Welcome Message

After recent conversations with colleagues from across the United States, I have come to realize that WE HAIL is doing work that is truly unique and groundbreaking. Since July, WE HAIL has garnered the attention of the Hartford Foundation, National Association of Area Agencies on Aging and the American Society on Aging – all who have requested that we showcase our work on the national level. What sets us apart, it seems, is our significant integration of evidence-based programs and community services into medical care and health education - which is on display in every component of WE HAIL. It is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to work in partnership with such an elite group of individuals and organizations on this cutting edge endeavor.

Donald R. Smith

WE HAIL Primary Lead

Vice President, Community Development Division, United Way of Tarrant County

Director, Area Agency on Aging

QUARTERLY ROUND UP OCTOBER 2016

In This Issue

GPLI Kick-Off Welcomes Teams,

Coaches, Faculty

Testimony to the Texas Joint

Legislative Committee on Aging

Faculty Selected to Participate in

National Development

Opportunities

Innovation Highlight: Caregiver

Training

HRSA Update: Site Visit with

HRSA Project Officer

Announcements

Pictured: WE HAIL’s Geriatric Practice Leadership Institute kicks off

on September 23rd at TCU with remarks by Darrin D’Agostino, DO, MBA,

MPH, Associate Dean of UNTHSC Texas College of Osteopathic

Medicine.

WE HAIL Cultivates Leadership in Geriatrics Over fifty health professionals, faculty and coaches attended the Kick-off for the inaugural year of the Geriatric Practice Leadership Institute on September 23rd, 2016. Created in partnership with TCU Neeley’s Executive Edu-cation, the institute is an example of WE HAIL partners working together to provide opportunities for health profes-sionals to develop skills needed to take leadership roles in the emerging healthcare environments for older adults. This issue highlights other recent examples of WE HAIL leadership in geriatrics education.

HRSA GWEP WE HAIL Newsletter www.unthsc.edu/wehail

Geriatrics Practice Leadership Institute Kick-off welcomes teams, coaches and faculty Twenty-seven applicants were selected to

participate in the 2016-17 Geriatric Practice

Leadership Institute (GPLI) were met with great

excitement during the kick off session on

September 23rd. Representing the fields of

nursing, medicine, social work, pharmacy, phys-

ical and occupational therapy, management,

and community education, the first GPLI cohort

is a diverse group. Their training blends profes-

sional leadership development with knowledge

of broad themes in the fields of aging,

healthcare and population health.

Teams represent six organizations in North

Texas:

The Women’s Center

Brookdale Senior Living

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital of

Fort Worth & the City of Fort Worth

University of Texas Southwestern Medi-

cal Center

JPS Health Network

UNT Health Science Center

Team projects involve improving support for

caregivers, mitigating senior isolation, and

developing an electronic patient portal for older

adults. GPLI faculty represent TCU Harris

College of Nursing and Health Sciences, TCU

Neeley Executive Management, UNT Health

Science Center and United Way’s Area Agency

on Aging. Coaches are seasoned professionals

and faculty, and provide technical assistance to

teams as they work together to reach project

goals. The institute will culminate with an

abstract and poster presentation in Spring 2017.

Pictured, top to bottom: Tom Fairchild, PhD, engages

teams of health professionals. Don Smith, Director of

the Area Agency on Aging, helps GPLI teams

navigate the network of aging services. Coaches

orient to their GPLI roles with UNTHSC Office of

People Development’s Jessie Johnson.

“As a result of this session,

I intend to increase team

engagement and opportunities

for input from various team

members.” ~GPLI participant

Faculty Selected to Participate in National Development Opportunities to Focus on Patient and Population Health

Lesca Hadley, MD, Primary Lead for Innovation Team 2, was selected to participate in the National

Summit on Cognitive Impairment Detection and Earlier Diagnosis, hosted through the American Academy of

Family Physicians and Gerontological Society of America, in Alexandria, Virginia, August 2016. Dr. Hadley,

Assistant Professor at UNTHSC Center for Geriatrics and JPS Health Network’s Director of the Geriatrics

Fellowship, joined other multidisciplinary health professionals committed to improving health outcomes for

patients with dementia and their caregivers through more widespread use of cognitive assessment tools.

Through information shared at the summit, Dr. Hadley identified tools and best practices about early diagno-

sis and detection that can be utilized by the WE HAIL network.

Diane Hawley, PhD, RN, Associate Professor at TCU Harris College of Nursing and Co-Principal In-

vestigator for WE HAIL, was selected to participate in the Institute for Health Care Improvement’s training

program on Leadership and Organizing to Improve Population Health. Through the Fall 2016 semester, Dr.

Hawley will complete lessons on systems-thinking and “upstreamist” thinking with a network of students,

residents, faculty and health professionals from many disciplines and from many countries across the world.

Dr. Hawley connects to a global network of change agents in population health, and supports WE HAIL’s

strategic focus on population health.

Testimony to the Texas Joint Legislative Committee on Aging: Interprofessional Geriatric Education for the Future

Janice Knebl, DO, MBA, WE HAIL Principal

Investigator, provided testimony to the Joint

Legislative Committee on Aging about

geriatric education programs addressing the

critical need for geriatric training and continuing

education in Texas. The committee met to

explore geriatric training and opportunities to

promote collaborative and innovative aging

services across the state. Dr. Knebl’s testimo-

ny included WE HAIL projects and partnerships

as models for the state, but in need of contin-

ued financial support. Dr. Frank Filipetto

presented the testimony provided by Dr. Knebl.

The full video of the testimony can be viewed at

the Legislative Committee on Aging website at

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/avarchive/.

Pictured: Dr. Frank Filipetto presented testimony to the

Texas Senate’s Joint Legislative Committee on Aging on

Wednesday, October 12, 2016 in Austin, Texas.

Innovation Highlight: Caregiver Training through Innovation Team 4 WE HAIL Innovation Team 4 is developing and expanding training to support caregivers of persons with

Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. The Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County helps thou-

sands of older adults and their caregivers through FREE programs:

Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health (REACH II) is a six-month one-on-one edu-

cation and counseling program through the Alzheimer’s Association where caregivers learn how to

manage stress, enlist the help of others, and respond to troublesome behavior.

Stress Busting for Family Caregivers is a nine-week series of classes that provide caregivers with

information about relaxation techniques, problem solving, and taking care of themselves. Offered in a

variety of locations through James L. West Alzheimer's Center.

The Resource Guide for Caregivers, 2016-2017 provides contact information for a variety of

health sources. Caregivers can identify and contact local agencies that provide assistance with adult

day services, community resources, in-home services, legal and financial services, transportation, nutri-

tion, support groups, and other vital caregiving supports. Available online at http://adobe.ly/2eUaLjW

For more information, contact the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Tarrant County at

1-888-730-2372 or online at tarrantcountyadrc.org.

Texas Takes on Dementia Don Smith, Community Development Division

Vice President, Director of the United Way’s Area

Agency on Aging of Tarrant County (AAATC) and

Primary Lead for WE HAIL Innovation Team 4,

leads Tarrant County efforts for a new project in

building a dementia-capable, integrated system of

care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and

related dementias. Through this three year project

entitled “Texas Takes on Dementia”, United Way’s

AAATC partners with Texas Health and Human

Services, Houston’s Area Agency on Aging and

Neighborhood Centers, and health plans to in-

crease access and use of evidence-based practices

and programs. Local project partners include

UNTHSC’s WE HAIL Program, Alzheimer’s Associ-

ation, Molina Healthcare, UnitedHealthCare, and

JPS Health Network.

Caregiver Podcasts

Through the James L. West Alzheimer's Center,

the following podcasts offer free caregivers

training on the following topics:

“What’s Normal Aging and What’s Not”

“How to Community with Someone Who Has Dementia”

“Managing Behaviors”

“Managing the Holidays”

“Reducing Your Risks”

“Legal and Financial Needs”

“Range of Care Options”

“Dementia and the Five Senses”

Click here to listen to Caregiver Podcasts

HRSA UPDATE:

HRSA-GWEP SITE VISIT

Monday, November 21st, 2016

HRSA Project Officer

Captain Young Song, DrPH, MPH, MS, RD,

will experience the extensive WE HAIL network

during visits to UNTHSC, JPS, TCU,

and the Alzheimer's Association.

Thank you to all who are participating in

welcoming Captain Song to Fort Worth!

Patient Safety Summit “Drive the Difference: Leading Innovation in Patient Safety” October 27-28, 2016 UNTHSC, Fort Worth, Texas Click here for more information

Institutional

Partners

UNT Health Science

Center

Texas Christian

University

JPS Health Network

United Way of Tarrant

County

Leadership

Team

Janice Knebl, DO, MBA

UNTHSC Center of

Geriatrics

Principal Investigator

Richard Young, MD

JPS Health Network

Co - Principal Investigator

Diane Hawley, PhD, RN,

CCNS, CNE

TCU Harris College

of Nursing

Co - Principal Investigator

Don Smith, MA

United Way of

Tarrant County

Lesca Hadley, MD

JPS Health Network

Announcements

IDD and Dementia Training “Promising Practices in Working with People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Dementia” October 24, 2016 Tarrant County Public Health, Fort Worth, Texas

Click here for more information

Health Disparities Training “A Community Conversation: Raising the Bar for all Tarrant

County Adults with Chronic Disease”

November 21, 2016 Meals on Wheels, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas Click here for more information

Inaugural Summit on LGBT Aging Coalition for Aging LGBT-North Texas

November 12, 2016 UNTHSC, Fort Worth, Texas Click here for more information

The Workforce Enhancement in Healthy Aging And Independent Living (We Hail) Program Is Funded by the Health Resources

and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number

U1QHP28735. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the

Health Resources and Services Administration or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. WE HAIL is a collaboration

among UNT Health Science Center, JPS Health Network, Texas Christian University, And United Way’s Area Agency On Aging Of

Tarrant County

Contact Us

Subhada Prasad, MHA

Program Coordinator

Email: Subhada.Prasad@unthsc.edu

Phone: 817-735-0595

Jennifer Jurado Severance, PhD

Program Administrative Director

Email: Jennifer.Severance@unthsc.edu

Phone: 817-735-0469

Partners

Thank you for your feedback! The WE HAIL administrative team conducted a survey of WE HAIL partners about their experiences

during the first year of planning and development. This feedback helps plan improvements in Year 2 as

projects are implemented. Here are a few of the comments...

The goals within each innovation facilitate and nurture partnerships between the various partners.

Drawing upon experts from so many different areas of practice across Tarrant County, it’s really nice

to be able to get so many different perspectives.

It would be great to have more opportunities for inter-innovation events to learn more about the other innovations and

the people involved.

I would like to see time set aside in the monthly meetings to have “deep dives” for each partner

in the innovation and WE HAIL partners at large

Thanks for the opportunity to work with this amazing group of professionals.