UCLA doctors were awarded a three-year, $2.5 million grant last month to launch a new geriatric care and training program in conjunction with UC Riverside School of Medicine.
The grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration will fund the Program for Improving Care of Aging adults through Training and Education, or PICATE, a program created by UCLA Health’s geriatric medicine division. Geriatrics is the branch of science dedicated to health care of the elderly.
PICATE aims to train future generations of geriatric care specialists in Riverside County and surrounding counties by developing educational curricula for medical, nursing and social work students there. PICATE will also conduct research on the needs of people with dementia and injuries caused by falls.
Dementia refers to the spectrum of mental diseases characterized by debilitating symptoms such as memory loss, delusions and decreased motor control.
Dr. Zaldy Tan, an associate professor of geriatric medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and program director of PICATE, said in a press release he initially selected Riverside because there is a shortage of geriatrics specialists there, and the area has a rapidly growing, ethnically diverse elderly population.
He first visited Riverside hospitals and institutions in the summer of 2014 to assess the county’s priorities, needs and resources. Afterwards, the team submitted a competitive application to HRSA for the grant.
HRSA announced over $35 million in awards July 13 as part of its Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. This initiative focuses on training medical workers to improve health care for older adults, according to HRSA’s website.
Tan’s team will make regular trips to Riverside to train students, health professionals and unpaid caregivers in quality geriatric care, he said. The team will collaborate with the UC Riverside School of Medicine, Riverside County Regional Medical Center and the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services.
Tan said he wants to bring the team’s findings in clinical education and research back to Los Angeles. After three years, he expects to seek long-term funding to sustain successful aspects of the program.
Compiled by Allison Ong, Bruin contributor.