Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller appointed as Director of the Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health (CERAH)

Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller as the new Director of the Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health (CERAH) effective July 1, 2021.

Dr. Kortes-Miller took over from Dr. Elaine Wiersma, who expertly served as Director of CERAH since 2016. Dr. Wiersma thanks the Centre’s staff, community partners, research affiliates, students, and University administrative support that allowed CERAH to thrive. She will be staying on a leadership role as Associate Director.

Dr. Kortes-Miller, Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work, has a passion for palliative care and improving the end of life care for all. She has served as CERAH’s Associate Director since 2020. Her research is interdisciplinary and collaborative, contributing to a broad range of fields of study including: social work, palliative care, end-of-life, interprofessional education, LGBTQ+, caregiving and gerontology.

She was a long-standing member of the board of directors for Hospice Northwest, and in 2020 joined the board for Roots to Harvest. She is the author of Talking About Death Won’t Kill You, published by ECW Press in 2018.

Dr. Kortes-Miller brings much to the role of Director with her administrative experience, excellent scholarship, and commitment to improving the care provided at the bedside and in the community. She looks forward to continuing to build on CERAH’s reputation for excellence in research and education to enhance health and well-being for an aging population.