The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology is presenting Dr. Hartman-Stein with the Alfred M. Wellner, Ph.D. Senior Career Psychologist Award. 

The National Register based her award on the following description, provided by Pat DeLeon, Ph.D.:

"There can be no question that our nation is rapidly aging and further, that the scientific and clinical expertise of professional psychology is highly relevant to ensuring that our senior citizens are able to live their lives with dignity and have access to quality and affordable health care. Paula developed her interest in this specialty area long before many of our colleagues ever contemplated a potential role for psychology and she has always stressed the importance of developing scientifically-based (i.e, evidence based), best practices models. As she recently described for the National Register, her service-delivery model at the Center for Healthy Aging emphasizes the importance of timely and individually 
targeted services, that are "medically necessary" (rather than perhaps primarily financially lucrative), and thereby filling psychology's obligation to be ethically relevant. 

Excellence in design and implementation has always been very important to Paula. And, by publishing extensively (including by lecturing and making professional presentations), Paula has steadily been educating our colleagues, and especially the next generation, regarding the various complex issues involved in serving the elderly as a bona fide healthcare profession. I particularly appreciate her efforts over the years to develop collaborative practices with her medical and nursing colleagues, as well as actively engaging the family in treatment decisions. 

When I think of Al Wellner, I think of an individual with vision, compassion and dedication to the profession. In my judgment, Dr. Paula Hartman-Stein personifies each of these important attributes. And, as each of us is becoming increasingly aware, our nation's elderly are particularly vulnerable to practitioners of all disciplines who are not acutely sensitive to the underlying ethical issues involved in addressing their often pressing and even acute needs. Accordingly, Paula's consistent emphasis upon "ethical practice" is extremely important for our profession and our nation. She has truly been on the cutting-edge of developing an exciting niche for professional psychology in the 21st century."