On Feb. 3, representatives from 20 schools of social work around the country gathered at UNC to learn about the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) model used by the UNC School of Social Work.
HPPAE is an initiative coordinated by the Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine. It is a unique approach to geriatric education driven by partnerships between universities and community agencies, a dynamic competency-based curriculum, and rotational field education model that exposes students to the full spectrum of aging. The HPPAE is supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation and a part of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative, a national collaboration among social work education programs to prepare aging-savvy social workers to improve the care and well-being of older adults and their families.
The meeting at UNC was organized by the School of Social Work’s Rebecca Brigham, Denisé Dews, Sheryl Zimmerman and Iris Carlton-LaNey, with assistance from students and field instructors.
Presentation topics included university-community partnership, competencies, expanded role of the field instructor, leadership, student recruitment, assessment, resources, and developing an action plan.
