Next Free Webinar – What Matters? – The Foundation of Age Friendly Health Systems – October 18th at noon

Earn 1 hr CEU, pre-approved for Social Workers by BOSW; self-submit other disciplines.
MGS is an approved Continuing Education Resource by the MN Board of Nursing.
(The CEU is free for MGS members; $15 for non-members.)

Click here to register now!

The Age-Friendly Health System model is spreading in Minnesota, with “What Matters?” as its key aspect. The presentation will describe why this is important to older people, various ways to explore this question, and how to build a care plan based on patient/caregiver values and preferences.

Objectives:

  • Describe the 4 M’s of Age Friendly Health Systems
  • Inquire about What Matters to older persons in various scenarios
  • Develop care plans based upon What Matters to older people

Dr. Ed Ratner, MD, is a specialist in geriatrics and palliative care with over 35 years of experience in all settings of care. He has promoted Age-Friendly Health Systems as a faculty member of the Minneapolis VA Geriatrics Research Education Clinical Center and the University of Minnesota’s NorthStar Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program.

Dr. Ratner received his undergraduate degree from Carleton College. His medical school and residency training in Internal Medicine were at the University of Chicago and affiliate hospitals.

Past Free Webinar – A Community-Based Approach to Social Connections – September 21st, 2023

Earn 1 hr CEU, pre-approved for Social Workers by BOSW; self-submit other disciplines.
MGS is an approved Continuing Education Resource by the MN Board of Nursing.
(The CEU is free for MGS members; $15 for non-members.

Handout Sep 21 MGS Webinar

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, fostering meaningful relationships and genuine human connections has never been more critical, particularly among older adults. Social isolation and loneliness have long had a hold on aging communities. There is now an unprecedented opportunity to meaningfully change the situation.

This presentation will highlight a new framework by which individual providers and community health specialists can assess social isolation and loneliness. Within this framework, collected and analyzed local data support the implications of findings about social connections. Specific projects, designed to show how a community came together to address the problems identified, are highlighted. The initiatives, Project Blue Star and Men’s Shed’s, originating within the St Cloud Community, as well as additional collaborative efforts, can potentially be expanded across Minnesota.

Building connection and purpose among older adults, using a community-based grassroots approach, has been found to be most effective when addressing social isolation and loneliness.

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