Geriatric Education Center Receives $2 Million

By Jon Parham

 UAMS' Michael Mancino, M.D., gives a presentation to health care professionals in Hot Springs as part of the Arkansas Geriatric Education Center.
UAMS’ Michael Mancino, M.D., gives a presentation
to health care professionals in Hot Springs
for the Arkansas Geriatric Education Center.

The Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC) in the UAMS Reynolds Institute on Aging received a five-year grant renewal with more than $2 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. UAMS is the lead institution in the Geriatric Education Center along with Arkansas State University, the University of Central Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Health Chronic Disease Branch, and the Arkansas Cancer Coalition.

The center, led by Ronni Chernoff, Ph.D., a professor in the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics of the UAMS College of Medicine, also has partnered with the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center that she directs in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) to extend the reach of training outside the state to locations in eight states.

“Arkansas faces immense challenges in its health care delivery system as a rural state with a high proportion of elderly people and limited access to health care,” Chernoff said. “The Geriatric Education Center was started to provide training opportunities and continuing education to health care professionals and improve the quality of care available to older Arkansans.”

Since the most recent grant renewal in 2007, more than 4,000 clinical health care professionals, faculty who teach in health professions programs and students have received training through on-site conferences, online education and distance learning. Distance learning through a network of 80 locations including local hospitals and clinics allows health care professionals to receive training in the latest geriatrics care techniques without having to travel long distances from their work.

“Dr. Chernoff and the Geriatric Education Center have extended the reach of continuing education for health care professionals across the state, allowing them to learn the latest techniques for geriatric care without leaving their hometown or area,” said Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAMS Reynolds Institute on Aging and Chairman of the Department of Geriatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine. “We are especially proud to see this program receive continuous grant funding since it was established in 1999, which I think speaks to the importance and impact of the work being done.”

Among the training programs:

• Distance learning through UAMS and CAVHS interactive video networks
• Conferences, outreach and other continuing education programs at host facilities, including the UAMS Institute on Aging’s network of Centers on Aging
• Internet-based continuing education

Chernoff noted that all of the state’s 75 counties have inadequate medical resources, including 14 counties with no hospitals and 73 of 75 counties that are designed by the federal government as medically underserved or have areas that are medically underserved. Many of the areas also face a shortage of health care providers.

The elderly population is growing, not just in Arkansas but nationwide, making quality geriatric care more critical, Chernoff said.

During the 20th century, the older population grew from 3 million to 37 million, according to the 2009 population estimates. By 2030, the older population is projected to be twice as large as in 2000, growing from 35 million to 71.5 million and representing nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. population. Some researchers predict that death rates at older ages will decline more rapidly than is reflected in U.S. Census Bureau’s projections, which could accelerate growth of the older population.