The Geriatrics Grant Oversight Team , from left , Professor Lisa Granville , M . D ., principal investigator ; Nicolette Cartagna , LMHC , MPH , CDP , NCF-GWEP community engagement and health systems manager ; Professor Paul Katz , M . D ., co-principal investigator ; and Tiffany Holcomb , MSW , GWEP coordinator . Not pictured , LaVon Goodwin , M . S . program manager .
• Enhanced longitudinal geriatrics training for physician assistant ( PA ) students , family medicine residents and post-doctoral psychology fellows during their formative training , to ensure they have the skills to help fill the gap of trained clinicians to care for geriatric patients over the continuum of care and respond accordingly .
The FSU College of Nursing is one of the partners in the project to train nurses . Assistant Dean Steven J . Palazzo , Ph . D ., agreed that Florida faces an urgent need for skilled geriatric care .
“ By integrating 4M ’ s geriatric training into Bachelor of Science Nursing programs , we can equip future nurses to provide high-quality , compassionate care to older adults ,” he said . “ A post-bachelorette certificate in geriatrics will further empower students with specialized skills , positioning them as leaders in transforming long-term care systems for seniors across the state .”
One of the community-based partners is PanCare of Florida , a non-profit with 16 Federally Qualified Health Center locations in North Florida , 12 of which are primary care medical clinics . The College of Medicine team will work with PanCare to transform its clinics into age-friendly sites , beginning with its largest clinic , located in Panama City , and eventually reaching all of them .
“ It ’ s really beyond training ,” said Nicolette Castagna , LMHC , MPH , CDP and NCF-GWEP community engagement and health systems manager within the Department of Geriatrics . “ We ’ re building relationships with their leadership and getting to know their providers and staff , and together we ’ re basically looking at what is the experience of the older patient . We ’ re helping their staff to see that a little more clearly .”
The work funded by the grant is being coordinated under the umbrella of Resources & Education for Aging , Community and Health ( REACH ). For more information , go to its website at reach . med . fsu . edu .
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