Leading Expert On Aging Delivers Call to Action to Social Work Students at Touro College’s Graduate School of Social Work
Speaker Urges Touro Graduates to Meet the Increased Need for Geriatric Social Workers as World Population Ages
New York, N.Y. – Patricia J. Volland, seated center, MSW, MBA, senior vice president for strategy and business development at New York Academy of Medicine, told students and faculty from Touro College’s Graduate School of Social Work that by 2050, the number of adults over the age of 60 will far exceed the birth rate, not only in the United States, but worldwide.
As part of her remarks on the “Trends in Aging and the Relationship to Social Work Practice,” Ms. Volland, who was invited as the keynote guest speaker by Dr. Steven Huberman, dean of the Graduate School of Social Work, explained why this fact will be problematic, as these older adults will require more in the way of social services. However, currently less than 4 percent of social workers specialize in geriatrics, according to figures from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). At the school’s fifth annual Community Day program held recently at Touro College’s Graduate School of Business campus in Lower Manhattan, Ms. Volland delivered a call to action to social work schools to infuse more geriatric content into their curriculums and for the industry to offer greater financial incentives for those who choose to work with older adults. This year’s program was organized by Allison Bobick, MSW, LCSW, the director of Student Advancement for the Graduate School of Social Work, who provides leadership and program development for the school. Dr. Donna Wang, MSW, far left, associate professor at the Graduate School of Social Work, and four Touro fellows from the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE), also presented remarks entitled, “Working with Older Adults-Rewards and Realities.”The HPPAE fellows — from left, Natalie Koop, Heather Martin, Eve Yudelson and Natalia Shtompel — each spoke about what led them to work with older adults and how rewarding their experiences have been for them.
Photo Credit: Tom Martinez
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