UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 35, Page 3
June 22, 1995
Federal grant establishes new UD HEALTH Center

     The University of Delaware College of Nursing has been awarded a five-
year $812,890 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
to provide community-based, nurse-managed health care for Delaware's senior
citizens, Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. announced June 20.
     The grant will be used to establish a HEALTH (Healthy Elder-Adults
Living Through Holistic Healthcare) Center that will link the College of
Nursing with the Newark Senior Center and the University's Adult Day Care
Center. The cooperative effort will work to provide better disease
prevention, improve chronic disease management and expand health promotion
services to seniors.
     "Delaware has a significant health care resource in the College of
Nursing, and the grant helps it extend its reach into the community to
improve the health of area seniors," Biden said. "Teaming up with the
Newark Senior Center and the Adult Day Care Center is a match made in
heaven-three excellent operations working together to create an innovative
way to provide health care for the elderly."
     According to Betty Paulanka, dean of the College of Nursing, "The
college faculty and students are excited about this new opportunity to form
community partnerships, and particularly to serve the elderly, with often-
neglected primary care services and health education."
     Lucille Pulliam, associate professor of nursing, will direct the
HEALTH Center, whose objective is to improve access to primary health care
for older persons.
     With services available to all older Delawareans, the HEALTH Center
will be located in the new Newark Senior Center building, currently under
construction on Marrows Road in Newark. The facility also will house the UD
Adult Day Care Center.
     According to Pulliam, the state of Delaware has an acute need for
health professionals with specialized training to work with older persons.
From 60 to 90 percent of the primary care needed by older persons can be
delivered at lower cost by advanced practice nurses, she stated.
     "As health care access and services move into the community," Paulanka
said, "the college is pleased to be in the forefront with Delaware's first
nurse-managed clinic."
     The HEALTH Center will be staffed and operated by faculty and students
of the College of Nursing who will have the responsibility for providing
primary care services. Both faculty and students from other
departments-including Individual and Family Studies, Nutrition, Physical
Therapy and Physical Education-will provide support services.
     Referrals will be made to other health care providers, such as
physicians, social workers and acute and long-term care institutions, for
care that may be needed beyond the scope of nursing.