Candace C. Harrington PhD, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, CNE, FAAN

Candace C. Harrington

Candace C. Harrington PhD, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, CNE, FAAN

Assistant Professor and Gerontology Professor
ccharr06@louisville.edu
502.852.8518


Dr. Harrington earned her diploma in nursing in 1982 from Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, her undergraduate degree in nursing from Gardner Webb University in 2002, master’s in nursing with adult gerontology concentration from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2005 and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Vanderbilt University in 2011. She completed her PhD in Nursing from East Carolina University in 2018. She earned a Post-Master's Certificate in Nursing Education from East Carolina University in 2019.

Dr. Harrington brings over 35 years of geriatric nursing experience across care settings including long-term care. Her program of research includes qualitative and mixed methods approaches to improve the health and well-being of family caregivers of those with Alzheimer's disease/Alzheimer's disease-related dementias.  

Dr. Harrington was a 2020 Midwest Nursing Research Society/Sigma Theta Tau International‘s Small Grant recipient for Rural Older Female Family Caregivers Lived Experiences in the Context of Caregiving for Those with AD/ADRD during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The purpose of this study is to investigate rural older female caregivers' lived experiences in the context of caring for family members with Alzheimer's disease/Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Dutch (Utrecht) method of phenomenology with interpretative description and thematic analysis.  

From 2015-2018, she was the project coordinator for three arms of the ECU College of Nursing’s $3 million HRSA Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program grant. Her experience includes the development of a desktop application for complex geriatric assessments.  

Dr. Harrington has been a Distinguished Educator for Gerontological Nursing. National Hartford Center of Gerontological Excellence since 2017. She earned the National League of Nursing's Certified Nurse Educator designation in 2020. She is a certified Alzheimer's Disease Dementia Care Trainer and certified in Agricultural Medicine and Occupational Safety. 

Dr. Harrington teaches in the Family and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner tracks and other graduate courses. In her role as Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Professor, she works with Trilogy, Signature and Elmcroft Health Systems to support research and scholarship related to long-term care.

Education:

  • PhD, East Carolina University, 2018
  • DNP, Vanderbilt University, 2011
  • MSN, North Carolina Greensboro, 2005
  • BSN, Gardner Webb University, 2002
  • Diploma, Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, 1985

View Curriculum Vitae [PDF]