by Frank Randolph, MD

I met Jean Brian in 1992 when she was Director of Nursing at Riverside Community Convalescent, a 162 bed SNF in Riverside. When I met her I was immediately impressed by her confidence and positive attitude. She had amassed considerable experience as a nurse in the field of long term care. An LVN by 1974, she worked in various clinical settings including clinics, ERs, and a rehab center. By 1984 she had evolved to Director of Nursing status at a SNF in Palm Springs, learning the ropes from veteran administrator Ann Gaul. Jean was my age, graduating from high school in 1970 in Redlands, finally getting her RN at College of the Desert in 1984. Jean worked in many areas of LTC including home health care and hospice.  She taught nursing care of the elderly to LVN’s and CNA’s for many years. She successfully developed a home health care and hospice program. She has had in excess of 12 years management experience as a director of nursing in skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities.

In 1999, during a conversation on an airplane with my friend Dr. Chris Mlot, Chris suggested that I could improve my Geriatric Medicine program with the help of a nurse executive with an understanding of the spectrum of care I was providing (hospital, clinic, home, nursing home).  The first person to come to my mind was Jean. I called her later that week. She joined me shortly thereafter as a nurse consultant for my hospital Geriatric Medicine Program. Jean’s role evolved over time. My practice was a teaching site for residents and geriatric fellows, and Jean gradually developed skills in organizing post graduate education. She became an intrinsic part of geriatric assessment team. She coordinated new patient intakes, participated in the actual assessments, and attended weekly interdisciplinary teaching conferences. She provided constant, skilled care management. She supplemented her traditional nursing knowledge and skills set with a wide range of cognitive, behavioral, and functional assessment methods, and functions successfully in data base acquisition and care plan development in an interdisciplinary setting.  She served as member of elder abuse multidisciplinary teams in both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, and gathered considerable experience through direct evaluation of elders who had been victims of abuse, and attending numerous training in forensic assessment.