topaz, M., Kong, D., & Naylor, M. D. (2017). Identifying distinct risk profiles to predict adverse events among community-dwelling older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 38(6), 510-519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2017.03.013
*O’Connor, M., Moriarty, H., Madden-Baer, R., & Bowles, K. H. (2016). Identifying critical factors in determining readiness from skilled home health: An interprofessional perspective. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 9(6), 269-277. https://doi.org/10.3928/19404921-20160930-01
*O’Connor, M., Arcamone, A., Amorim, F., Hoban, M. B., Boyd, R. M., Fowler, L., Marcelli, T., Smith, J., Nassar, K., & Fitzpatrick, L. M. (2016). Exposing baccalaureate nursing students to transitional care. Home Healthcare Now, 34(9), 491-499. https://doi.org/10.1097/NHH.0000000000000455
*O'Connor, M., Asdornwised, U., Dempsey, M. L., Huffenberger, A., Jost, S., Flynn, D., & Norris, A. (2016). Using telehealth to reduce all-cause 30-day hospital readmissions among heart failure patients. Applied Clinical Informatics, 7(2), 238-247. https://doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2015-11-SOA-0157
-Third most downloaded paper in 2022
*O’Connor, M., Murtaugh, C. M., Shah, S., Barrón-Vaya, Y., Bowles, K. H., Peng, T. R., Zhu, C. W., & Feldman, P. H. (2015). Patient characteristics predicting readmission among individuals hospitalized for heart failure. Medical Care Research and Review, 73(1), 3-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558715595156
*O’Connor, M., Hanlon, A., Naylor, M. D., & Bowles, K. H. (2015). The impact of home health length of stay and number of skilled nursing visits on hospitalization among Medicare-reimbursed skilled home health beneficiaries. Research in Nursing and Health, 38(4), 257-267. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21665
*O’Connor, M., Bowles, K. H., Feldman, P. H., St. Pierre, M., Jarrin, O., Shah, S., & Murtaugh, C. (2014). Frontloading and intensity of skilled home health visits: A state of the science. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 33(3), 159-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621424.2014.931768
*O’Connor, M., Hanlon, A. L., & Bowles, K. H. (2014). Impact of frontloading of skilled nursing visits on the incidence of 30-day hospital readmission. Geriatric Nursing, 35(2), S37-S44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2014.02.018
*Naylor, M. D., Hirschman, K. B., O’Connor, M., Barg, R., & Pauly, M. V. (2013). Engaging older adults in their transitional care: What more needs to be done? Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research, 2(5), 457–468. https://doi.org/10.2217/cer.13.58
*O’Connor, M., & Davitt, J. K. (2012). The outcome and assessment information set (OASIS): A review of validity and reliability. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 31(4), 267-301. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621424.2012.703908
*O’Connor, M. (2012). Hospitalization among Medicare-reimbursed skilled home health recipients. Home Health Care Management and Practice, 24(1), 25-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1084822311419498
*Bowles, K. H., Hanlon, A. L., Glick, H., Naylor, M. D., O’Connor, M., Riegel, B. J., Shih, N. W., & Weiner, M. (2011). Clinical effectiveness, access to and satisfaction with care using a telehomecare substitution intervention: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/540138
*Bowles, K. H., Pham, J., O’Connor, M., & Horowitz, D. (2010). Information deficits in home care: A barrier to evidence based disease management. Home Health Care Management and Practice, 22(4), 278-285. https://doi.org/10.1177/1084822309353145

Contact Details

Melissa O'Connor

School of Nursing
Brookdale West 622
(212) 396-7202
melissa.o'connor@hunter.cuny.edu