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For a complete list of past issues of Ripples, please click here.
Ripples
The E-Newsletter of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI)
Volume 8 Issue 4
April 22, 2009
Upcoming Deadlines
- Gero-Ed Center Rosen Panel Nominations: May 1
- Pre-Dissertation Award Program: Because of the severe economic downturn the Pre-Dissertation Award component of the Hartford Doctoral Fellows program is being suspended. As a result, we will not be accepting applications this May as there will not be any Pre-Dissertation Awards made in 2009. However, the dissertation grant support component of the Hartford Doctoral Fellows program is able to support 7 Doctoral Fellows for Cohort IX (selected in 2009). Thus we welcome applications for that component of the Hartford Doctoral Fellow which are due August 1, 2009.
In this Issue…
Announcements
Research & News
Funding Opportunities
Resources
Policy
Congratulations to the following…
- Sudershan Pasupuleti, University of Toledo, Hartford Faculty Scholar Cohort IX, for being accepted to present his research at the World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics to be held in Paris July 5-9, 2009. Sudi’s poster presentation, entitled “Cognitive Enhancement Among Older Adults: An Integrated Approach” will be published in the supplement abstract book of the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thanks for Taking Part in the Ripples Survey
We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Ripples survey; your feedback was greatly appreciated! Look for new story features, sections and design formats coming soon!
Transforming Social Work Education: The First Decade of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative, edited by Nancy Hooyman.
Celebrating a decade of funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation, each chapter of this book highlights various aspects of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI), including competency-based education, faculty and doctoral student scholarly development, models for curricular and organizational change, community partnerships, and strategies for sustainability. The book is available through the CSWE Press Bookstore .
John A. Hartford Foundation Launches Health AGEnda Blog
The John A. Hartford Foundation launched its new blog, Health AGEnda, in March. The purpose of the blog is to share Foundation perspectives and stimulate discussion of the important health and aging issues of today, create another avenue of communication with grantees, and inform those in the health arena outside of aging about the issues that the Hartford Foundation cares so deeply about. Take at look at: www.jhartfound.org/blog .
Rosen Panel Nominations Due May 1
There are still 10 days left to nominate a social work program for the Anita Rosen Panel Session for Best Practices in Gerontological Infusion! This new event will take place at CSWE’s 2009 APM in San Antonio. Three BSW, MSW, or joint BSW/MSW programs, each represented by one faculty member and one student, will be selected to present and discuss their exemplary curricular changes at the Rosen Panel. Each panel participant will receive a conference attendance stipend of $500 to participate in the panel. The three selected social work programs will also receive a Best Practices Award from the CSWE Gero-Ed Center . To nominate a program for the Rosen Panel, click here .
Older Americans Month 2009: “Living Today For a Better Tomorrow”
May is Older Americans Month which brings attention to the issues that affect older adults and creates community-wide opportunities to help older Americans improve their quality of life. This year’s theme is “Living Today For a Better Tomorrow,” which reflects the U.S Administration on Aging’s continued focus on prevention efforts and programs throughout the country that are helping older adults have better health as they age and avoid the risks of chronic disease, disability and injury. Contact your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and volunteer for activities in your area, promote community, state, and national efforts to serve older adults; and find ways to enrich the lives of older adults who touch your life.
AARP Diversity and Aging Conference
AARP presents the Diversity and Aging in the 21st Century Conference to be held June 8-10, 2009 in Chicago, IL. The conference is designed to address the challenges faced by diverse populations as they age and will also address how two growing trends – diversity and aging – impact the marketplace and the workplace. For more information, visit www.aarp.org/diversityandaging .
New Profiles in Social Work: Harriet Cohen, PhD, LCSW
Check out this month’s profiles in social work, featuring Harriet Cohen, PhD, LCSW. Profiles in social work is dedicated to highlighting social workers who have benefited from Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative programs. To read this month’s profile, click here .
RESEARCH & NEWS
Study Examines Functional Decline in Older Adults
Motivation and expectation may be factors in helping older adults regain lost functional ability after hospitalization, say researchers with the Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The study, published in the March 2009 issue of The Annals of Medicine, found that patients hospitalized for surgery returned to normal baseline function more quickly and more completely than did patients hospitalized for illness. A full text version of this article is available (for a fee) by visiting http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/150/6/372 .
Cancer Care for the Elderly
A recent article in the New York Times highlights a major dilemma facing many in the healthcare field - whether or not to support either a wait-and-watch approach or an aggressive approach to treating cancer in the elderly. To read the article, click here .
SilverRide Wins Aging Society of America’s Business of the Year Award
SilverRide, LLC., a San Francisco based transportation agency for seniors, was recognized recently at the 20th Annual ASA/BFA Business and Aging Awards at the 2009 Aging in America Conference in Las Vegas, NV on March 19, 2009. The award recognizes small businesses for their originality, innovation, and effectiveness in meeting the needs of seniors. SilverRide joins an esteemed roster of previous winners including Jitterbug, Posit Science, Johnson & Johnson and CVS/pharmacy. For more information, visit www.silverride.com .
Physical and Occupational Therapy Extends Seniors Lives, Study Finds
In a study published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers at the Jefferson Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health (CARAH) at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia reported that programs which provide occupational and physical therapy, as well as some minor home modifications, can help older people live longer. "This is an extremely promising intervention," said study author Laura Gitlin, director at CARAH and a professor in the department of Occupational Therapy at the university. People receiving the intervention added 3.5 years to their lifespan, compared to the control group, the study found. The findings are from a follow-up study of Project ABLE (Advancing Better Living for Elders), a home-based program for urban community-dwelling older adults. For more information, visit: http://www.jefferson.edu/jchp/carah/ .
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Basic and Translational Research in Emotion
The Department of Health and Human Services along with The National Institutes of Health and its National Institute on Aging, are accepting grant applications to expand basic and translational research on the processes and mechanisms involved in the experience, expression, and regulation of emotion. To learn more about this R01 funding opportunity announcement, click here.
Quality of Life for Rural Seniors
The Cooperative Development Foundation is accepting applications for cooperative development initiatives that will enhance the quality of life of seniors living in rural America. Any cooperative or cooperative-related organization may apply. Individuals may apply for a scholarship grant to fund training in cooperative education related to the focus of the fund. The deadline for 2009 applications is July 24, 2009. Information on eligibility and grant guidelines, as well as the application, is available at www.cdf.coop.
NIH Lists FOAs via Twitter, XML Feed
Funding opportunity announcements (FOA) from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are now available via the social networking tool Twitter and an XML feed that updates nightly to reflect the latest information on active listings. Twitter allows NIH to post links to Funding Opportunity Announcements in a format no longer than a text message. Visit http://twitter.com/NIHforFunding for complete details. General NIH health news is also available at http://twitter.com/NIHforHealth. The XML feed provides institutional information systems with a comprehensive list of all active FOAs and can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/web_services/xml/NIH_All_Active_FOAs.xml.
RESOURCES
State’s Long-term Care Profiles from AARP
The AARP Public Policy Institute just released the eighth edition of Across the States: Profiles of Long-Term Care and Independent Living. This reference contains comparable state-level and national data on long-term care systems and the older population in a single convenient source. The authors use data, graphs, charts, and maps to provide important facts about independent living and long-term care in every state and the nation as a whole. You can easily see how your state compares to others using state rankings and the national average for each indicator. More information is available at http://www.aarp.org/acrossthestates.
Book Offers a New Perspective on Elderhood
Audacious Aging, edited by Stephanie Marohn, brings together voices from medicine, psychology, business, government, the media, and entertainment, to present a thought-provoking anthology that shares their personal stories of aging and audaciousness, how their work contributes to their ability to be audacious in life, and their views of aging. For information, visit http://www.audaciousaging.com/index.htm.
Online Courses in Aging
The CoHealth website offers specialized courses on behavioral health approaches, insights, and principles in the delivery of health care for older adults. The courses may be useful resources for both professionals and consumers involved in long-term care issues. For more details, visit: http://www.cohealth.org/.
POLICY
Recovery Act Funding to Provide Approximately 14 Million Meals through Senior Nutrition Programs
On March 18, 2009, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would be awarding $100 million in Recovery Act funding to provide meals to tens of thousands of low-income older Americans in need. The funding is expected to provide nearly 14 million meals nationwide. The Recovery Act provides $65 million for congregate nutrition services provided at senior centers and other community sites, $32 million for home delivered nutrition services delivered to frail elders at home and $3 million for Native American nutrition programs. The funding has been awarded to 56 states and territories and 246 tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. For more information about senior nutrition programs and to see a state-by-state breakdown of funding for senior nutrition programs, visit http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/aoa/arra.html/.
Congress Passes Key Legislation Expanding VolunteerismThe bipartisan passage of two key bills: S.277, the Serve America Act, and H.R. 1388, Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act, will help strengthen the national service programs and increase levels of volunteerism for Americans of all ages and at every stage of life. Both bills reauthorize the National and Community Service Act, strengthening and expanding the national service programs (including Senior Corps), stimulating community volunteerism, and increasing accountability. Additional incentives such as the Silver Scholarship and Encore Fellowship program are also provided in the legislation to tap the talent of retiring Baby Boomers for service. President Obama recently signed the Serve America Act on April 21, 2009 and the GIVE Act is currently awaiting votes in the Senate.
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Ripples, an e-newsletter designed to keep interested deans and directors, faculty members, students, practitioners and others informed about the work of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI). We welcome your feedback and encourage you to contribute any story ideas, stories, resources, news and other content to subsequent issues of the newsletter. To make a contribution, please contact Katherine Carter, Program Coordinator at kcarter@geron.org. If you have been forwarded this newsletter by a colleague and would like to subscribe, please reply to this e-mail and type the word “subscribe” in the subject line. Please be sure to visit our website at www.gswi.org. This newsletter has been sent from The Gerontological Society of America, 1220 L Street, NW, Suite 901, Washington, DC 20005-4018. To unsubscribe to Ripples, click here and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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