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New
center boosts
care for elderly
A
new geriatric education center located at UM-Missoula is
poised to help Montana's health care professionals who face
an ever-increasing number of patients 65 or older, but often
work without the benefit of recent information on health
issues for elderly patients.
A
$1.7 million grant from the Department of Health and Human
Services has allowed faculty members from UM-Missoula's
School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, Montana State
University-Bozeman's College of Nursing and Rocky Mountain
College's Physician Assistant Program to create the Montana
Geriatric Education Center, which is housed in the Skaggs
Building on the UM campus.
The
center offers programs for health care educators, students
and practitioners. Topics range from disease prevention
to disability and other health-related problems faced by
older individuals and their families. The programs emphasize
interdisciplinary collaboration, health promotion and attention
to the cultural diversity of the populations served.
Colleen
Murphy-Southwick, research associate at UM-Missoula, will
direct Montana's new center.
"This
center is an important development for Montana," Murphy-Southwick
said. "It's an opportunity for UM, MSU and Rocky Mountain
College to combine their specialized resources in health
care training to address a serious health need. The center
will help health care professionals develop or upgrade their
skills in geriatrics, and provide them with the latest information
in health care delivery for the elderly."
For
more information, call Murphy-Southwick at (406) 243-2453.
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