About H-GEC
The Houston Geriatric Education Center (H-GEC) is funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services. The grant was initially funded in 2007 with renewed funding for five years beginning in 2010. (Grant #UB4HP19058).
The H-GEC has established a collaborative partnership in geriatric education and training with faculty in:
- UTHealth Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Public Health, and Biomedical Informatics
- Schools of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University
- Schools of Pharmacy, Social Work, Optometry, and Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Houston
The interdisciplinary faculty designs and develops curriculum and educates healthcare students, providers, and faculty and community service providers, such as adult protection staff, local police and sheriff departments, financial planners, elder law attorneys, and voluntary ombudsmen, on the care of vulnerable elders.
Education and training opportunities are offered through:
- Intensive certificate programs in geriatrics and gerontology for interdisciplinary healthcare providers
- A faculty development course for Houston Community College faculty who teach in healthcare programs
- Programs in palliative and end of life care for teams of interdisciplinary healthcare providers in acute care settings
- Short courses and trainings for healthcare providers, students and faculty and community service providers
- An annual student competition in which interdisciplinary teams of students from 9 different healthcare disciplines assess frail elders in community settings
Education and training topics may include:
- Basic care of frail elders
- Memory issues
- Dementia
- Mental health and behavior management
- Caregiver issues
- Oral health
- Medical management
- Ethics
- Elder abuse and mistreatment
- Disaster preparedness
Faculty and Staff
University of Houston, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
University of Houston, School of Optometry
UTHealth
Organizational Learning Technology Resources
Administrative Director
UTHealth Consortium on Aging
Research Assistant
UTHealth School of Nursing
Research Nurse
UTHealth School of Nursing
H-GEC Community Partners
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
TEAM (Texas Elder Abuse and Mistreatment) Institute
Harris County Medical Examiners Office and EFFORT (Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team)
Houston Financial Abuse Specialist Team (H-FAST)
Long Term Care Ombudsman Program