VA researcher wins top honor for rethinking Veteran rehabilitation

Researcher Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley’s work helps older Veterans regain mobility and independence

Dr. Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, associate director for research at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System’s Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, received the Paul B. Magnuson Award, VA’s highest honor for rehabilitation investigators, for work that helps older Veterans regain strength, mobility and independence after hospitalization.

VA Eastern Colorado’s Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center is part of VA’s network of geriatric centers of excellence focused on aging. The centers work to improve care for older Veterans through research, clinical innovation and education.

The Magnuson Award honors the life and legacy of Dr. Paul B. Magnuson, a surgeon who sought new treatments and devices for patients facing disability. The award reflects his passion for restoring patients to their families, their work and their lives.

Recovery in daily life

Stevens-Lapsley’s research focuses on a problem many Veterans face after illness or hospitalization.

“Many older Veterans experience significant mobility loss after hospitalization, and too often rehabilitation is not delivered at a level that meaningfully restores function,” Stevens-Lapsley said. “In some cases, the level of challenge was so minimal that Veterans were not meaningfully engaged, even to the point of falling asleep during exercise sessions.”

Losing strength and mobility can delay a Veteran’s return home and prolong rehabilitation stays. Stevens-Lapsley’s work examines how higher-intensity rehabilitation can better support everyday activities and improve quality of life for older Veterans.

“My research team’s work focuses on helping older Veterans maintain and regain mobility so they can live more independently,” Stevens-Lapsley said. “We design and implement rehabilitation approaches that build strength, improve walking ability and support everyday activities like getting out of a chair, moving safely and returning home after illness or hospitalization.”

Changing the approach

The problem was not a lack of effort on the part of older Veterans. Their rehabilitation was often delivered at an intensity too low to stimulate meaningful recovery.

“Historically, care has been underdosed, with a focus on maintenance rather than recovery,” she said.

Her research challenged that assumption by showing that even medically complex older adults can safely participate in higher-intensity, progressive rehabilitation.

What success looks like

Success, the team found, means a Veteran can walk farther, stand up more easily, move safely through the home and return to family and community with greater independence.

“When higher-intensity, individualized rehabilitation led to faster recovery, shorter lengths of stay and more Veterans returning home, it became clear that this approach could shift expectations for what recovery should look like,” she shared.

At the Veterans Community Living Center at Fitzsimons in Aurora, Colorado, this approach shortened Veterans’ length of stay and helped 20% more Veterans return home rather than move into long-term care.

Why it matters

The work is also personal for Stevens-Lapsley, who watched her uncle, a Veteran, receive rehabilitation that did not challenge him enough to rebuild strength that could help him return home.

“What struck me most was how little opportunity there was for meaningful mobility and strengthening,” she said. “It became clear to me that we were underestimating both his potential and the amount of rehabilitation needed to help him regain independence.”

After his rehabilitation changed, so did his outcome.

“He had the strength to go home to his wife of more than 50 years, rather than receiving long-term care in a nursing facility,” she continued.

Stevens-Lapsley’s uncle’s story reflects what the research, and the award, are really about.

“Older Veterans are often capable of far more recovery than they are given the opportunity to achieve,” she added. “When rehabilitation is appropriately dosed and tailored to the individual, meaningful improvements in strength, mobility and independence are possible, even in the setting of complex medical conditions.”