OGEC History

Mail Code SN-6S
3455 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd
Portland, OR 97239-2941
Phone: 503 494-3886
Fax: 503 494-4721
OGEC@ohsu.edu

OGEC History

Our mission -- The mission of the OGEC is to improve care of older adults through the education and training of health care providers in Oregon.

The Oregon Geriatric Education Center (OGEC) was established in October 1989 with a grant from the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration. It is one of 50 geriatric education centers (GECs) in the United States funded by the Bureau. It began as a collaboration among three education and training institutions -- Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), and the Institute on Aging at Portland State University (PSU). In 1995 Oregon State University’s Program in Gerontology and Extension Service joined the OGEC Consortium. The founding director of the OGEC was John R. Walsh, M.D., a pioneer in the field of geriatrics. As chief of geriatrics for the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dr. Walsh established one of the first geriatric fellowship programs in the United States. Today the OGEC is directed by Heather Young, PhD, GNP, FAAN., OHSU, and co-directed by Margaret Neal, Ph.D., Institute on Aging, PSU, and Sally Bowman, PhD, OSU.

John Walsh, M.D.

Our Statewide Focus

The Oregon Geriatric Education Center (OGEC) served the State of Oregon from 1989 until December 2006. It began as a consortium of four Oregon education and training institutions – Oregon Health & Sciences University, the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), Portland State University’s (PSU) Institute on Aging, and Oregon State University’s (OSU) Program in Gerontology and Cooperative Extension Service. In 2002, the consortium membership was re-configured to include Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland State University’s (PSU) Institute on Aging, and Oregon State University’s (OSU) Program in Gerontology and Cooperative Extension Service. The mission of the OGEC has been “to improve the care of the older adults through the education of health care providers.” Each partner contributed a unique aspect of the OGEC and all worked closely together in planning, implementing, and evaluating the project activities.

Funding for the OGEC was most recently awarded in September 2007. Since that time, Oregon’s population has continued to age, the numbers of elderly are growing, and their health problems are becoming more complex as their numbers increase. Rural elders are at particular risk for poorer health and less access to health professions prepared in geriatric care. As the number of elderly Oregonians grows, so does the need for health care providers trained in geriatrics and the special needs of the older adults and their families. The OGEC partners remain eager to build on previous success and continue collaboration.