Innovative Partnership Improves Access to Prescription Coverage and Health Outcomes

Brandy Bauer is Director of the Center for Benefits Access at the National Council on Aging, where she works with community organizations and state agencies across the country to promote benefits for older adults, identify strategies to improve the financial security of vulnerable seniors, and educate consumers about scams targeting older adults. She has worked in the field of aging for 11 years. Prior to that, she spent a decade in the international health and human service sectors, working on improving access to services for vulnerable and marginalized populations, including refugee and war trauma survivors in Europe, and as a humanitarian aid worker in Afghanistan.

Kathleen Gouveia is the Training Coordinator for the SHINE program with the Executive Office of Elder Affairs. In her previous role, she was an outreach coordinator at a local Council on Aging in Massachusetts where she provided social services. She also served on the Board of Directors of Old Colony Elder Services for 3 years.

Previously Kathleen was a nurse’s aide and provided care to those in need. This is where she knew she had a passion for working with the older adult population.

Kathleen has a BS in Social Work from Bridgewater State University. She is a resident of Wareham, MA and loves to spend time with her husband, their daughter, and their chocolate Labrador Retriever and German Shepard.

Colleen Massey is a Faculty Associate in the Doctor of Pharmacy Program and Director of the Pharmacy Outreach Program at MCPHS University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Dr. Massey holds an undergraduate degree in Social Policy, a Master of Science in Health Care Administration, and a Doctorate in Health Sciences. She has over 20 years of experience in program development and administration, grant writing, and community outreach. She has assisted in the development of a state-wide pharmacy outreach program and maintained funding through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 2001, and also acquired new funding to support the program’s growing needs. Additionally, she has ten years of experience teaching in higher education. This includes teaching pharmacy students in US healthcare and fundamentals of aging courses, teaching and coordinating community health program planning and student personal and professional development courses, and precepting pharmacy students on service and experiential rotations. Dr. Massey is passionate about helping individuals understand and navigate the healthcare system, access health services, and teaching students how to address health equity by providing patients with the resources and services they need to have a healthy and fulfilling life.