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As you know, growing older in America today is a lot different than it was 20 years ago. Americans today are living healthier and they're living longer. As the spectrum of aging expands and more baby boomers hit retirement age, we need professionals who can help older adults get the right level of care no matter where they are in the spectrum. Social workers are uniquely qualified to fill this role. But right now, there is a serious shortage of social workers in the aging field.

You can help reverse this trend by implementing the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE), 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.

This website provides you with all the tools and resources you may need to develop a HPPAE program at your school and for your community. I encourage you to explore this site further to learn what you can do. With this wealth of knowledge and information at your fingertips, the time is now for the social work profession to step up and meet the needs of America's older adults.

Sincerely,

Pat Volland, MSW, MBA
Director, Social Work Leadership Institute
Senior Vice President, The New York Academy of Medicine