Natalie Douglas, PhD, CCC-SLP, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Central Michigan University, is a speech-language pathologist and implementation scientist who studies how to advance best, person-centered practices in communication and quality of life interventions for people with dementia, aphasia, and other communication disorders in adults. 

As a LeaRRn scholar, Dr. Douglas will be working with Inpatient Rehabilitation at Intermountain Healthcare under the mentorship of Sarah Wallace, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ASHA-Fellow. The overall objective of the project is to support the implementation of a cognitive-communication screener designed to facilitate the increased accessibility of health, rehabilitation, and condition-related educational materials for those who may be cognitively and/or communicatively impaired. She will explore the perspectives of key stakeholders including administrators, frontline healthcare workers, and patients and families while examining health systems data to determine the relationship between cognitive-communicative performance and fall risk. Through the use of implementation strategies in line with the values, mission, and work processes of Intermountain Healthcare, she will also support the uptake of these educational materials throughout the healthcare system.