The Johnson-Turpin Center for Gerontological Nursing promotes nursing excellence in providing support for older adults. This year, we were acknowledged by the Texas Nursing Association. Jacki Hecht, RN, MSN, Project Coordinator in the Johnson-Turpin Center was selected as one of 25 Outstanding Texas Nurses of 2026. Hecht oversees a long-term care (LTC) initiative, funded by Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and led by Interim Dean Dr. Kavita Radhakrishnan to advance best practices in LTC settings.
Recognizing that infection control was an ongoing, top priority, Hecht spearheaded collaborative efforts to address this challenge. Hecht understood that improvement in infection control was a complex systems issue that could not be solved by one organization alone. By conducting interviews, focus groups and surveys with various stakeholders, and networking with organizations who shared this mission, she created partnerships to begin filling in the gaps. Hecht’s efforts include supporting the development and maintenance of free, online continuing education courses for nurses, certified nursing assistants, and nursing home administrators to guide the use of evidence-based practices in LTC.
Working collaboratively with TMF Health Quality Institute, Hecht helped to develop and deliver a series of free, live webinars to highlight and demonstrate best practices on topics such as enhanced barrier precautions, infection control risk assessments, incorporating infection control into the quality assurance-quality improvement process, and how to create an effective antibiotic stewardship program. These live webinars were transformed into free, online continuing education courses to make this information more widely accessible.
To date, more than 6,000 participants have enrolled in these courses, with more than 700 attending the live webinars. Having access to free, on-demand continuing education courses that are directly relevant to the work LTC providers do is a huge benefit to busy providers. These courses provide convenient, accurate care information while helping professionals earn the education credits needed to maintain their licenses and certifications.
In addition, Ms. Hecht used results from surveys and feedback collected from the online course evaluations to offer dedicated support for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). She and Dr. Radhakrishnan are collaborating with Diana Cervantes, Associate Professor from UNT Health Fort Worth and Stephanie Berman, a graduate student at UT Austin School of Nursing to create a short CNA video series to reinforce best practices for infection control. CNAs provide a large share of the hands-on care for LTC residents and often have limited training on evidence-based approaches. These short, “how-to” videos developed in partnership with CNAs, will deliver accurate, supportive information that they can access at the bedside. These videos will be pilot-tested and posted on social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram in a format that CNAs can easily access.
“I am proud of the impact of our courses on long-term care across Texas. When we invest in LTC staff members' education, we multiply our impact across every older adult patient, every family, and every community they serve," Dr. Radhakrishnan said.
For more information or to enroll in our free continuing education courses, visit the Johnson-Turpin Center: Continuing Nursing Education.