What it means to age in place—for the
individual and for caregivers

Director, University of Pittsburgh Healthy Home Laboratory

Professor and Director, Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy Program, University of Pittsburgh

Pamela Toto, PhD, OTR/L, BCG, FAOTA, FGSA is the Director of the University of Pittsburgh Healthy Home Laboratory, a Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, and the Director of the Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy Program. The Healthy Home Laboratory is a community laboratory based in a 100+-year-old home that brings the best science into home settings to promote aging in place. Dr. Toto guides an interprofessional team to design, develop, and evaluate new and existing technologies, advance healthy home services and interventions, and create comprehensive health and environmental assessments to help people live safely and independently at home. She is an occupational therapist, researcher, and educator who is internationally recognized within her field for her expertise in aging in place. Board Certified in Gerontology, a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, Dr. Toto has over 30 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist providing services for older adults in the community and in long-term care settings. She is a national trainer and instructor for evidence-based programs including CarFit, Matter of Balance, and Skills2Care, an investigator and program director delivering CAPABLE, and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and presentations, combined, on topics related to successful aging.

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Fields is a board-certified occupational therapist, an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, and a geriatric health services and caregiving researcher. She went to Colorado State University and the University of Pittsburgh for occupational therapy and postdoctoral training. Her research focuses on developing, testing, and implementing person- and family-centered assessments and interventions in the hospital and home settings.