Delaware State University has partnered with Education, Health and Research International, Inc. (EHRI) in connection with the award of a five-year $5 million grant to support an education initiative to increase the expertise capability of the geriatric healthcare workforce in rural Kent and Sussex counties in the First State.
The partnership was announced during a July 26 media event at the Milford Wellness Village in Milford, Del.
Through the grant awarded to DSU’s Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program will be established in connection with EHRI. This initiative will develop and facilitate a training curriculum enabling healthcare workers to employ best practices, particularly as it relates to caring for senior citizens in various stages of dementia and other late-life diseases.
“This initiative reflects Delaware State University’s determination to not only serve its traditional degree-seeking constituencies but also positively impact that quality of life in the communities of the First State and beyond,” said DSU President Tony Allen. “This partnership with Education, Health and Research International, Inc. expands Delaware State University’s outreach and impact into the Geriatric Health arena by promoting improved competent care for Delaware’s growing senior citizens population.”
“It’s no secret that Delaware has a large senior population – after all, it’s a great place to retire,” said Delaware U.S. Senator Tom Carper. “But we are woefully behind in our workforce in taking care of them. That’s where DSU and Milford Wellness Center and all levels of government are coming together to address this problem. Today’s $5 million grant is where the federal government comes in, giving a shot in the arm to a program to train healthcare workers to work with the elderly. This will help us meet the need for decades to come.”
The training program will be conducted at the Milford Wellness Village, a health complex in Milford, Del., where EHRI is based and supports. The Milford Wellness Village is comprised of several healthcare clinics and facilities with personnel that will gain new knowledge and develop more significant expertise from this initiative.
This grant-funded program will also provide training and internship opportunities for DSU students in its Nursing and Social Work programs. In addition to providing new training to existing healthcare workers, the program will strive to increase the number of competent professionals who care for senior citizens.
“I am very excited about this partnership and opportunity to enhance the geriatric-serving workforce here in the State of Delaware,” said Dr. Gwen Scott-Jones, Dean of the DSU Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences and DSU School of Graduate, Adult and Extended Studies. “A program of this nature demonstrates forward thinking and impact as we enhance how we care for our older adults in their golden years.
“Partnering with like-minded organizations and institutions has been the foundation and the success of the Milford Wellness Village,” said Meir Gelley, CEO of Nationwide Healthcare Services and owner and operator of the Milford Wellness Village. “ERHI has been at the center of these collaborations, delivering health and wellness initiatives to benefit Milford and the residents of southern Delaware. We are proud to partner with Delaware State University and provide even more services for older adults through educational training and workforce development.”
The Geriatric Workforce Education Program will cultivate strong relationships between DSU, EHRI, primary care entities, and community organizations. Those strong ties will facilitate the sharing of knowledge relating to the latest innovative approaches to understanding and treating dementia-related disorders and other neurocognitive disorders that older adults may experience.
The DSU-EHRI partnership started on July 1, 2024. Clinical placements for nursing and social work students will begin during the fall 2024 semester as part of the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program.
About Education Health and Research International, Inc. (EHRI)
Education, Health and Research International, Inc., is a community-driven incubator focusing on health and education research that improves the health and well-being of older adults and challenged populations. It provides new and improved services by learning, piloting, and disseminating best practices across education and healthcare sectors.
About Delaware State University
Delaware State University is the nation’s #3 public Historically Black College/University (US News & World Report) with a 133-year history of providing a high-quality, low-cost education for ALL. The University is the nation’s #1 provider of professional pilots of color and Delaware’s #1 provider of nurses, teachers, social workers, and accountants of color. Expanding its footprint throughout the state, the University completed the historic acquisition of Wesley College in downtown Dover in 2021. For more information, visit https://www.desu.edu/.
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(Seated l-r) Dr. Kemi Ogunwusi of the Milford Wellness Village (MWV); and DSU’s Dr. Gwen Scott-Jones, Dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, signed the partnership agreement between Delaware State University and Education, Health and Research International, Inc. (EHRI) Standing (l-r) Rabbi Y. Halberstam, EHRI Director of Public Affairs; Meir Gelley, President of Nationwide Healthcare Services; U.S. Tom Carper, and DSU President Tony Allen. Dr. Kemi, Director of MWV’s We Care Services, is also a 2012 DSU graduate.
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