Karen Distelhorst PhD, APRN, GCNS-BC
Nurse Scientist, Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Karen Distelhorst is a nurse scientist in the Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Nursing Research and Innovation. As a nurse researcher, Dr. Distelhorst’s area of interest is population health. Her research work has addressed the impact of nursing care coordination and transitional management (CCTM) on individual and population level outcomes, assessment of upstream factors in population health nursing practice, social determinants of health and neighborhood disadvantage, and food insecurity across the lifespan. Dr. Distelhorst has over 25 years of experience as a gerontological clinical nurse specialist in the settings of home health care, ambulatory care, and inpatient care areas. At Cleveland Clinic, she has collaborated with local community agencies for important population health initiatives, such as the accountable health communities program and a medically tailored meal program for older adults being discharged from the hospital. She has also served as an assistant professor and adjunct faculty for both graduate and undergraduate programs at Malone University and the University of Akron.