Ronni Chernoff, PhD, FAND, FASPEN, Director
We are coming to the end of the first year of the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative, a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. It is an appropriate time to look back on our first year and recap some of the continuing and new achievements. We continue to be proud of what we contributed to the education and training of health professionals, faculty and students who are
looking forward to careers in one of the many health care disciplines in Arkansas. We are proud of the new, updated Arkansas Geriatric Education Mentors and Scholars (AR-GEMS) self-study, and our successful Summer Institute for Faculty training programs.
We continue to offer video teleconferences four times/year but now, not only can you attend in person at a receiver site near where you live and work or by the interactive television network, but programs are now available through Blackboard Collaborative, a web-streaming option; this means you can stay at your computer and receive the program in real time and ask questions through the chat option. We are delighted to offer you the opportunity of accessing AGEC programming more conveniently.
The AGEC is partnering with first responder organizations to help our police, firefighters, and EMTs recognize and manage people with dementia. We are providing training and support materials to make them better able to help those in need. We are also collaborating with our partners to provide useful and relevant information on aging to seniors who attend AARP programs and local Arkansas Aging Initiative sites for lifestyle and educational workshops.
The new www.agec.org website has been launched and offers easier navigation and more features. Please visit the website and read all about our new features. There are two portals, one for health professionals and one for community members who are not health professionals.
As we plan for our second year, we would love to hear from you about what you would like to know more about. Feel free to e-mail your suggestions for topics and programs to agec@uams.edu or post a note on our website page. Our next program will be in the Fall because summertime is for leisure and vacation; our usual audiences, students, faculty and community groups are at a lake, at a beach, or at a campsite, enjoying family time and will participate in educational programs when school starts again in late Summer. Look for “Save the Date” cards and announcements for the Geriatrics and Long Term Care 17th Annual Conference September 22-24. A Geriatric Grand Rounds on Communication Impairment in Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease is scheduled for November 2. We will be web-streaming, video teleconferencing, and having face-to-face video teleconferences in the Fall. Have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you again in late Summer!