Reminder: Register to Vote with Absentee Ballot!
This year's national Election Day (Nov. 7, 2006) falls during the APHA Annual Meeting in Boston. Make your voice heard in the ballot box by registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot before your state deadline! Click here for more information: https://ssl.capwiz.com/apha/e4/.
New Grants Target Allied Health Professionals/Nurses as Front Line in Treating Emotional Illness among Older Adults
While the majority of seniors are emotionally stable, mood disorders (depression and anxiety) are common problems among what soon will be a rapidly growing older population. The Retirement Research Foundation, a private, independent philanthropy dedicated to improving the quality of life of older adults, recently made two grants available to help increase the number of practicing home care professionals equipped to help depressed or anxious seniors.
The two grants, totaling $523,323, were issued in May of 2006. The grants went to Sara Honn Qualls, PhD, at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Peter Lichtenberg, PhD, at Wayne State University. Each will work collaboratively with experts in geriatric nursing, occupational and physical therapy, as well as with geriatric social workers and psychiatrists. Qualls and Lichtenberg are both leaders in the geriatrics section of the American Psychological Association; each has had extensive experience developing training programs on geriatric mental health for professionals that frequently work with older adults.
Each project will teach trainees how to: (1) identify and screen older adults in their care who show signs of mood disorder; (2) talk with clients to educate them about the treatability of their conditions; (3) encourage and enable clients to arrange for help; (4) use their own professional skills where possible to facilitate improvement in patients’ emotional health; and (5) track changes in mood and help seeking among older clients in their care. Once formally trained, the therapists and nurses will have access to geriatric mental health professionals for case-based consultations to solidify learning and to maximize outcomes for patients. Impact of the training on patients and on trainees will be studied using a quasi-experimental research design. If results are positive, training materials will be disseminated through the national and state associations of nurses, occupational and physical therapists. Certification and continuing education credits will be provided. Plans call for using webcasts, teleconferences, CDs/DVDs, and other approaches as cost-effective ways to reach large numbers of trainees.
For further information, please contact: Nancy Zweibel, PhD, senior program officer at The Retirement Research Foundation, at (773) 714-8080, or via e-mail at zweibel@rrf.org.
APHA 2006 Annual Meeting -- Election Night Cocktail Party
You're invited to an Election Cocktail Night Party co-hosted by the Action Board & Student Assembly. Cast your vote for public health and then come watch the election night returns with your fellow public health advocates! Featuring a cash bar with election-night-themed drinks, TV's to watch election night results and analysis, Election charts and info, APHA voting records, Information about APHA advocacy... and much more! Please join us and REMEMBER TO VOTE BEFORE YOU COME TO THE ANNUAL MEETING!
Tuesday, Nov. 7 , 7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Boston, Lobby Bar and Lounge, One Avenue De Lafayette, (A short walk from the Downtown Crossing T stop).
APHA 2006 Annual Meeting – GH Section Award Reception Auction
The GH Section will be having an Auction and Raffle on Monday, Nov. 6, @ 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the GH Section Award Reception. Auction items will include art glass, art pottery, sterling silver jewelry and flatware, JFK memorabilia, quilts, paintings and prints, wine and wine glassware, Boston restaurant vouchers, Victorian leaded glass lamps, and many other collectibles suitable for gifts or keepsakes. American names include Tiffany, Gorham, and Steuben ,and other countries of origin include the Czech Republic, Sweden, England and Mexico. Periods include Victorian, Art Deco and Modern. We will have about 65 Auction items (both Silent and Live) and 100 Raffle items. Celebrity Auctioneers include the President-elect of APHA, Deborah Walker. Brenda Wamsley is auction director and Larry Branch is raffle master.
Please plan to attend and have fun. There will be something for everyone. All proceeds benefit the endowments of the GH Section Minority, Rural, New Investigator, and Leadership Awards. We are still looking for donations for the event. If you have something to donate, please contact Gerry Eggert at GMEggert@AOL.Com. APHA will give you letter for the IRS for any and all donations.
International Network of Integrated Care Conference
The 7th Annual Conference of the International Network of Integrated Care will be held in London, UK, on Nov. 29 & 30, 2006. For more information, please visit http://www.ukhcc.com/ or e-mail enquiries@ukhcc.com.
GSA Pre-Conference on Scientific and Professional Writing
The NIA-supported Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research are conducting a GSA preconference on Nov.16, 2006 in Dallas. The topic will be on Writing Skills for Junior Faculty in Minority Aging Research. The pre-conference involves both lectures on key issues in effective writing as well as small workgroup sessions that review each participant's writing samples. For more information go to: http://www.rcmar.ucla.edu/view_event.php?event_index=409.
GHS Past-Chair Becomes a Dean
Connie Evashwick, an active GHS Section member and past Section chair became dean of the St. Louis University School of Public Health this summer. For more information see http://www.slu.edu/colleges/sph/slusph/deansearch.htm.
2004 National Nursing Home Survey Files Released
The Division of Health Care Statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics has just released the public-use files for the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. These files can be used by researchers and the public for benchmarking and to study the characteristics and services of nursing homes, their residents, and a 2004 supplemental survey on nursing students. For more information, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nnhs.htm.