I lead the Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation (Q&I) Lab at the Brown University School of Public Health. My research focuses on improving care and outcomes for older adults and people living with dementia in real-world care settings, including nursing homes.
Through Q&I, I partner with providers, entrepreneurs, and researchers to design and conduct pragmatic research that addresses pressing operational challenges and generates evidence that can be used in practice. Our work spans dementia care, infection prevention, antibiotic stewardship, vaccines, the role of the built environment, and more.
A hallmark of our work is close collaboration with providers to ensure that research addresses priorities from the field and produces findings that are practical and scalable.
| Chen BG, Recker A, Baier RR, Reddy A, Gifford DR, Kissam SM. "Aligning Research With Practice: Nursing Home Providers' Priorities for Long-Term Care Research." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2026. |
| Baier RR, Lagoudas GK. "Letter in response to "Multisociety Guidance for Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes"." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2026, pp. 1. |
| Baier RR. "Partner-Engaged Pragmatic Research in Aging Care: Case Studies from the Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation Lab." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 109, no. 4, 2026, pp. 25-28. |
| Baier RR, Serina PT, Reddy A, Stanislawski A, Hunkins N, McCreedy E. "Using the readiness assessment for pragmatic trials (RAPT) model to structure partner engagement and strengthen pragmatic research readiness." Journal of clinical and translational science, vol. 10, no. 1, 2026, pp. e63. |
| Abul Y, Nugent C, Vishnepolskiy I, Wallace T, Dickerson E, Holland L, Esparza I, Winkis M, Wali KT, Chan PA, Baier RR, Recker A, Kaczynski M, Kamojjala S, Pralea A, Rice H, Osias O, Oyebanji OA, Olagunju O, Cao Y, Li CJ, Roederer A, Pfeifer WM, Bosch J, King CL, Nanda A, McNicoll L, Mujahid N, Raza S, Tyagi R, Wilson BM, White EM, Canaday DH, Gravenstein S, Balazs AB. "Broad immunogenicity to prior SARS-CoV-2 strains and JN.1 variant elicited by XBB.1.5 vaccination in nursing home residents." GeroScience, vol. 47, no. 2, 2025, pp. 1887-1896. |
| Weems JA, Wittenberg GF, Baier RR, Reddy A, McCreedy E. "Moderators of Adherence Within a Nursing Home Pragmatic Trial of Personalized Music." The Gerontologist, vol. 65, no. 6, 2025. |
| McConeghy KW, Davidson HE, Canaday DH, Han L, Hayes K, Baier RR, Abul Y, Saade E, Mor V, Gravenstein S. "Recombinant vs Egg-Based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccination for Nursing Home Residents: A Cluster Randomized Trial." JAMA Network Open, vol. 8, no. 1, 2025, pp. e2452677. |
| Conard RA, Baier RR, Sisti A, Dionne L, McCreedy EM. "Resident and Nursing Home Factors Associated With Adherence to a Personalized Music Intervention: Secondary Analyses From Music & MEmory: A Pragmatic TRial for Nursing Home Residents With ALzheimer's Disease (METRIcAL)." Journal of aging research, vol. 2025, 2025, pp. 2679462. |
| Hikaka J, McCreedy EM, Jutkowitz E, McCarthy EP, Baier RR. "Modifications of the readiness assessment for pragmatic trials tool for appropriate use with Indigenous populations." BMC medical research methodology, vol. 24, no. 1, 2024, pp. 121. |
| McCreedy EM, Dewji A, Dionne L, Zhu E, Baier RR, Reddy A, Olson MB, Rudolph JL. "Pragmatic Implementation of a Music Intervention in Nursing Homes Before and During COVID-19." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 25, no. 2, 2024, pp. 314-320. |
| Boltz M, Van Haitsma K, Baier RR, Sefcik JS, Hodgson NA, Jao YL, Kolanowski A. "Ready or Not: A Conceptual Model of Organizational Readiness for Embedded Pragmatic Dementia Research." Research in gerontological nursing, vol. 17, no. 3, 2024, pp. 149-160. |
| Gaugler JE, Baier RR, Baker ZG, Boltz M, Fortinsky RH, Gustavson AM, Hodgson NA, Jutkowitz E, McPhillips MV, Parker LJ, Sefcik JS, Gitlin LN. "Using Hybrid Effectiveness Studies to Facilitate Implementation in Community-Based Settings: Three Case Studies in Dementia Care Research." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 25, no. 1, 2024, pp. 27-33. |
| Sisti A, Gutman R, Mor V, Dionne L, Rudolph JL, Baier RR, McCreedy EM. "Using Structured Observations to Evaluate the Effects of a Personalized Music Intervention on Agitated Behaviors and Mood in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia: Results From an Embedded, Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial." The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol. 32, no. 3, 2024, pp. 300-311. |
| Wittenberg GF, Reddy A, Gifford DR, McLaughlin MM, Leung V, Baier RR. "Design of a Nursing Home Infection Control Peer Coaching Program." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 24, no. 4, 2023, pp. 573-579. |
| Gadbois EA, Meehan A, Uth R, Baier RR, Gravenstein S, Zullo AR, Kabler H, Loiacono MM, Bardenheier BH. "Identifying strategies that promote staff and resident influenza and COVID-19 vaccination in nursing homes: Perspectives from nursing home staff." Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.), vol. 54, 2023, pp. 205-210. |
| Aranda MP, Baier R, Hinton L, Peak KD, Jackson JD, Dilworth-Anderson P, Gitlin LN, Jutkowitz E, Quiñones AR. "Preparing for pragmatic trials in dementia care: Health equity considerations for nonpharmacological interventions." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 71, no. 12, 2023, pp. 3874-3885. |
| Jutkowitz E, Shewmaker P, Reddy A, Braun JM, Baier RR. "The Benefits of Nursing Home Air Purification on COVID-19 Outcomes: A Natural Experiment." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 24, no. 8, 2023, pp. 1151-1156. |
| Hawk T, White EM, Bishnoi C, Schwartz LB, Baier RR, Gifford DR. "Facility characteristics and costs associated with meeting proposed minimum staffing levels in skilled nursing facilities." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 70, no. 4, 2022, pp. 1198-1207. |
| Baier RR, Jump RLP, Zhang T, Kabbani S, Gifford DR, Gravenstein S. "Feasibility of a Nursing Home Antibiotic Stewardship Intervention." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 23, no. 6, 2022, pp. 1025-1030. |
| Meehan, Amy, Uth, Rebecca, Gadbois, Emily A., Baier, Rosa R., Gravenstein, Stefan, Zullo, Andrew R., Kabler, Heidi, Loiacono, Matthew M., Bardenheier, Barbara H. "Impact of COVID-19 on influenza and infection control practices in nursing homes." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 71, no. 2, 2022, pp. 661-665. |
| Gardner RL, Baier RR, Cooper EL, Clements EE, Belanger E. "Interventions to Reduce Hospital and Emergency Department Utilization Among People With Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders: A Scoping Review." Medical Care, vol. 60, no. 2, 2022, pp. 164-177. |
| Towsley GL, Neller S, Baier RR, Wong B. "Me & My Wishes: Concordance of End-of-Life Preferences between Residents with Dementia, Family, and Staff." Journal of Palliative Medicine, vol. 25, no. 6, 2022, pp. 880-887. |
| Olson, Miranda B., McCreedy, Ellen M., Baier, Rosa R., Shield, Renée R., Zediker, Esme E., Uth, Rebecca, Thomas, Kali S., Mor, Vincent, Gutman, Roee, Rudolph, James L. "Measuring implementation fidelity in a cluster-randomized pragmatic trial: development and use of a quantitative multi-component approach." Trials, vol. 23, no. 1, 2022, pp. 43. |
| McCreedy EM, Sisti A, Gutman R, Dionne L, Rudolph JL, Baier R, Thomas KS, Olson MB, Zediker EE, Uth R, Shield RR, Mor V. "Pragmatic Trial of Personalized Music for Agitation and Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 23, no. 7, 2022, pp. 1171-1177. |
| Travers JL, Wittenberg GF, Gifford DR, Reddy A, McLaughlin MM, Baier RR. "Providers' Perspectives on High-Quality Dementia Care in Long-Term Care." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 23, no. 12, 2022, pp. 2030.e1-2030.e8. |
| Berry SD, Baier RR, Syme M, Gouskova N, Bishnoi C, Patel U, Leitson M, Gharpure R, Stone ND, Link-Gelles R, Gifford DR. "Strategies associated with COVID-19 vaccine coverage among nursing home staff." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 70, no. 1, 2022, pp. 19-28. |
| Towsley GL, Wong B, Baier RR, Neller S. "An Efficacy Trial of Long-Term Care Residents With Alzheimer's Disease Using Videos to Communicate Care Preferences." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 22, no. 7, 2021, pp. 1559-1560. |
| Riester, Melissa R., Bosco, Elliott, Bardenheier, Barbara H., Moyo, Patience, Baier, Rosa R., Eliot, Melissa, Silva, Joe B., Gravenstein, Stefan, van Aalst, Robertus, Chit, Ayman, Loiacono, Matthew M., Zullo, Andrew R. "Decomposing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Nursing Home Influenza Vaccination." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 22, no. 6, 2021, pp. 1271-1278.e3. |
| Snow AL, Loup J, Morgan RO, Richards K, Parmelee PA, Baier RR, McCreedy E, Frank B, Brady C, Fry L, McCullough M, Hartmann CW. "Enhancing sleep quality for nursing home residents with dementia: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of an evidence-based frontline huddling program." BMC geriatrics, vol. 21, no. 1, 2021, pp. 281. |
| White EM, Wetle TF, Reddy A, Baier RR. "Front-line Nursing Home Staff Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 22, no. 1, 2021, pp. 199-203. |
| Silva JBB, Bosco E, Riester MR, McConeghy KW, Moyo P, van Aalst R, Bardenheier BH, Gravenstein S, Baier R, Loiacono MM, Chit A, Zullo AR. "Geographic variation in influenza vaccination among U.S. nursing home residents: A national study." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 69, no. 9, 2021, pp. 2536-2547. |
| McCreedy EM, Gutman R, Baier R, Rudolph JL, Thomas KS, Dvorchak F, Uth R, Ogarek J, Mor V. "Measuring the effects of a personalized music intervention on agitated behaviors among nursing home residents with dementia: design features for cluster-randomized adaptive trial." Trials, vol. 22, no. 1, 2021, pp. 681. |
| Baier RR, McCreedy E, Uth R, Gifford DR, Wetle T. "Nursing home leaders' perceptions of a research partnership." Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, vol. 33, no. 12, 2021, pp. 3371-3377. |
| Reddy A, Resnik L, Freburger J, Ciolek DE, Gifford DR, Whitten MJ, Baier RR. "Rapid Changes in the Provision of Rehabilitation Care in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 22, no. 11, 2021, pp. 2240-2244. |
| Bélanger E, McHugh J, Meyers DJ, Joyce NR, Rahman M, Schwartz M, Baier RR, Mor V. "Characteristics of Top-Performing Hospitals Caring for High-Need Medicare Beneficiaries." Population Health Management, vol. 23, no. 4, 2020, pp. 313-318. |
| Lewis C, Zwetchkenbaum SR, Baier RR, Harris D, Gardner RL. "Dental and Oral Health Care in Nursing Homes: Results from Two Multi-Stakeholder Surveys." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 103, no. 8, 2020, pp. 62-68. |
| Gitlin LN, Baier RR, Jutkowitz E, Baker ZG, Gustavson AM, Sefcik JS, Hodgson NA, Koeuth S, Gaugler JE. "Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-Based Dementia Care Using Embedded Pragmatic Trials." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 68 Suppl 2, 2020, pp. S28-S36. |
| Bardenheier BH, Baier RR, Silva JB, Gravenstein S, Moyo P, Bosco E, Ogarek J, van Aalst R, Chit A, Loiacono M, Zullo AR. "Persistence of Racial Inequities in Receipt of Influenza Vaccination Among Nursing Home Residents in the United States." Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 73, no. 11, 2020, pp. e4361-e4368. |
| Tuzzio L, Hanson LR, Reuben DB, Baier RR, Gurwitz JH, Bayliss EA, Williamson J, Fraser JR, Sherman SJ, Larson EB. "Transforming Dementia Care Through Pragmatic Clinical Trials Embedded in Learning Healthcare Systems." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 68 Suppl 2, 2020, pp. S43-S48. |
| Keeler H, Baier RR, Kosar C, Culross B, Cramer ME. "Examining the Impact of Board-Certified Registered Nurses in Skilled Nursing Facilities Using National and State Quality and Clinical Indicators." Journal of Gerontological Nursing, vol. 45, no. 11, 2019, pp. 39-45. |
| McCreedy EM, Yang X, Baier RR, Rudolph JL, Thomas KS, Mor V. "Measuring Effects of Nondrug Interventions on Behaviors: Music & Memory Pilot Study." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 67, no. 10, 2019, pp. 2134-2138. |
| Baier RR, Jutkowitz E, Mitchell SL, McCreedy E, Mor V. "Readiness assessment for pragmatic trials (RAPT): a model to assess the readiness of an intervention for testing in a pragmatic trial." BMC Medical Research Methodology, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, pp. 156. |
| McKinnell JA, Singh RD, Miller LG, Kleinman K, Gussin G, He J, Saavedra R, Dutciuc TD, Estevez M, Chang J, Heim L, Yamaguchi S, Custodio H, Gohil SK, Park S, Tam S, Robinson PA, Tjoa T, Nguyen J, Evans KD, Bittencourt CE, Lee BY, Mueller LE, Bartsch SM, Jernigan JA, Slayton RB, Stone ND, Zahn M, Mor V, McConeghy K, Baier RR, Janssen L, O'Donnell K, Weinstein RA, Hayden MK, Coady MH, Bhattarai M, Peterson EM, Huang SS. "The SHIELD Orange County Project: Multidrug-resistant Organism Prevalence in 21 Nursing Homes and Long-term Acute Care Facilities in Southern California." Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 69, no. 9, 2019, pp. 1566-1573. |
| Baier RR, Mitchell SL, Jutkowitz E, Mor V. "Identifying and Supporting Nonpharmacological Dementia Interventions Ready for Pragmatic Trials: Results From an Expert Workshop." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 19, no. 7, 2018, pp. 560-562. |
| Pelland KD, Baier RR, Gardner RL. "It's like texting at the dinner table": A qualitative analysis of the impact of electronic health records on patient-physician interaction in hospitals." Journal of innovation in health informatics, vol. 24, no. 2, 2017, pp. 894. |
| McConeghy KW, Baier R, McGrath KP, Baer CJ, Mor V. "Implementing a Pilot Trial of an Infection Control Program in Nursing Homes: Results of a Matched Cluster Randomized Trial." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 18, no. 8, 2017, pp. 707-712. |
| Thomas KS, Baier R, Kosar C, Ogarek J, Trepman A, Mor V. "Individualized Music Program is Associated with Improved Outcomes for U.S. Nursing Home Residents with Dementia." The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol. 25, no. 9, 2017, pp. 931-938. |
| Baier RR, Mor V. "Pragmatic trials may help to identify effective strategies to reduce nursing home antipsychotic medication use." Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, vol. 6, no. 1, 2017, pp. 5. |
| Morrill HJ, Mermel LA, Baier RR, Alexander-Scott N, Dosa D, Kavoosifar S, Reece R, LaPlante KL. "Antimicrobial Stewardship in Rhode Island Long-Term Care Facilities: Current Standings and Future Opportunities." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 37, no. 8, 2016, pp. 979-82. |
| Baier RR, Trivedi AN. "For Hospital Readmissions, Hindsight is Not 20/20." J GEN INTERN MED, 2016. |
| Zullo, Andrew R., Dore, David D., Daiello, Lori, Baier, Rosa R., Gutman, Roee, Gifford, David R., Smith, Robert J. "National Trends in Treatment Initiation for Nursing Home Residents With Diabetes Mellitus, 2008 to 2010." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 17, no. 7, 2016, pp. 602-608. |
| Gardner, Rebekah, Choo, Esther K., Gravenstein, Stefan, Baier, Rosa R. "Why Is This Patient Being Sent Here?”: Communication from Urgent Care to the Emergency Department." The Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 50, no. 3, 2016, pp. 416-421. |
| Baier, Rosa R., Wysocki, Andrea, Gravenstein, Stefan, Cooper, Emily, Mor, Vincent, Clark, Melissa. "A Qualitative Study of Choosing Home Health Care After Hospitalization: The Unintended Consequences of ‘Patient Choice’ Requirements." J GEN INTERN MED, vol. 30, no. 5, 2015, pp. 634-640. |
| Gordon SH, Baier RR, Gardner RL. "Primary Care Physicians' Use of Electronic Health Records in Rhode Island: 2009-2014." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 98, no. 10, 2015, pp. 29-32. |
| Pelland K, Mota T, Baier RR. "The Nuts and Bolts of Long-term Care In Rhode Island: Demographics, Services and Costs." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 98, no. 3, 2015, pp. 15-9. |
| Baier, Rosa R, Cooper, Emily, Wysocki, Andrea, Gravenstein, Stefan, Clark, Melissa. "Using Qualitative Methods to Create a Home Health Web Application User Interface for Patients with Low Computer Proficiency." eGEMs (Generating Evidence & Methods to improve patient outcomes), vol. 3, no. 2, 2015. |
| Epstein-Lubow G, Baier RR, Butterfield K, Gardner R, Babalola E, Coleman EA, Gravenstein S. "Caregiver presence and patient completion of a transitional care intervention." The American Journal of Managed Care, vol. 20, no. 10, 2014, pp. e349-444. |
| Pop-Vicas A, Baier R. "Healthcare workers' hands and Clostridium difficile spores: making progress?." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 35, no. 1, 2014, pp. 16-7. |
| Cooper E, Baier R, Morphis B, Viner-Brown S, Gardner R. "HIT implementation by Rhode Island physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, 2014." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 97, no. 10, 2014, pp. 57-9. |
| Shamji H, Baier RR, Gravenstein S, Gardner RL. "Improving the quality of care and communication during patient transitions: best practices for urgent care centers." The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, vol. 40, no. 7, 2014, pp. 319-24. |
| Gardner R, Li Q, Baier RR, Butterfield K, Coleman EA, Gravenstein S. "Is implementation of the care transitions intervention associated with cost avoidance after hospital discharge?." J GEN INTERN MED, vol. 29, no. 6, 2014, pp. 878-84. |
| Wylie MC, Baier RR, Gardner RL. "Perceptions of electronic health record implementation: a statewide survey of physicians in Rhode Island." The American Journal of Medicine, vol. 127, no. 10, 2014, pp. 1010.e21-7. |
| Jiang Y, Baier R, Morphis B, Mermel L, Viner-Brown S. "Rhode Island Clostridium difficile infection trends and laboratory ID events ranking." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 97, no. 6, 2014, pp. 60-3. |
| Jiang Y, Viner-Brown S, Baier R. "Burden of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection in patients discharged from Rhode Island hospitals, 2010-2011: application of present on admission indicators." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 34, no. 7, 2013, pp. 700-8. |
| Limpahan LP, Baier RR, Gravenstein S, Liebmann O, Gardner RL. "Closing the loop: best practices for cross-setting communication at ED discharge." The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 31, no. 9, 2013, pp. 1297-301. |
| Baier R, Morphis B, Marsella M, Mermel LA. "Clostridium difficile surveillance: a multicenter comparison of LabID events and use of standard definitions." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 34, no. 6, 2013, pp. 653-5. |
| Pelland K, Baier R, Morphis B, Viner-Brown S, Gardner R. "Health information technology (HIT) adoption and use by Rhode Island advance practice registered nurses and physician assistants, 2013." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 96, no. 12, 2013, pp. 48-9. |
| Voss R, Gravenstein S, Baier R, Butterfield K, Epstein-Lubow G, Shamji H, Gardner R. "Recruiting hospitalized patients for research: how do participants differ from eligible nonparticipants?." Journal of Hospital Medicine, vol. 8, no. 4, 2013, pp. 208-14. |
| Baier RR, Gardner RL, Coleman EA, Jencks SF, Mor V, Gravenstein S. "Shifting the dialogue from hospital readmissions to unplanned care." The American Journal of Managed Care, vol. 19, no. 6, 2013, pp. 450-3. |
| Baier RR, Keough L, McDonald J. "Transitions of care: professional expectations." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 96, no. 11, 2013, pp. 26-32. |
| Yan H, Gardner R, Baier R. "Beyond the focus group: understanding physicians' barriers to electronic medical records." The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, vol. 38, no. 4, 2012, pp. 184-91. |
| Baier RR, Gardner RL, Buechner JS, Harris Y, Viner-Brown S, Gifford DS. "Creating a survey to assess physicians' adoption of health information technology." Medical Care Research and Review, vol. 69, no. 2, 2012, pp. 231-45. |
| Liu C, Baier R, Gardner R, Trivedi A. "Eligibility for financial incentives and electronic medical record use among physicians." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 95, no. 11, 2012, pp. 358-62. |
| Baier RR, Gravenstein S. "Use of electronic surveillance to drive improvement in hospital infection rates." Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 33, no. 2, 2012, pp. 112-3. |
| Baier R, Gardner R, Gravenstein S, Besdine R. "Partnering to improve hospital-physician office communication through implementing care transitions best practices." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 94, no. 6, 2011, pp. 178-82. |
| Baier R, Voss R, Morphis B, Viner-Brown S, Gardner R. "Rhode Island physicians' health information technology (HIT) use, 2009-2011." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 94, no. 7, 2011, pp. 215-7. |
| Voss R, Gardner R, Baier R, Butterfield K, Lehrman S, Gravenstein S. "The care transitions intervention: translating from efficacy to effectiveness." Arch Intern Med, vol. 171, no. 14, 2011, pp. 1232-7. |
| Viner-Brown S, Baier R. "Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in Rhode Island." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 93, no. 9, 2010, pp. 289-90. |
| Baier R, Buechner J, Gifford D, Harris Y, Gardner R. "The adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) by Rhode Island physicians, 2009." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 93, no. 3, 2010, pp. 89-90. |
| Baier R, Butterfield K, Patry G, Harris Y, Gravenstein S. "Identifying star performers: the relationship between ambitious targets and nursing home quality improvement." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 57, no. 8, 2009, pp. 1498-503. |
| Baier RR, Butterfield K, Harris Y, Gravenstein S. "Aiming for star performance: the relationship between setting targets and improved nursing home quality of care." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 9, no. 8, 2008, pp. 594-8. |
| Buechner JS, Baier RR, Gifford DR. "The Rhode Island survey of physician EMR adoption." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 91, no. 2, 2008, pp. 64. |
| Baier RR, Kissam S, Gifford DR. "Data's role in quality improvement." Provider (Washington, D.C.), vol. 31, no. 1, 2005, pp. 43-5. |
| Baier RR, Gifford DR, Mor V. "Reporting nursing home quality in Rhode Island." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 88, no. 6, 2005, pp. 186-7, 191. |
| Baier RR, Gifford DR, Patry G, Banks SM, Rochon T, DeSilva D, Teno JM. "Ameliorating pain in nursing homes: a collaborative quality-improvement project." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 52, no. 12, 2004, pp. 1988-95. |
| Baier RR, Patry G, Gifford DR. "The business case for quality." Provider (Washington, D.C.), vol. 30, no. 12, 2004, pp. 41-2. |
| Baier RR, Gifford DR, Lyder CH, Schall MW, Funston-Dillon DL, Lewis JM, Ordin DL. "Quality improvement for pressure ulcer care in the nursing home setting: the Northeast Pressure Ulcer Project." Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 4, no. 6, 2003, pp. 291-301. |
My research focuses on improving care and outcomes for older adults and people living with dementia, particularly those in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and other long-term care settings. My lab partners with providers, health systems, policymakers, and industry collaborators to generate rigorous, practice-relevant evidence.
My work emphasizes embedded pragmatic clinical trials, implementation science, and learning health systems research.
Current areas of focus include technology-enabled strategies to better time and personalize non-drug behavioral interventions, like music, for dementia; the physical environment, including indoor air quality, architecture, and climate preparedness; and national training initiatives to strengthen infrastructure for partner-engaged, embedded research by supporting scholars and pilot projects.
A central theme of my work is the development of sustainable researcher–provider partnerships that facilitate co-design, feasibility assessment, and implementation of interventions under real-world conditions. Ideveloped the Readiness Assessment for Pragmatic Trials (RAPT) model, which is used to assess and strengthen intervention readiness for pragmatic testing.
My long-term goal, which supports the overarching mission of my lab, is to accelerate the generation and application of evidence that is scientifically rigorous, operationally feasible, and scalable across diverse care settings serving older adults.
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | MPH | Brown University |
| Master of Public Health | Brown University school of Public Health | 2002-2004 |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Besdine, Richard | Professor Emeritus of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Professor Emeritus of Medicine |
| Braun, Joseph | Professor of Epidemiology, Director of the Center for Climate, Environment & Health |
| Epstein-Lubow, Gary | Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Gadbois, Emily | Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Gardner, Rebekah | Professor of Medicine |
| Gifford, David | Clinical Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine |
| Gravenstein, Stefan | David S. Greer Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Director, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Harrison, Jill | Associate Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Jutkowitz, Eric | Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| McCreedy, Ellen | Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Mor, Vincent | Florence Pirce Grant University Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Rudolph, James | Professor of Medicine, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Shireman, Theresa | Director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Professor of Epidemiology |
| Wetle, Terrie | Professor Emerita of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| White, Elizabeth | Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice |
Brown University School of Public Health (2015-present)
Healthcentric Advisors (2004-2014)
Brown University (2002-2004)
| Lead, Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation Lab. Brown University School of Public Health, 2025- |
| Associate Director, Center for Gerontology & Healthcare Research. Brown University School of Public Health, 2025- |
| Professor of the Practice. Brown University School of Public Health, 2022- |
| Associate Professor of the Practice. Brown University School of Public Health, 2015-2022 |
| Director, Center for Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation. Brown University School of Public Health, 2015-2025 |
| Teaching Associate. Brown University School of Public Health, 2009-2015 |
