The Division of Social Work and the Center on Aging at West Virginia University will host the 33rd Summer Institute on Aging June 8-10 at the Lakeview Resort and Conference Center in Morgantown.
“The Summer Institute on Aging is the only annual conference offered in West Virginia that focuses solely on serving the aging population,” said Jacki Englehardt, coordinator of Professional and Community Education in the Division of Social Work. “By providing continuing education in the field of aging to social workers, nurses and counselors, WVU is providing a very important service to the state and region.”
This year’s theme, “Living Well, Staying Well, Aging Well,” offers seminars that will address how practitioners can assist seniors in staying well mentally, emotionally and physically. It will also address how practitioners can care for themselves while they care for others.
Kicking off this year’s conference on June 8 is keynote speaker JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez, a faculty member in UCLA’s Department of Social Welfare. She will present “Aging Wellness: What Works for Older Persons in the Community.”
Damron-Rodriguez is a member of the Department of Veteran Affairs Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee, which reports to Congress.
The Institute workshops will be categorized by topic and practitioner tracks, including: adult protective service workers; senior center directors and staff; cultural competency and diversity; mental and clinical health; core practice; and management, administration and policy.
Session topics will include sleep problems and deprivation; the onset of mental illness, such as depression, Alzheimer’s, and addiction; practice competency; strategies for healthy aging; and sexuality issues of the elderly, as well as some new “hot topic” sessions on hoarding; health care reform; and Medicare coverage and services.
Bernard G. Schreurs, professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry at WVU, will present “Living Well, Aging Well, Staying Well or Alzheimer’s Disease.” Schreurs also is the director of the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Disease Registry and the program director of the Alzheimer’s Outreach Program.
During the conference, Genevieve Bennett Wiley will receive the Anita Harbert Outstanding Achievement in Aging Award, an award to recognize a West Virginia social worker that has made a significant contribution to the field of aging. She is the adult welfare consultant for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
President and founder of West Virginia-based LifeQuest International, LLC, Aila Accad will close this year’s Institute with the presentation “Instant Stress-Busters for Caring Professionals.”
Participants will be provided lunch each day and free parking will be available. For a complete conference schedule, a downloadable brochure and an application, please visit www.wvsioa.org.
The SIOA conference is approved for maximum continuing education contact hours (CEUs) under the WVU School of Applied Social Sciences, Division of Social Work and West Virginia Board of Social Work Examiners for the following: 20.5 CEUs for licensed social workers in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania; and 16.25 CEUs for licensed professional counselors in West Virginia. An application for approval for Ohio Social Work CEUs has been submitted. The SIOA conference also has been approved for 21.3 CEUs for nurses through the WVU Center on Aging.
Sponsoring this year’s event are community organizations WVU Division of Social Work, WVU Center on Aging, West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services, Beatrice Ruth Burgess Center for West Virginia Families and Communities, Problem Gamblers Help Network of West Virginia and AARP Foundation of West Virginia.
For more information, contact Jacki Englehardt, coordinator of Professional and Community Education in the Division of Social Work, at (304) 293-3280 or Jacki.Englehardt@mail.wvu.edu.
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