Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

52 Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness
n Ohio Valley/Appalachia GEC: Develop Internet GEPR database,
create curriculum training modules, conduct community focus
groups, and provide interdisciplinary distance and traditional learning
opportunities ( Johnson et al., 2006)
n Gateway GEC of Missouri and Illinois: Provide interdisciplinary
modules to train health care providers to care for frail older
people in emergencies
n Texas Consortium of GECs: Develop consensus on what needs to
be taught to front-line health care workers regarding bioterrorism
and aging and conduct continuing education programs
n Stanford GEC: Provide ethnogeriatric training on mental health
aspects and special needs of older ethnic minorities with diabetes
and sensory impairment
Developing Consensus
In January 2004, a few months after the HRSA funding was granted, a
Consensus Conference was convened by the Miami Area GEC. The 2-day
conference, attended by representatives from the six funded GECs, resulted
in an outline of a White Paper on Bioterrorism and Emergency
Preparedness and the focus of the national GEPR curriculum. The Consensus
Conference participants identified the necessary information that
interdisciplinary health care providers needed to know about bioterrorism
and emergency preparedness, which included the following: (1) knowledge
of potential threats for older persons and how they may respond differently
in a disaster; (2) basic geriatric considerations, such as the unique
needs of older persons and common mental health problems; (3) identifying
and mobilizing resources, such as coordination between community
and health care organizations, including family and friends; (4) communications,
such as communicating with non-English-speaking older persons
and those with sensory impairments; (5) mental health issues, such
as identifying risk factors, knowledge of referral systems, screening and
treatment methods, and self-care; (6) ethics, such as the role of ageism
and other discriminatory practices, triage, abuse, and neglect; and (7) ethnicity,
including special considerations related to ethnicity, race, and class.
The group also discussed the most effective means of developing training
materials and disseminating those materials for maximum impact. It was
decided that the GEPR Collaborative should present at national and regional
meetings, publish in various venues, conduct continuing education
sessions, partner with groups such as the AARP, and integrate material