Grant to be used to further train health care professionals in geriatrics

The University of Nevada School of Medicine's Diane Chau, M.D., recently earned a grant for $2.97 million over five years from the Health Resources & Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to provide faculty training in geriatric medicine, dentistry and mental health at the School of Medicine and the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine.

The purpose of the grant is to train faculty and health care providers to address the critical health care workforce shortage in Nevada.

"This grant puts the rapidly growing Division of Geriatric Medicine on the national radar of other stellar programs in aging," said Chau, an assistant professor of internal medicine and program director for the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. "The aging population is growing exponentially and our aging programs must grow exponentially as well to match the demand. I am looking forward to building a cadre of academic clinical faculty as we continue to grow geriatric programs for Nevada."

According to the grant abstract, faculty participants will receive geriatrics education through a comprehensive, evidence-based curriculum incorporating geriatric care, interdisciplinary teams training, teaching evidence-based best practices, acquiring administrative skills and research training. Program graduates will receive substantial training working in medically underserved communities and will gain the required cultural and linguistic competence to serve those communities.

For the past four years, Chau has worked to develop nationally accredited education training programs in geriatrics, hospice and palliative medicine for the School of Medicine.