New Program to Aid Geriatrics Health Care Workers

Issue Date: 
September 28, 2015

The graying of America presents unique challenges to the delivery of quality health care services to seniors in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The University of Pittsburgh is helping regional health care providers meet those challenges with a new Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, supported by a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

“Our goals and objectives for the program are ambitious and wide reaching,” said Richard Schulz, director of Pitt’s University Center for Social and Urban Research and the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. Among the program’s goals are to advance and enhance the care of patients with dementia, elderly veterans, and older adults with mental health concerns. 

Pitt’s program will be implemented by the Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania, part of the University Center for Social and Urban Research. Collaborating partners include the Aging Institute of UPMC Senior Services and the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State’s Center for Healthy Aging, and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Pitt’s program is one of four new federally funded geriatrics initiatives in Pennsylvania. 

Nationwide, it joins 43 other colleges and universities that were chosen to establish the workforce enhancement programs, including Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago, and Yale University.

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration is the federal agency tasked with improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.