Old Westbury, NY – A federal agency has awarded New York Institute of Technology a $500,000 grant to create a curriculum focused on educating health professionals in geriatric care.

The School of Health Profession's Department of Nursing will use the three-year Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to develop and deliver courses that improve the expertise of nurses and other healthcare workers who treat elderly adults.

"This grant identifies the NYIT nursing program as a leader in the field and also recognizes the importance of addressing the needs of the aging population both in the United States and globally," said School of Health Professions Dean Patricia Chute, Ph.D. "The educational outreach supported by this grant will provide opportunities for more nursing professionals to become teacher-learners in the challenges that face the growing number of geriatric Americans. The result will be a better informed workforce that will deliver quality care."

Long Island's geriatric population is growing at a faster pace than the national rate, according to the nursing department, citing federal census figures. The grant proposal also noted local disparities in healthcare care access and challenges facing seniors as they age in the suburbs.

In approving the grant, HRSA noted several strengths of NYIT's proposal, including a "classrooms on the go" concept in the second year that will allow course participants, including nurses, medical technicians, and other professionals, to take courses in the geriatric curriculum at their job sites or community locations rather than on campus.

The curriculum will include core courses in gerontology, care strategies, and ethical issues involving nursing care for the aging population.

In the third year of the grant, the Department of Nursing will work with NYIT's Center for Gerontology and Geriatrics to broaden the course delivery to other healthcare professionals and students in NYIT programs of osteopathic medicine, physician assistant studies, occupational and physical therapy, mental health counseling, and clinical nutrition.

"We're going to be able to provide focused education related to caring for older adults to help them remain healthy and functional," said Susan Neville, Ph.D., chair of the nursing department. "We're offering professionals the opportunity to become educated in best practices in gerontology and care."

Chute praised Neville and Assistant Professor Maureen Cardoza for "their vision and scholarship" in developing the department's first proposal to HRSA following the department's accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education in 2010.

Last year, HRSA awarded NYIT's College of Osteopathic Medicine a $1 million grant to train family medical physicians and NYIT medical faculty in geriatric care.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

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