How Dr. Eberly Prepares Students for Careers in Health Care Management

When Lori Eberly began her undergraduate studies, she did not envision a future in long-term care or academia—at least not right away. But like many students entering the workforce for the first time, her career path took shape through hands-on experience, unexpected opportunities and a growing passion for people-centered care.

Today, as a faculty member at Appalachian State University, Dr. Lori Eberly brings over two decades of real-world experience into the classroom, helping to mentor the next generation of leaders in health care management.

A Career Forged by Opportunity, Compassion and a Drive to Solve Problems

Fresh out of college, Dr. Eberly accepted a job in a local health department—the first offer that came through. “As many graduates do, when I graduated, I basically took whatever job would hire me,” she recalls. The role was grant-funded and short-term, which left her soon searching for new work.

Then she discovered the long-term care industry. As a young professional in an assisted living facility, Dr. Eberly noticed that families are often unprepared to care for loved ones. “Once I got in there and started working with the families and realizing what an emotional time it is when you’re trying to find care for a loved one, and you’re not sure what to do,” she explains.

A compassionate problem-solver, Dr. Eberly found a calling in supporting families as they navigate emotionally fraught decisions about older adult care. “‘Do I keep them at home?’ ‘Do I find a facility?’ ‘How do we pay for it?’ There’s a lot of family dynamics. It’s a difficult time for people. And I found that I really enjoyed helping people solve those problems,” says Dr. Eberly.

Her career has spanned everything from working directly in assisted living to operating a home care agency for nearly 20 years. And while the work was challenging, it was also deeply rewarding.

The Systemic Side of Long-Term Care

Dr. Eberly began to see that the issues in long-term care weren’t just individual—they were systemic. While she started out helping families, her work turned increasingly toward broader public health and policy issues.

“We don’t have a lot of good long-term care solutions in this country,” she explains. “Compared to other developed nations, we’re underprepared for our aging population.”

Her dissertation research eventually focused on a largely overlooked population: middle-income seniors. “They earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford care out of pocket. That’s actually the majority of our senior population—and they fall through the cracks.”

The Urgency of Innovation in Long-Term Care

Dr. Eberly is vocal about the pressing challenges facing the long-term care industry today.

With Baby Boomers aging into retirement, the demand for care is rapidly outpacing supply—and current systems cannot keep up. “Assisted living buildings are already at capacity,” she says. “And we’re not going to build our way out of this. Real estate investors don’t develop buildings for people that won’t need them in 15 to 20 years.”

Additionally, 75% of U.S. adults aged 50 and older want to remain in their current homes as they age, according to AARP’s 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey. With millions of older adults wishing to age in place, the need for caregivers is skyrocketing. Long-term care is not just short on buildings—it’s short on caregivers.

Part of the solution may lie with technology, Dr. Eberly argues. She is especially excited about the innovation happening in home-based care, like predictive analytics, smart home sensors and wearables that allow for remote monitoring. Such technologies have the potential to alleviate administrative and logistical burdens from health care managers. “Instead of using technology to eliminate people [from health care roles], use technology to elevate people and let people be people.”

Mentorship, Burnout and the Realities of the Field

As a mentor, Dr. Eberly brings honesty and support in equal measure. She encourages students to pursue long-term care careers while being transparent about the challenges.

“I had a student once who wanted to be a nursing home administrator. I said, ‘Great—but go work in one first. Volunteer, intern—see what it’s really like.’ It’s rewarding, but it’s not easy. Better to learn that now than after you’ve invested four years.”

Burnout, she acknowledges, is real. It is part of why she transitioned to academia. But she believes mentorship, smart technology use and preparation can help students build resilience and find their niche in the field of health care management.

Preparing Tomorrow’s Health Care Leaders at App State

At Appalachian State University, Dr. Eberly is helping address those future needs by preparing students with the skills that matter most—critical thinking, collaboration and real-world problem solving.

“I love that our curriculum incorporates hands-on projects and case studies that mirror what students will take on a real-world problem and develop a solution,” she says. “They’re working with actual businesses, and learning how to think systemically.”

In Dr. Eberly’s classes, students learn practical, actionable steps to help families immediately. “I teach my students how to navigate the CMS Care Compare website, where you can actually look at ratings for hospitals, home health agencies and nursing homes.” She explains that all state surveys on licensed home care agencies and facilities are public, meaning that anyone can make an informed decision about long-term care for themselves or loved ones—once they know where and how to find this information.

Dr. Eberly also highlights the value of intergenerational learning in App State’s Flight Path programs. “With our Flight Path online program, we have non-traditional students with real-world experience learning alongside younger, traditional students.”

Advice for Students Who Want to Make a Difference

So what should a student do if they want to make a real difference in health care, especially for older adults?

Above all, don’t go it alone. “Find a mentor, somebody who’s been in the space,” Dr. Eberly explains. “Spend some time doing a rotation. Spend some time working with a home care agency. Spend some time working in assisted living. Spend some time at the local council on aging. Get some exposure to all the different pieces that touch aging care… get a little taste of all of it, so that you can figure out what your niche is.”

Students find valuable mentorship at App State. Faculty aren’t just teachers; they are experienced professionals who have managed hospitals, run agencies and worked in IT and finance before becoming professors. “Just about everybody I have come in contact with worked in private practice before they were teaching, and that’s not common elsewhere.” Dr. Eberly explains. “I think that that brings a lot of value—to have people who have done it who are teaching it.”

Choose App State for Health Care Management

Dr. Eberly is proud of what makes App State’s health care management programs unique—the commitment to blending real-world experience with academic rigor.

If you’re considering a career in health care management, Appalachian State University offers a flexible and rigorous program designed to meet the needs of both traditional and non-traditional students. And with two modalities—traditional in-person and the fully online Flight Path program—App State offers flexibility for both traditional and non-traditional students.

Unlike many other programs, Flight Path is designed with flexibility in mind. “A lot of the online health care management programs don’t necessarily target or cater to that non-traditional student that has some experience,” Dr. Eberly explains. App State Flight path programs do.

Ready to start your career in health care management? Learn more about App State Online’s Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health Care Management Flight Path program and how you can use it as a springboard to your professional life.

Recommended Readings

Humanizing Health Care With Technology: Dr. Trent Spaulding’s Vision for the Future

4 Health Care Administration Careers for Graduates to Consider

Quality Improvement in Health Care: Tips and Tools

Sources:

AARP, 2024 Home and Community Preferences and Future Possibilities

AARP, Livable Communities Resource Page

AARP, Majority of Adults 50-plus Want to Age in Place, But Policies and Communities Must Catch Up

AARP, Spectrum of Financial Supports for Family Caregivers

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS)

Medicare.Gov , Care Compare Tool

Medicare.Gov , Your Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home