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Kristina Hash West Virginia University. Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education: Flexible and Adaptable Field Education Model. Saturday October 29, 2011 8:00 am – 9:30 am. Small Towns and Rural Areas. West Virginia 2 nd oldest state Very rural. Division of Social Work
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Kristina Hash West Virginia University Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education: Flexible and Adaptable Field Education Model Saturday October 29, 2011 8:00 am – 9:30 am
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas West Virginia • 2nd oldest state • Very rural Division of Social Work • BSW & MSW • FT & PT MSW • 5 locations • Rural focus Context
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas Rural Focus Special focus on small towns and rural communities Word of caution “If you have seen 1 rural area, you have seen 1 rural area” -Chuck Fluharty (RPRI)
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas • Rural Focus • Challenges facing rural elders • poverty • limited access to health and human services • geographic isolation and limited transportation • high proportion of chronic illnesses and disability • poor quality housing
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas • Rural Focus • Appalachian culture • self-reliance/distrust of the system • resilience • fatalism • kinship care • patriotism • folk medicine
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas • Mountain State Partnership Program • Focuses on training geriatric specialists in small towns and rural areas • rural geriatric competencies • rural rotations • gero certificate program with rural gero course • (www.socialwork.wvu.edu/certificates/) • Summer Institute on Aging course/conference (www.wvsioa.org)
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas Challenges geographic spread of the students and agencies limited # of placements and FIs with MSWs fewer large health care organizations/limited # of settings for internal rotations limited # of faculty working on the MSPP limited resources for stipends and other incentives
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas Opportunities small, tightly connected state/service community interdisciplinary connections (both academic and community) other gero projects/programs (started with HPPAE and led to BEL, CDI, GEC, & Gero Certificate Program)
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas Our best advice “Make gero a priority…build it and they will come”
www.socialworkleadership.org Small Towns and Rural Areas Questions