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Since 1985, Northwest Geriatric Education Center (NWGEC) has provided geriatric education and training to health care providers. Geriatric Education Centers, with their unique university-community linkages and emphasis on interdisciplinary contributions, are ideally situated to take a leadership role in this area. However, a NWGEC recent needs assessment indicated that despite our training outreach efforts, substantial numbers of providers still require training and skill-building in health promotion as it relates to an aging population. This is especially true in the area of establishing health promotion interventions, particularly those suitable for ethnic and rural older adults. To respond to this need, NWGEC has developed a new program, Health Promotion for Ethnic and Rural Older Adults. Our primary goal is to help reduce health disparities that currently exist for many underserved elders in our region by enhancing leadership skills of professionals in the field of aging and upgrading quality and access to geriatric health promotion training and programs. A major component of the program is to offer individualized onsite health promotion workshops to rural health providers in Washington State. Instead of traveling great distances to metropolitan areas to attend conferences and workshops, rural providers receive training at the rural clinic, community health center, hospital or health department where they work. Workshop content focuses on chronic illness and health promotion interventions that are effective in preventing disease, postponing disability and helping older adults maintain function. The NWGEC also continues developing and conducting health promotion workshops for Alaska Native providers located in tribal villages. Another major program of the NWGEC is to assist our neighboring states develop a statewide self-sustaining movement to foster geriatric health promotion activities. We provide leadership training, educational resources and technical assistance to colleges and universities in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. These efforts contributed to Montana and Alaska successfully competing for their own GECs in 2002 and 2003, respectively. For more information, please call NWGEC at (206) 685-7478 or email patann@u.washington.edu
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