The Northwest Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Center (NW GWEC), co-directed by Michael V. Vitiello, PhD, and Elizabeth Phelan, MD, (Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology and Geriatrics), has received a five year competing renewal through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. The NW GWEC is a regional center that conducts interprofessional education and training programs to improve the primary care of older adults in the WWAMI region. Its mission is to lead the Pacific Northwest in optimizing primary care of older adults through collaborative education, traineeships, client engagement, and enhanced community-clinical linkages.

The NW GWEC engages in outreach and partnerships with community-based organizations and WWAMI region primary care sites to deliver its on-going activities: 1) Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Practicums, 2) AAA-based Primary Care Liaisons to develop clinic-community linkages, 3) Self-Management Plans to help patients and their families and caregivers manage their chronic conditions, 4) Project ECHO–Geriatrics, an interprofessional, case-based interactive web-based training on age-friendly care, and 5) the Geriatric Healthcare and ADRD Series, a live webcast and video-recorded lecture series on a range of geriatrics and ADRD topics. Learn more at the center’s website: https://www.nwgwec.org/