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Spotlight on Innovation: Geriatric Practice Leadership Institute

In this feature, n4a will highlight the cutting-edge programs and successful strategies of our 2017 Aging Innovation Award Winners. This week we shine a spotlight on United Way's Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County, winner in the You Name It category.

During n4a's 2017 Annual Conference and Tradeshow, the top four highest-scoring Innovations winners won cash awards thanks to the generous support of AIA sponsor WellCare Health Plans. As one of three agencies tied for second place, the Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County received a check for $1,000.

The Geriatric Practice Leadership Institute (GPLI) was created to prepare the geriatric workforce for carefully managing the health care needs of a rapidly increasing older adult population. The AAA partnered with the University of North Texas Health Science Center's Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program and Texas Christian University's Nursing and Business schools to develop GPLI.

GPLI has six teams of 27 health care professionals enrolled in the institute. Most participants have backgrounds in nursing, social work and administration professions. The ten-month training curriculum includes three two-day sessions that focus on leadership skill development, the Aging Network, population health and organizational change. Each interprofessional team develops a geriatrics-related quality improvement project. 

One such project by the John Peter Smith Health Network (JPS) involves increasing access and the use of community resources by integrating evidence-based clinical decision support tools and referral protocols into EPIC electronic health records. Since January 2017, more than 20 clients have completed the assessment and have been referred to community resources. Once fully implemented, the JPS team project can be used as a model for integrating medical and social needs into electronic health records.

For its second cohort, the program recently recruited 25 participants from six different organizations who have unique projects related to mental health, expanded services, advanced directive education and more for their geriatric populations.


To learn more about this year's winners, be sure to read our press release and check out our book of winners!

Contributors

Contributors

Please read this special message from USAging CEO Sandy Markwood regarding the hurricane devastation affecting our Area Agencies on Aging in the Southeast U.S.