Renu Varughese

  • Associate Professor, Nursing
  1. Faculty and Staff Directory
  2. Renu Varughese
Dr. Renu Abraham Varughese

Dr. Renu Abraham Varughese has served as an Associate Professor in Mercy University since 2006. Her dynamic teaching approach, which integrates real-world applications, fosters an engaging learning environment where students are encouraged to explore complex global issues and hone their analytical skills. Dr. Varughese’s deep passion and commitment to research on aging in developing nations led her to Asia for a five-year cross-cultural comparative study (2000-2005) of seniors residing in long-term care centers in India and the USA. This pioneering study was the first to compare residents of long-term care centers between a developed and a developing nation.

 Dr. Varughese is the recipient of the prestigious US-Nehru Fulbright award twice. First in 2015 -2016, for Professional Excellence by the US Department of State and Cultural Affairs. Her research during this fellowship focused on the feasibility of implementing a culturally appropriate Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) for long-term care facilities in India. She received an additional grant from the Fulbright Commission to present her findings in Sri Lanka. Then again in 2019, she received the Fulbright Specialist award for training the elder care workforce in South Africa and Sub-Saharan countries.

Dr. Varughese serves as a board member of CommonAge, the association for aged care in the Commonwealth countries, and is the Chapter Head for Asia. She is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Travancore Foundation, assisted living facility in Kerala, India, and the Founder and Director of the Travancore Foundation Education and Research Center on Aging (TF ERCA). Her work includes collaborating on the accreditation process for retirement centers in India with Standard Wise International (SWI), Australia, leading the Travancore Foundation to achieve the designation as the first institution in the nation to acquire a platinum status accreditation. Additionally, Dr. Varughese implemented the country’s first simulation-based learning center for geriatric training in Travancore Foundation.

  • MBA, Organizational Leadership (currently pursuing), Mercy University
  • PhD, Aging, Mother Teresa University
  • MPhil, Gerontological guidance and Counseling, Mother Teresa University
  • MS, Clinical Specialist (Adult and Aged), Mount Saint Vincents college
  • BS, Nursing, Punjab University
  • Global Aging
  • Resident Assessment and person-centered care planning for long term care
  • Accreditation for long-term care and retirement centers in developing nations
  • Varughese, R. (2020). Minimum Data Set: A resident assessment tool for senior care homes in India. Establishment of Reliability and Validity. Journal of Health Studies, Association of Health Psychologists, 1(1), 77-89. https://journalofhealthstudies.in/current-issue/
  • Varughese, R., & Moscou, S. (2019). The assessment process: Using reflective essays. Submitted to Journal of Professional Nursing (submitted for publication, August 2019).
  • Varughese, R. & Jamuna, D. (2018). Anatomy of elder abuse in the Indian context. In M. K. Shankardass & S. I Rajan (Eds.), Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly in India (pp. 65-77). Gateway East, Singapore: Springer Nature. ISBN 978-981-10-6115-https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-6116-5_5
  • Varughese, R. (2017). My Fulbright experience. Mercy Maverick Magazine, 2017 winter edition.
  • https://www.flipsnack.com/9ACC88A6AED/mercy-maverick-winter-2017.htmls
  • Subramanyam, V., Hemalatha, A., Jamuna, D., & Varughese, R. (2016). Change Vs. Stability in ADLs and PBADLs: Role of Psychological Interventions, Psychology for Health, Happiness and Harmony, (1), 195-198.
  • Varughese, R. (2016). A demonstrative community model for senior citizens in Indian panchayats. Help Age India Research &Development Journal, 22(2), 19-22.
  • Balancio, D., Rothschild, I., Varughese, R. (2014). Burning Down the Podium: An Examination of How Learning Works. The Teaching and Learning Forum, 1(2).
  • Varughese, R., & Jamuna, D. (2014). Health of Residents of senior care homes in India & US. Monograph published by LAP LAMBERT Publications. ISBN-10: 3659527262.https://www.amazon.com/Health-Residents-Senior-Care-Homes/dp/3659527262
  • Varughese, R. (2011). Care of Asian Elders: Traditional and Contemporary. AAPINA,9(2) 4-5
  • Varughese, R. (2006, January). Aging in India: The Present Scenario. Mid-Hudson Kerala Association Souvenir. 

    News Paper Articles

  • The Hindu- Business line, All India edition (August 2, 2023). Travancore Foundation: It’s all about care for seniors.
  • The Hindu-- Doctors Day, Kerala edition (July 2023). An interdisciplinary team approach to elder care
  • The Hindu, Thiruvananthapuram edition (November 24, 2022), Quality senior Living.
  • Times of India, Cochin edition (November 1, 2021)- Kerala Day, Paying attention to elderly.
  • Times of India, Cochin edition (October 1, 2021). International Day of Older Persons, Caring for the elderly
  • Deepika News, Kottayam edition. International Day of Older Persons. Learning aged care.

Local radio/media Interviews

  • Mangalam Radio. Travancore Foundation, specialized in senior care.
  • Radio Village, Changanacherry, Old age care and geriatric education for the future
  • Gulf Radio. Care of the aged in formal institutions
  • Radio Village, Changanacherry, changing families and changing concept of aging.
  • US Fulbright Specialist Award (2024)
  • Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine (2024)
  • Sath Sevana Award (2023)- Indo American Press Club Inc.
  • Founder’s Excellence Award (2022), Association for Senior Living India, New Delhi
  • US-Nehru Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Award (2016)
  • Fulbright Scholars Regional Travel grant to Sri Lanka (2016)