The Montana Geriatric Education Center at the University of Montana now will be able to educate more Montana health care professionals, direct care workers and caregivers about the needs of geriatric patients thanks to a grant from the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. Health and Human Service Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced the award during the White House Conference on Aging held July 13 in Washington, DC.
At the conference, 44 organizations in 29 states received more than $35 million in grants. The goal of the grants is to support quality care for older Americans. In order to prepare the health care workforce to respond to issues associated with advancing age, awardees identified the specific interprofessional geriatrics education and training needs of their communities and developed a program responsive to those needs.
The Montana Geriatric Education Center will first receive nearly $683,000, which can be renewed for two additional years for a possible award total of $2.1 million. Working in collaboration with RiverStone Health and St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings and the Mountain Pacific Quality Health Foundation, Helena, the MTGEC will use the grant to implement seven initiatives, which will provide education and training for health care professionals, direct care workers and caregivers. The training aims to improve the quality of care for Montana’s aging population. MTGEC is housed in UM’s College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences and is directed by Gayle Hudgins.
For more information call MTGEC at 406-243-2480 or visit http://health.umt.edu/mtgec/.
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