The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded
the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia a grant
to fund the state’s first Geriatric Education Center. The
five-year, $1.94 million grant is being funded by the health
and human services’ Health Services Research Administration.
The center is a collaboration between UGA’s Institute of
Gerontology, Emory University’s Division of Geriatric Medicine,
and Armstrong Atlantic State University’s School of Health
Professions. The primary goal of the center is to provide and
upgrade training of all levels of professionals (clinicians,
university faculty, nursing home administrators and assistants
and care staff) who work directly with older adults in Georgia
with special emphasis in medically underserved areas.
The GEC will be directed by Leonard Poon, professor of public
health and psychology. He will be assisted by Anne Glass, assistant
professor of public health and assistant director of the Institute
of Gerontology. UGA faculty from a number of colleges and departments
will be actively involved. Some of these faculty members are
Paul Brooks, pharmacy; Steve Miller, psychology; Stacey Kolomer,
social work; Doug Bachtel, housing and consumer economics; and
Stuart Feldman, public health. The Georgia GEC will be working
closely with the Stanford, Kentucky-Appalachia, and South Carolina
GECs to launch collaborative training programs.
The creation of the center follows the Institute of Gerontology’s
recent launch of a “Public Health and Older Georgians Initiative” to
increase attention and focus on public health issues among the
older population.
“The funding of a GEC will provide a mechanism to address
and improve the critical quality of care issues for older Georgians,” according
to Poon. “The Georgia GEC also will be able to infuse energy
into a new Geriatric Work Force Training Initiative coordinated
and chaired by UGA and Kennesaw State University in conjunction
with the Georgia Division of Aging Services, Georgia Alzheimer’s
Association, and all aging services agencies in the state of
Georgia.”
Competing
in a Global Economy
The University of Georgia is at the forefront of the globalization
movement in higher education with a wealth of opportunities for
international experiences. Our students are flocking to study-abroad
programs, thriving on the challenges inherent in confronting a
new cultural environment. More and more, students on campus are
also making choices that reflect an understanding of the importance
of global awareness—from living in a residence hall-based
language community to starting a radio program in another language
to minoring in a foreign language. These experiences, whether at
home or abroad, influence how our students perceive the world and
their place in it. We’re producing graduates prepared to
be world citizens—well informed, culturally sensitive and
technologically sophisticated. They’re ready to take on the
challenges of our global society, and they’ll be equally
at home whether in the Peach State or the Republic of Georgia. |
The
primary goal of the center is to provide and upgrade training of
all levels of professionals who work directly with older adults in
Georgia with special emphasis in medically underserved areas.
