Gwen Bernacki, MD, MHSA

Gwen   Bernacki, MD, MHSA, is a non-invasive cardiologist at the Veterans   Administration of Puget Sound and Assistant Professor at the University of   Washington. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Bernacki received a Master   of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan School of   Public Health and completed a post-graduate administrative fellowship at   Northwestern Memorial. She also completed post-doctoral research fellowships   in the Cambia Palliative Center of Excellence at the University of Washington   in 2020 and the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers at the   Veterans Administration of Puget Sound in 2022.  

   Dr. Bernacki earned her MD with research honors at the University at   Buffalo School of Medicine and is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease   and Internal Medicine. Her research is focused on examining the effect of   multi-morbidity on quality of care among older adults with cardiovascular   disease, particularly those with co-existing chronic kidney disease and   cognitive impairment, and their caregivers. She has also examined shared   decision making and its effect on discussions about goals of care, as well as   the approach to code status reversal for cardiovascular procedures. She is   working toward further delineating how decisions about treatment choices are   made to eventually improve clinician-patient communication and patient   outcomes.