The purpose of Project 1 is to develop interdisciplinary education programs in geriatrics and gerontology for the greater Rochester and Upstate New York region, targeting a wide array of health and allied health professionals and academic faculty. 

This project builds upon the FLGEC-UNY commitment toward improving the quality of care for older adults in the Rochester community through interdisciplinary training programs. The goal is to provide training opportunities for new workforce members and continuing professional education for established professionals in order to facilitate greater health literacy in the applied principles of geriatrics.

Objectives

1. Expand, implement, market, and evaluate interdisciplinary didactic training programs in geriatrics and gerontology targeting health and allied health professionals.
2. Develop seminar and conference series to provide continuing educational programs that address issues relevant to research, policy, and practice for the current professional workforce in geriatrics.
3. Establish a community-based infrastructure for engagement and translation of aging research and educational programs into clinical practice.

Project 2 is an outgrowth of the previous FLGEC-UNY project that developed and piloted the curriculum for EMT training during the first year of the grant. This project extends the previous work by first, revising the curriculum and developing an innovative podcast based technology for the training that address the logistical challenges of doing onsite training discovered earlier.

The activities consist of:  1) Developing and periodically revising a podcast-based curriculum for EMTs on the care of older adult patients; 2) Training EMTs practicing in Rochester, NY and EMTs in rural Upstate NY using the developed curriculum using multi-modal delivery methods; 3) Evaluating the impact of the course on the clinical practice of EMTs; and 4) Disseminating the educational course through the national GECs.

Objectives

1. Develop and implement a video podcast series for EMTs on the care of older adult patients.

Project 3 will provide hands-on approaches in education and training on older individuals with mental retardation & developmental disabilities (MR/DD) to area service providers. These initiatives will:

• target all members of the interdisciplinary MR/DD treatment team
• offer interactive, experiential, and observational learning experiences
• focus on agencies that have existing or to-be-developed MR/DD Geriatric Assessment Clinics so as to provide opportunities for both clinical and educational training

The attainment of our objectives will create an exceptional level of knowledge and expertise in aging and MR/DD in upstate New York that could be replicated on a national level.

Recruitment of trainees will be focused on, but not limited to, the existing four sites (two urban and two rural) that provide MR/DD geriatric assessment services. Community services that have small sub-populations of older adults with MR/DD, (e.g.: Monroe Community Hospital, Park Place St. Bernard’s Day Program, the Highlands) will receive special announcements and follow-up phone calls in order to recruit participants.

Objectives

1. Implement a 10-week Fellowship in Aging and MR/DD.
2. Implement an intensive 18-hour course for clinicians in Assessment and Preventive Care.
3. Implement a course on Observation, Reporting and Recording Skills for direct care staff who provide hands-on services for older persons with MR/DD.
4. Experiential Learning through Geriatric Assessment.
5. Implement Grand Rounds/Residency Training for Physicians on aging & MRDD.

Project 5, The SUNY-IT School of Nursing and Health Systems will: a) design, develop, and implement an Accelerated RN to BS/MS Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Program; b) infuse gerontology content into associate and baccalaureate nursing programs; and c) implement train the trainer workshops for in-service educators at long term and acute care practice setting.

SUNY-IT as a regional nurse training center accounts for 90% of the baccalaureate trained nurses currently working in the Mohawk Valley attesting to its leadership position as a training institution in Upstate New York. The current proposal leverages accomplishments made during the first year of the previously funded FLGEC-UNY. Specifically, the approval of a master’s degree program in gerontology by State University of New York (SUNY) sets the stage for the development of an accelerated GNP program, an expansion of the original SUNY-IT project.

Objectives

1. Plan, develop and implement an Accelerated RN to BS/MS Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Program.
2. Plan, conduct and evaluate educational workshops to infuse Gerontology content.
3. Plan and implement “Train the Trainer” Workshops for In Service Educators in Long Term and Acute Care Practice Settings.

Project 6 seeks to enrich the geriatric content in the social work curriculum, to develop an elective course in gerontologic social work and to implement a gerontologic social work practicum. The profession of social work, along with other health-related disciplines, is struggling to provide appropriately prepared professionals to meet the complex health care needs of older adults and their families.  In order to address this shortage, educational resources are needed to provide training for social work faculty, students, and practicing professionals with a focus on gerontological competencies required for effective and culturally competent patient –centered interventions.

Objectives

1. To enrich aging content for required and elective courses by implementing a series of geriatric education programs designed to improve faculty/practitioner gerontologic knowledge and skill.
2. Revise and market one elective, undergraduate/ graduate course in gerontologic social work available for social work and other students enrolled in health-related degree programs.
3. Development of Gero-Competencies for Social Work faculty, practitioners and students through implementation of a gerontologic social work field practicum and learning experience within an established Geriatric Evaluation Clinic.

Project 7 will be a collaborative approach, building on the strengths of two existing programs within allopathic and chiropractic education.  Gerontologic competencies of practicing chiropractors and chiropractic educators will be enhanced through the development of a center of excellence in Chiropractic Geriatrics.

Chiropractic/Allopathic Integration: With recent reports documenting the rise of the utilization of chiropractic services in the older adult population there is a need to train the future chiropractic physicians in the special needs of the older adult and be given competencies to function in an integrated environment (JAGS 2000 48:1560-65). It is estimated that nationally 11-15% of older adults utilize chiropractic services, most often for musculoskeletal complaints. (JAMA, 1998:280; 1569-75). Currently, there are no formal programs training chiropractors in geriatrics and there are also no geriatrics training programs within traditional medical centers. New and innovative programs are needed if the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) goal to ensure flow of information across all health care disciplines is to be achieved. (JAMA. 2005 293(19):2384-90).

Objectives

1. Implement a course on Integrative Chiropractic Geriatrics.
2. Implement Geriatrics into Chiropractic Curriculum.