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As our country faces unprecedented growth in its aging population, measures must be taken to prepare an appropriately trained workforce. NYAM's Social Work Leadership Institute (SWLI) is working to train thousands of social work students across the country to work with older adults through the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE).
America’s older adult population is projected to reach 72 million by 2030, comprising 20% of the population. Of those aged 65 and older, 85% have one or more chronic disease. Additionally, six out of ten people will need long-term care in their lifetime. All of these facts herald the need for an expanded workforce of health care and social service professionals trained to work with older adults, but current recruitment and training initiatives have been judged inadequate to meet future need. Barriers include compensation, lack of educational incentives, and negative views of aging, as well as a shortage of educational programs that focus on geriatric training.
In 1998, NYAM started the Hartford Partnership Program for Education (HPPAE) with funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation to recruit and train MSW students to work with older adults. The program’s innovative field education model, which includes multiple rotations, is integrated with academic learning. University-community partnerships are also a critical component. The program’s goal is to eventually institutionalize its model through all schools of social work in the United States.
Today, the HPPAE is in 38 states with a total of 99 programs graduating more than 2,669 students by 2011. The program boasts a high rate of student satisfaction (94% would recommend the program to other students), and 80% of participants report that they plan to work in the field of aging after graduation. NYAM also established the Leadership Academy in Aging, now in its third year, to work with deans and directors of schools of social work to strengthen their leadership skills and use them to implement aging programs at their universities.
“Our goal is to continue to work in this arena so we can ensure that older adults stay independent and in control of their lives for as long as possible,” said Patricia J. Volland, NYAM Senior Vice President and Director of SWLI.
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Posted on March 11, 2011
Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org
NYAM partnered with the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and several Harlem-based organizations to present the Second Annual National Urban Health Conference on February 23-25, 2012. This year's focus was urban ecology and its impact on our communities. Read More >>
Dr. Boufford's Letter to The New York Times: Poverty and Obesity
NYAM President Jo Ivey Boufford addresses the racial disparities in childhood obesity rates in New York City and the need to fight obesity in every community.
