Center for Child and Family Well-being

Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research

2006 Gerontology Conference

Issues and Challenges in Providing Social

Services to the Rural Elderly

Friday, February 24, 2006

Sellersville, PA  18960

This half-day forum was organized by the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research's Center for Child and Family Wellbeing , in cooperation with the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging and Grand View Hospital and was supported in part with a gift from the G. Mildred and A. Foster Scott Charitable Foundation .

Pennsylvania ranks fifth for both the number and percentage of population aged 65 years or older, and a significant number of that population lives in rural areas. The Graduate School has launched a new initiative to educate social workers in the field of gerontology that includes a special focus on the needs of rural populations. The School seeks students interested in this growing area of need. Travel stipends for students in rural gerontology field placements are available as well as enhanced field supervision for all gerontology students, and expanded course offerings. In addition, the School provides learning opportunities for practicing professionals through its continuing education seminar series.

Dr. Lenard Kaye   delivered the keynote address Gerontological Social Work in Rural Areas: Concerns, Challenges and Best Practices.  Dr. Kaye is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Maine and Director of the UMaine Center on Aging, and previously taught at the Bryn Mawr College GSSWSR.

Kaye's talk was followed by a panel presentation that included Dr. Joan Davitt, University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, Lois Tobin, Bucks County Area Agency on Aging, Dr. Norma Thomas, Center for Ethnic Minority Aging, Wendy Raifsnider and Debra Carroll, Grandview Hospital. The panel session was followed by a Q&A exchange, and the program culminated with a networking luncheon.