The California Geriatric Education Center (CGEC) based at the UCLA Multicampus Program in Gerontology and Geriatrics, is funded by the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Under the direction of Janet C. Frank, DrPH, the CGEC has had continuous federal funding since 1987 until the one year federal hiatus in 2006. Currently funded since 2007, the CGEC offers both short and extended education and training opportunities for health professions faculty, practitioners, students and others to enhance the quality and availability of health care for older adults statewide. As required by HRSA, all CGEC education and training programs are interdisciplinary.

Consortium partners include UCLA, Western University of Health Sciences, Kern County Medical Center, California State University, Bakersfield; and the statewide association, California Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics (CCGG). Each educational partner offers training in geriatrics and gerontology in the fields of medicine (internal medicine, family practice, and preventive medicine), nursing, social work, dentistry, public health and pharmacy.

Planning activities are completed through statewide and regional planning groups assembled for their expertise and leadership in each of the following program areas:

• Practice Improvement Education Project
• Leadership and Management in Geriatrics (LMG) Conference
• California Geriatric Behavioral Health Workforce Coalition
• Dementia Education

Goals of the CGEC:

1. Prepare faculty members and other health educators to provide aging-related education and training experiences;
2. Train key health providers in educational and leadership positions in order to upgrade their skills in the care of older Californians; and
3. Provide technical assistance in the development, implementation, dissemination and evaluation of geriatric education and training at all levels of higher education, in, and among all health professions.