Silberman Aging

LGBT-Inclusive Questions Added to NYS Medicaid Assessment Tool: A National Model  

SAGE applauds the New York State Department of Health for integrating questions on sexual orientation and gender identity into its new Uniform Assessment System for New York (UAS-NY), which will be used throughout the state’s network of Medicaid community based long-term care services and programs. The New York State Department of Health included these questions in the UAS-NY based on guidance from SAGE. This assessment system will now collect data on LGBT older people who navigate this system for the first time in the state’s history–and will serve as a model for patient care and statewide data collection on the health of LGBT older people nationwide.

With the numbers of people age 65+ on the rise, it is more critical than ever to address the health concerns of LGBT elders throughout the US. Gathering the kind of information collected by the UAS-NY can help create optimal, patient-centered long-term care plans that take into account the unique barriers and profound health disparities among LGBT people. These types of questions can help identify the specific nature of health disparities in the LGBT community and formulate effective means of addressing them. Research has also found that people who disclose their sexual orientations to their providers feel more comfortable discussing broader health behaviors.

The New York State Department of Health is the latest state agency to address the health concerns of LGBT older people. Earlier this year, the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) began collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity to address health disparities among LGBT elders in its network.

ASA continues to accept submissions for its Graduate Student Research Award.  The deadline for this award submission has been extended an additional two weeks, through Tuesday, October 15.  To be considered, papers should be submitted through our website, http://www.asaging.org/graduate-student-award. Your ASA website username and password are also located at the bottom of this message.

The Graduate Student Research Award is given to spur academic and clinical interest in the field of aging, and rewards the best unpublished graduate research paper on a completed project relevant to aging and applicable to practice. Membership in ASA is not a requirement, but is a consideration.  Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate-degree program or have completed their studies less than one year before submission, and be sponsored by a faculty member.

The winner will receive an opportunity to present their paper during a poster session at the Aging in America Conference, recognition by peers, a complimentary one-year student ASA membership (if not already a member) and one complimentary conference registration.

Harvey Weissman, 2nd year clinical student and SAAS Member was recently awarded a 2013 Diana List Cullen Memorial First Year MSW Student Writing Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Metropolitan Chapter of the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work.  The award recognizes MSW students who have shown academic excellence in a clinical paper that they have written in their first year of graduate school. Scholarship recipients also receive a one year membership in the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work.  NYSSCSW is a professional organization whose mission is to maintain standards of clinical practice and to provide support and promote training of clinical social workers. The Society also has a mentorship program for students and recent graduates, which meets monthly and guides new students into the social work profession.

Please visit http://www.nysscsw.org/ for further information about the Society, the Mentoring Program, and the Diana List Cullen Scholarship.

For information about other scholarship and professional opportunities available to Silberman students, please visit the Financial Aid and Scholarship website.

Congratulations, Harvey!