August 17, 2015
Riverside County
NEWS RELEASE
UCLA partners with Riverside County DPSS for federal grant award to improve care for older adults
Riverside- Riverside County Department of Public Social Services has been invited to participate in a collaborative effort to improve education and training programs for geriatric care across the region. Funding has been provided through an $850,000 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant awarded to University of California, Los Angeles.
Under the grant award, UCLA will partner with DPSS and Riverside County Regional Medical Center, as well as an educational collaborative that includes University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine, California Baptist University School of Nursing, and Riverside City College School of Nursing. Called the Program for Improving Care of Aging Adults through Training and Education, or PICATE, will also establish a program to address the needs of people with dementia.
DPSS Adult Services Assistant Director Lisa Shiner was selected as a co-project director to lead the effort to enhance community-based services in Riverside County. “This will allow Adult Services and health professionals in Riverside County to identify specific geriatric education and training to meet the needs of our growing older population,” Shiner said.
California has the largest number of older adults of any state. Riverside County’s aging population is growing at a rate that outpaces that of the state average. The 2010 U.S. Census showed that 357,560 adults over 60 are living in the county and that the age group over 85 is growing at the fastest rate.
An important component of the project is the training and curriculum development in geriatric care for medical students and professionals such as social workers. Specifically, Adult Services which encompasses the In Home Supportive Services program (IHSS) will work with the collaborative on indicators that suggest the presence of dementia.
The award is part of more than $35 million in federal funds that will be distributed to organizations nationwide by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support quality care for older Americans.
UCLA Geriatric care grant media release:
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