Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC)
by Ronni Chernoff, Ph.D., FAND, FASPEN, Director, AGEC & Professor, Department of Geriatrics
We are coming to the end of the second year of the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative, a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. It is an appropriate time to look back on our accomplishments during the second 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 pleased that there is great interest in the new, updated AR-GEMS online self-study program and our successful summer Institute for faculty, which is scheduled for the week of May 15, 2017. For more information on either of these two programs, email Regina V. Gibson, MALS, RN, CHES at rvgibson@uams.edu. We continue to offer video teleconferences four times/year and have dates but not topics for the Fall series (Oct. 11 and Dec. 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Our newest option, programs available through web-streaming (Blackboard Collaborative), is becoming more popular; 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. This month we are launching a needs assessment to gain insight into what you would like to learn more about. If you receive it as paper or online, please take the few minutes needed to fill it out and return it to us. Your input is very valuable to us and we look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to email your suggestions for topics and programs to agec@uams.edu or post a note on our website page.
Look for “Save the Date” cards and announcements for the geriatrics and long-term care 18th annual conference Sept. 21-23, 2017. A Geriatric Grand Rounds on exercise and aging issues in dementia patients is scheduled for May 24 and we will be web-streaming it, video teleconferencing by interactive television, and be live in the Jo Ellen Ford Auditorium at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, UAMS.
Along with our first responder organizations to help our law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) recognize and manage people with dementia, we are developing additional partners to provide training and support materials to make them better able to help these older adults in need. We continue to collaborate 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.
Have a great spring and enjoy the beautiful weather!