(Formerly the Geriatric Practicum Partnership Program)

A program funded by the John Hartford Foundation in New York, in partnership with the Social Work Leadership Institute and the New York Academy of Medicine

Upcoming Events

Monday, May 7, 2012: Registration is now open for the Seventh Annual University of Maine Clinical Geriatrics Colloquium: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Older Adults - Click here to learn more.

Friday, March 23, 2012: HPPAE Consortium presentation: Assessment of Patient Safety. Click here to learn more.

Friday, March 30, 2012: HPPAE presentation: "Learning by Living at a Maine Nursing Home". Click here to learn more.

Project Staff

Lenard Kaye, DSW/Ph.D.

Project Director

Email: len.kaye@umit.maine.edu

Nancy Kelly, MSW

Project Co-Director

Email: nakelly@maine.edu

Deirdre Boylan, LCSW

Project Coordinator

Email: deirdre.boylan@umit.maine.edu

What is a Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education?

Click here to view the HPPAE Program Flyer

The goal of the program is to increase the number of students who specialize in working with older adults by developing aging–rich field internships in graduate social work education programs. Ultimately, the goal is to increase the number of social workers to be leaders in the field of aging.

The program is founded on the belief that the practice community must, of necessity, respond to changing needs in the community more quickly than academia. Therefore, to educate students effectively, both the community agencies and practitioners and academe must work together as educational partners. The benefits of a university-community partnership will have a transforming effect on social work education in geriatrics.

The primary intended outcomes of the PPP model are:

• Creation and implementation of an excellent field education program for graduate social work students specializing in aging.

• Increased interest in aging as a field of practice among students, due to the intensive effort of faculty, increased presence of practitioners in the universities, collaboration and openness of agencies.

• An increased cadre of well-qualified geriatric social workers available to work in the community.

The PPP model allows MSW programs to tailor their approach to educating students according to the needs, philosophy, and characteristics of their school. The PPP model was developed and refined through 6 demonstration programs (comprising 11 MSW programs) over a four-year period (1999-2003) and has now successfully educated over 400 students, most of whom are remained employed in the social work aging field.

Our Rotation Model (PowerPoint)

The program was initiated in Maine in 2005 by a three-year grant from the John Hartford Foundation in New York, under the New York Academy of Medicine. The Center on Aging grant was one of only 10 awarded throughout the country during round one of the grant. An additional 47 programs received funding over the next two years. Faculty from all of these schools are now working with non-funded MSW programs around the country to facilitate their development of a HPPAE model of aging education.

Student Learning

HPPAE MSW students are assigned to a primary practicum where they spend two days/week for the academic year working with older adults or issues facing older adults. These may be in clinical or macro settings. In addition, the students spend up to an additional day each week rotating among as many as 12 agencies or programs serving older adults. Rotation schedules are tailored to the individual student’s learning needs as they relate to geriatric social work competencies. These rotations expose the students to a wide variety of issues affecting older adults in areas such as legal, mental health, planning and advocacy, wellness and health promotion. During the course of the year, students also attend seminar discussions and workshops run by professionals in the field of geriatrics. Students are selected through an application and interview process.

Current HPPAE Students with Coordinator Deirdre Boylan. Left to right: (front row) Hugh Kelly, Holly Dusenberry, Pamela Baker, Mia Noyes, Reba Parla, and Lindsay Day; (back row) Richard Lenfest, Deirdre Boylan (HPPAE Coordinator), Sharon Carroll, and Michael Augustine.

2011 HPPAE/Certificate Program graduates at the University of Maine School of Social Work Recognition Banquet on April 27, 2011. From the left - Lenard Kaye (HPPAE and Certificate Program Director), Lisa Przybylski, Courtney Mishou, Brandy Gebo, Amanda Chamberlain, Alison Ashley, Robert Jones,  Meredith Wurpel, and Marjie Harris (HPPAE Program Coordinator).

A recent HPPAE consortium meeting.

Consortium Development and Educational Consortia Events

An important component of the HPPAE model involved the development of a consortium comprised of agency representatives serving older adults around the state. Representatives from the consortium agencies, in addition to serving as mentors to our students through practica and rotations, participate in quarterly educational and networking events and yearly colloquia. Their input is solicited in helping to continue to expand and evaluate our aging educational program. This university-community partnership is critical as we strive to recruit and train social workers to work with the rapidly increasing populations of older adults in our country.

The 2011-2012 co-chairs of the HPPAE Consortium are:

Dyan Walsh, MSW

Director of Community Services

Eastern Area Agency on Aging

Mary Kellogg, MSW, JD, LMSW

Law Clerk to the Associate Justice, Honorable Warren M. Silver

Maine Supreme Judicial Court

Jaime Boyington, MSW, LCSW

Clinical Social Worker, Mental Health Counselor

Northeast Geriatrics Integration Program

Acadia Hospital

Annual University of Maine Clinical Geriatrics Colloquium

HPPAE also co-sponsors, in partnership with the University of Maine School of Social Work and the University of Maine Center on Aging, the annual University of Maine Clinical Geriatrics Colloquium. The Colloquium, held in the late winter/early spring each year, focuses on a major topic impacting services to older adults and a broad range of gerontological practitioners in the community. It is intended for social workers, counselors, nurses, physicians, psychologists, and other professionals working in the field of aging.

The Seventh Annual University of Maine Clinical Geriatrics Colloquium will address "Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Older Adults." Located at the Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center in Northport, ME, it will be held on Monday, May 7, 2012. For registration information please click here.

View our Featured Consortium Member Webpage

Contact Information

For more information about our program e-mail hppae@mainecenteronaging.org or call Deirdre Boylan, HPPAE Project Coordinator at 207-322-3319.