Pitt-based Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania Receives $2.1 Million Federal Grant

August 27, 2002

PITTSBURGH The Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania (GEC/PA), headquartered in the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR), has received a five-year, $2.1 million federal grant to expand its activities and program offerings. The grant will be used to:

• Improve the training of health professionals in geriatrics;

• Develop and disseminate curricula relating to the treatment of health problems in the elderly;

• Support the training of faculty to provide instruction in geriatrics;

• Support the continuing education of health professionals; and

• Develop student clinical training programs in geriatrics.

Faculty from Pitt and its GEC/PA collaborators Penn State University and Temple University will provide leadership for 17 distinct educational initiatives between 2002 and 2007. Among the initiatives are workshops for training professionals to interpret the results of bone mineral density scans to screen for osteoporosis, a community-based training program for resident physicians that will teach them to conduct community health assessments, and a mentoring program for junior university faculty. In addition to programs directed toward Pennsylvania health care professionals, others will be developed for delivery to national audiences through partnerships with geriatric education centers at Virginia Commonwealth University, West Virginia University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

The grant money is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which funds a nationwide network of 36 geriatric education centers, including GEC/PA.

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