By Robin McAtee, PhD, RN, FACHE, Director, Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC), a Geriatric Workforce Ehancement Program (GWEP) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging (DWR IOA)
Hello from the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC), the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program for Arkansas. Spring time was very busy for the AGEC with a lot of programs happening all across the state. We had a webinar in April about the latest Shingles Vaccine and other needed adult vaccines by Dr. Bob Hopkins and Kara Jones one in March “Improving the Quality of Life of Senior Cancer Survivors” by Lisa VanHoose, PhD, one of our AGEC Geriatric Fellows from last year. Our academic partners, ASU and UCA, were also busy reaching thousands of students with geriatric content during the spring semester! We were also busy with Family Caregiver Workshops, Dementia Experiences, and Dementia Practitioner and First Responder Dementia trainings. We had wonderful audiences at these events and look forward to expanding these programs in year four.
As we currently swelter in the middle of an Arkansas summer, we are continuing to have great programs and activities throughout the state and are planning for year four activities. We have just received notice about a small GWEP supplemental grant revolving around the opioid crisis. This was developed, submitted and approved! We have also received our HRSA funding for year four of the AGEC and are very active getting the associated programs started. We continue to seek new ways to reach and teach all audiences and if you have any suggestions, please let us know.