Bidlespacher completes Doctor of Nursing Practice degree

Kelly T. Bidlespacher, director of nursing, bachelor and graduate degrees, at Pennsylvania College of Technology, completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice in educational leadership from Grand Canyon University in November.

Bidlespacher’s studies culminated in an evidence-based direct practice improvement project that she titled “The Effect of Teach-Back on Readmission Rates in Rehabilitation Patients.”

Thirty-day readmission rates are measured as a national quality measure by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“All hospitals strive to reduce 30-day readmissions and improve patients’ ability to manage their health care successfully in the home setting,” Bidlespacher explained. “My project focused on reducing 30-day admission rates in rehabilitation patients.”

Through Bidlespacher’s quality improvement project, direct-care nurses on an inpatient rehabilitation unit were educated on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s teach-back intervention. The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Seventy-nine patients were included in the project. A mean 45% reduction in 30-day readmission was noted between the comparative group and the implementation group.

Bidlespacher’s findings have been submitted for publication in the Rehabilitation Nursing Journal, the official journal of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, and are in the revision process.

Bidlespacher, a registered nurse, began her Penn College employment as an adjunct faculty member in 2019. She then served as the clinical director of nursing at the college before being appointed to her current position as director of the college’s bachelor’s and graduate-level nursing degrees.

Previously, Bidlespacher was a professional care manager for UPMC Williamsport, a director and clinical manager for Bayada Pediatrics, and a nurse in The Birthplace & Pediatrics for the former Susquehanna Health (now UPMC Williamsport).

The Trout Run native holds three degrees from Penn College: a bachelor’s degree in nursing, an associate degree in nursing, and an associate degree in health arts: practical nursing emphasis.

She earned a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in nursing leadership in health care systems from Grand Canyon University and a post-master’s certificate in nursing education from University of Phoenix.

Bidlespacher is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nurses and a past member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses.

To learn more about Penn College’s nursing degrees, which range from associate degrees to a post-master’s certificate, call 570-327-4525.

For more information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.