Wabanaki Pubic Health & Wellness
Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness (WPHW) serves four federally recognized tribes in five communities, and its mission is to provide community-driven, culturally center public health and social services to all Wabanaki communities.
WPHW’s role in AgingME will be to lead the effort to co-convene dream sessions with tribal elders address the central questions: “what does a community look like that centers its elders? What
does a community look like when it is led by elder voices?” AgingME2 GWEP will also participate in co-learning community forums focused on indigenous brain and cognitive health with elders from each of the Tribal Nations.
Health System Organizations
MaineHealth’s Healthy Aging Division will provide curated content on Age Friendly Health System (AFHS) for inclusion in the iHELP learning platform, geriatrics physician supervision of UNE COM students in the longitudinal nursing home preceptorship, and a geriatrics -focused Project ECHO
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (NL EMMC) has a longitudinal integrated curriculum (LIC) for UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) students, which is an opportunity for students to be embedded in a primary care practice for the entirety of their year while having longitudinal experiences in key areas of medicine.
NL EMMC’s role in the GWEP will be to provide a LIC for a UNE with specific geriatric curricular components for use by its preceptors, develop a specific geriatrics site as part of its TTOUR site LIC, and partner with AgingME2 in creating a deep dive professional and personal rural experience.
The Maine CDC led the development of the Maine State Plan on ADRD 2022-2027, which seeks to create the necessary infrastructure that empowers, educates, and supports people living in Maine by reducing ADRD risk factors, promoting early detection, and connecting people to resources.
AgingME GWEP works with Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) program by creating a plan to integrate the spread of information by coordinating training activities on dementia and related topics.
Primary and Long-Term Care Practices
The Cedars is a retirement and assisted living facility based in Portland, and it is the only site in Maine using the “household model,” the goal of which is to create real community within a space that residents recognize as home. The Cedars is one of only two nursing homes in Maine that have achieved Age Friendly certification.
The Cedars is a subaward of the AgingME GWEP grant, and will support the development of the Geriatrics Microcredential, support a longitudinal preceptorship for 1st and 2nd year UNE COM students, and provide TTOUR nursing homes with the opportunity to learn how to achieve Age Friendly Status.
Maine Veterans’ Home South Paris
MVH will participate in development of the Geriatrics Microcredentials, recruit CNAs interested in earning any of the three badges, implement Age Friendly principles, and serve as a TTOUR site for CNAs.
Islands Community Medical Services (ICMS)
Islands Community Medical Services (ICMS) is Level 1 Age Friendly facility that serves the communities of Matinicus, North Haven, and Vinalhaven.
ICMS has partnered with GWEP to work towards achieving Level 2 Age Friendly certification, and will implement additional dementia friendly practices and processes.
Community-Based Organizations
Aroostook Area Agency on Aging
Aroostook Area Agency on Aging (AAAA) provides programs and support for aging and family caregivers in rural northern Maine. AgingME GWEP has partnered with their Memory Care Center, and will work together to disseminate education and training materials as part of their comprehensive services.
The Community Gourmet is a non-profit stationed in Kennebunk, Maine, that puts together and distributes meal kits for older adults and people experiencing homelessness.
The Community Gourmet will partner with AgingME in the development and implementation of one or more community based experiential trainings for AHEC CUP Scholars.
MCD is a leader, innovator, and partner in the design, implementation, and assessment of quality public health programs. MCD’s role in the GWEP will be to explore inclusion of curated geriatrics components into their Community Health Worker e-learning platform, the development of ADRD training competencies, and of the Geriatrics Microcredential.
As a hub for care coordination in the region, the agency is developing billing codes training for primary care practices, to make the business case for better care of older adults. These codes speak to social determinants of health, and may encourage PCPs to participate in ‘social prescribing’.
Learn more about social prescribing
Maine Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
The Maine Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (Maine LTCOP) established the Direct Care Support Professional Advisory (DCSPA) Group in early 2022, which is composed of people employed in nursing homes and assisted housing, which includes residential care and assisted living across the state.
The DCSPA will participate in the development and implementation of AgingME GWEP’s Geriatrics Microcredentialing initiative.
The University of Maine is home to the Lifelong Fellows program. The Lifelong Fellows program matches experiences community leaders with communities that are part of AARP’s Age Friendly Communities.
AgingME Lifelong Fellows will focus on dementia inclusivity in the community they serve and provide training in how to engage the community in conversations about dementia. The Lifelong Fellows program will also participate in the AHEC CUP Scholar geriatrics rural health immersion to enhance the experience of students visiting rural places.
Academic Partners
University of Maine Center on Aging
UMaine is home to the Center on Aging (CoA), the Lifelong Fellows Program, and the UMaine School of Nursing. The University of Maine provides the AgingME Lead Evaluator, whose focus will be on evaluating Microcredentialing development/implementation. The UMaine School of Nursing will participate in rural rotations.
University of Maine School of Nursing
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
University of New England School of Nursing
Maine Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
St. Joseph’s College offers over 40 undergraduate and graduate programs, including BSN and MS. St Joseph’s College will participate in the Geriatrics Microcredentialing initiative.
Southern Maine Community College
The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) will participate in the design and development of the AgingME Microcredentialing initiative, and implement it with nursing and CNA students.
UNE Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice (CAIEP)
UNE’s Center to Advance Interprofessional Education in Practice (CAIEP) has partnered with GWEP to offer two special topics annually as part of its Knowledge Exchange series. CAIEP has also partnered with GWEP to coordinate and enhance rural clinical placements across disciplines.
UNE College of Graduate and Professional Studies (Academic Affairs)
