History

capital building with american flagThe Geriatric Education Center (GEC) grants were first awarded in 1984 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (reorganized and renamed Bureau of Health Workforce, May 2014) to SUNY at Buffalo, Harvard University, Michigan University, and University of Southern California.  These initial four grantees are known as the “Four Fathers”.  In 1985, an additional 16 grantees were added and known as the “Sweet Sixteen”. Annual meetings of the GEC’s were held thereafter at workshops hosted by various GEC’s – the first was in Ann Arbor, the 2nd at Harvard, the 3rd at Buffalo, the 4th in Houston, and the 5th in Milwaukee.  In 1989, discussions were first held to form a national association of and for GEC’s. After convening a sixth workshop in Clearwater Beach, FL and a seventh workshop in San Antonio, the National Association of Geriatric Education Centers (NAGEC) organization was officially established to promote interdisciplinary geriatric education and to provide a unified voice for the GEC’s.

After more than a decade of successfully working alongside each other, the GEC’s collectively wanted to pursue additional funding opportunities and service contracts. They also felt the need to maintain at least one lobbyist in Washington DC to protect the GECs’ interests.  A lawyer was hired and all legal options were explored by the NAGEC Board.  In 2005, the GEC’s voted to form two non-profit organizations due to restrictions related to lobbying activities: the National Association for Geriatric Education (NAGE, a 501c4 organization—an umbrella organization which includes all geriatric related education programs) and the National Association of Geriatric Education Centers (NAGEC, a 501c3 organization—limited to Geriatric Education Centers).  Today these two organizations continue to unify the GEC’s to advance interprofessional geriatric education.

NAGE/NAGEC Presidents

Elyse Perweiler, MPP, RN, NJ Geriatric Education Center, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey--School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM),  Stratford, NJ  [Note:  On 7/1/2013 UMDNJ-SOM became Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RUSOM)]

Edwin Olsen, MD, JD, MBA, Miami Area Geriatric Education Center (MAGEC), University of Miami, Miami, FL

Nina Tumosa, PhD, Gateway GEC, University of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Linda Redford, PhD, RN, Great Plains GEC, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS

Judy Howe, PhD, New York Consortium of Geriatric Education Centers, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY

Jan Potter, MD, University of Nebraska GEC, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NB

Philip Clark, DSc, Rhode Island GEC, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Robert Roush, EdD, MPH, Texas Consortium GEC, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Ronni Chernoff, PhD, RD, Arkansas GEC, University of Arkansas Health Science Center, Little Rock, AK

Thomas V. Caprio, MD, MPH, FACP, University of Rochester, Division of Geriatrics & Aging, Rochester, NY

Stacy Barnes, PhD, Wisconsin GEC, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.  

Jan Busby-Whitehead, MD, Carolina GEC, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC

Kathryne Hyer, PhD, MPP, Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Maura Brennan, MD, AGSF, FAAHPM, FACP, HMDC, PD,  Baystate Health GWEP, Springfield, MA

Catherine, P. Carrico, PhD, Wyoming Center on Aging, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

Katherine Bennett, MD, NW Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Marla Berg-Weger, PhD, LCSW, Gateway GEC, St Louis University, St Louis, MO

Anna Faul, PhD, Trager Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

Jennifer Jurado Severance, PhD, University of North Texas Health Science Center