Newswise — Rush University Medical Center has received a three-year, $2.45 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to support quality care for older Americans. Rush is one of only 44 health and education institutions in the country that the HRSA chose to become a Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, which supports training and education that leads to better care for older adults.
Rush has named its program CATCH-ON, which stands for Collaborative Action Team training for Community Health – Older adult Network.
Led by Robyn Golden, LCSW, and Erin Emery-Tiburcio, PhD, the team will use the grant to educate older adults, their families and caregivers, students, direct care workers and health professionals about the care of persons with multiple chronic conditions, known as MCC, with special attention to those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, or ADRD for short.
In addition, Rush’s program aims to transform existing primary care systems to meet the needs of older adults by implementing evidence-based programs that utilize provider, patient and community resources.
“We thank HRSA for the opportunity to build Illinois’s capacity to care for older adults through developing the eldercare workforce and new models of care that span the continuum of hospital, community clinic, community based agencies and home,” said Golden, who is director of Health and Aging at Rush.
As part of its efforts, Rush will partner with health care providers, universities and community organizations across the state. The 34 state-wide collaborators and partners have decades of experience educating patients, families, students, and professionals in innovative programs and strategies to care for older adults, particularly those with MCC, including ADRD. They are positioned to bring change to the geriatric workforce in the state of Illinois, upper Midwest region, and nation.
“The emphasis on the effective delivery of health care resources often overlooks the unique needs of older adults. Working with our partners, we intend to improve the community's response to these needs in a psychologically and culturally sensitive, science-based approach that will ultimately improve the health care of the community dwelling older adult,” said co-investigator, Sandra Swantek, MD, head of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program at Rush.
“In the geriatrics community, being named a Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program is seen as a mark of a true center of excellence,” observes Anthony Perry, MD, director of the Section of Geriatric Medicine at Rush. “It is a major achievement for our program.”
U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Rush’s geriatrics program 15th in the country in the 2015 edition of the publication’s “Best Hospitals” issue.
RSS