Nurse Led
Clinical experience shapes the education, resources, and implementation guidance.
Meet the founder
Nursing leadership with a personal purpose.
Angie Filipiak, MSN, RN, NEA BC, helps hospitals, senior communities, and families use doll therapy with dignity, education, and practical support.
Angie’s story
From one patient experience to a growing care program.
Angie began exploring doll therapy in 2016 while managing a medical-surgical unit. Her nursing team was caring for patients with dementia who were frightened, restless, and trying to get out of bed.
One patient, a former NICU nurse, held a towel with a smiley face and called it her baby. Angie noticed that holding it brought the patient comfort, and she purchased a baby doll for the unit.
Months later, another patient who was distressed and at high risk of falling became calmer while holding the doll. That experience led Angie to explore the literature and how doll therapy could be introduced thoughtfully in hospital care.
Her work grew to include research across six hospitals and thirty nursing units, along with practical education and implementation resources for staff and families. The hospital findings are shared on the Research and In the Media page.
Why Angie’s Purpose exists
A doll is only the beginning.
After the study, other hospitals contacted Angie because they wanted to introduce doll therapy but needed a place to start. They asked which dolls to choose, how to introduce one, how to educate everyone entering a patient’s room, and how to sustain the program beyond the first month.
Angie founded Angie’s Purpose in 2021 to help answer those questions. She has now implemented doll therapy at over 30 hospitals and 4 senior living communities. Her programs bring together education, resources, and ongoing implementation guidance. Her purpose is to bring comfort, safety, and hope to people living with dementia, with practical support for the people who care for them.
30+Hospitals reached
4Senior living communities
2021Angie’s Purpose founded
What guides the work
Comfort, safety, dignity, and support.
Research Informed
Program decisions draw from real hospital implementation and documented outcomes.
Person Centered
Every recommendation protects dignity and responds to the person’s needs and preferences.
Experience behind the program
Education, leadership, and recognition.
Education and credentials
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Marquette University, 2002 - Master of Science in Nursing
Webster University, 2019 - ANCC Nurse Executive Advanced Certification
2021 - Doctor of Nursing Practice in Ethical Leadership
McKendree University. In progress, anticipated graduation May 2028.
Nursing leadership
- Nursing experience at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
- Leadership and caregiver support at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital
- Nurse manager and nursing director roles at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital
- Hospital and system fall prevention team leadership
- Fall and pressure injury prevention Sustainability Coach with HD Nursing
Awards
- Daisy Award, 2011
- Nancy Fedak Ross Leader of the Year Award, 2014
- Spirit of Nursing Excellence Award, 2017
- Hester Davis Nursing Fall Prevention Clinical Effectiveness Award, 2017
Research recognition and media features are shared on the Research and In the Media page.
Explore the Research