Stanford University's Geriatric Education Center is one of three federally funded centers in California that delivers geriatric training and services to healthcare professionals who work with the elderly. But unless the center can find alternative financial support, the program will disappear in July.

Healthcare workers at organizations such as Alzheimer's Association, Live Oak Adult Day Care and Sunny View retirement community who attend conferences and workshops at the Stanford GEC will have to look elsewhere for instruction on how to deal with such conditions as dementia, pain management, diabetes, end-of-life care and more. Faculty in medicine, nursing, social work, psychology, chaplaincy, occupational therapy and healthcare administration will also lose the GEC curriculum.

"We're struggling to find enough money just to keep our basic staff involved," said Gwen Yeo, director of Stanford's geriatric center.

Stanford GEC is one of 50 federally funded geriatric education centers in the United States whose federal monies are gone as of July 1. Annually, Stanford GEC receives $350,000 in federal funding.

"The issue for us is it's a relatively small program that most people don't know about and are not familiar with their work. There has not been much outcry about it," said William Fisher, chief executive officer of the Northern California Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

Though the program is small, its reach is wide.

Since 2001, Stanford GEC has conducted more than 300 geriatric-related trainings for more than 6,000 participants in 28 communities. It has held six distance-learning programs on topics including elder abuse, pain management, dementia and mental health aspects of diabetes.

Of the three GECs in California--University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at San Francisco and Stanford--Stanford is nationally-recognized for its leadership in senior health care services in diverse communities.

Fisher, a Cupertino resident, said the Stanford center's particular emphasis on multiculturalism and ethnic diversity is helpful to Alzheimer's Association staff and volunteers who work with patients and caregivers.

Culturally, responses to death and dying and symptoms of diseases such as dementia vary. Within cultures, personal experiences and upbringing may alter one's coping mechanisms. For example, Fisher explains how his mother-in-law grew up thinking that hospitals are a place where people go to die, yet he was not raised with that view.

Stanford GEC over time has developed training materials such as two videos that feature dementia and depression among Chinese and other Asian elders, and has 15 educational programs that deal with spirituality and end-of-life care among seniors in diverse cultural backgrounds.

Without federal funding, these and other services may become scarce.

And as some 77 million baby boomers turn 60 this year, the issue of getting healthcare workers educated in geriatrics is significant.

There is a shortage of trained professionals, and the number of apartments for senior independent living, assisted living and full-time nursing care facilities who staff them is on the rise.

Sunnyvale's and Cupertino's population of those age 65 and older is between 10 and 11 percent, slightly under the national average of over 12 percent. Those age 55 and older make up more than 20 percent of the country's population.

Yeo said she sees the timing of the Conference on Aging resolution as ironic.

"It's so illogical at this point in time to cut the funding," she said.

Stanford GEC has provided federally funded training and education since 1987. Included annually for the 10-county area it serves are three conferences on elders in diverse populations, and 60 workshops.

Implications for the future will be huge if the centers are not saved, Yeo said.

Legislative initiative is needed, and she hopes to see a legislator step up to save the program, but time is running out.

In the meantime the center applied for grants, but those take time. Also in the works is a partnership with Foothill College to offer classes during the spring quarter.

A generous philanthropist wouldn't hurt either, she said.

"Any donors who would like to help, we'd be glad to take any gifts. We'd be glad to talk to anybody," Yeo said.

For more information, visit www.sgec.standford.edu.

El Camino Hospital