Aimed at preparing graduates to fill administrative positions within the region’s aging-related service industry, the health and aging curricula draw from nursing, psychology, humanities, business, public affairs and sociology

She’ll also complete a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She hopes to use her double major in a career that follows her longtime passion—advocating for Alzheimer’s patients and their families.

Having talked with regional agencies that serve the aged and Alzheimer’s patients, Corey said these potential employers see a real need for the graduates of the HLAG degree program. “Everybody seems to be very enthusiastic,” Corey said. “They say the health and aging field is red hot. If you’ve got this degree, you can go wherever you want.”

Aimed at preparing graduates to fill administrative positions within the region’s aging-related service industry, the health and aging curricula draw from nursing, psychology, humanities, business, public affairs and sociology.

IU Kokomo received approval in 2001 for the degree program, the first of its kind in Indiana.

“Currently, many agencies have to rely on untrained volunteer help to meet the growing need to help the elderly with health and social needs,” said Nancy Greenwood, HLAG program director and associate professor of sociology. “Demand for our graduates will continue to grow as hospitals and other agencies put more focus on patient care and outreach programs for the elderly.”

Close to a dozen students are either completing prerequisite courses or taking classes in the health and aging major. Greenwood said HLAG students range from newly enrolled freshmen to upperclass students who’ve switched their majors from education and nursing in search of “a new career path.”

“When we first envisioned this program, we thought we’d draw students who’d started in nursing, but had decided they didn’t want to do actual nursing,” said Greenwood. “We also anticipated attracting social sciences majors, like Mary Corey, who wanted to pursue a particular career with the elderly.”

Corey appreciates how the health and aging courses complement her psychology training. “Psychology gives you in-depth knowledge of how Alzheimer’s patients function and how their families handle the situation. The health and aging (program) gives me a larger point of reference on the help that specific agencies can give you to help these patients.”

HLAG majors take nine credit hours in electives, ranging from psychology, interpersonal communication and public affairs, to social work, medical anthropology and even a marketing course, offered through the School of Business. Required HLAG classes being offered this semester include Sociology of the Family, Social Aspects of Health and Medicine, and individual internships.

“We hope to develop and offer several internships, in which juniors and seniors can gain work experience with area health care, respite care and social services working with elderly clients, and governmental offices that deal with public policy and aging,” Greenwood said.

Several such service agencies are represented by members of the HLAG community advisory board, including Jamey Henderson, executive director of Samaritan Caregivers. The largely volunteer members of Samaritan Caregivers provide free transportation, home/lawn maintenance and other assistance to the elderly, and people with medical problems and disabilities in Howard County. By giving students the insight to be “more supportive and understanding of the elderly,” IU Kokomo’s health and aging degree program will increase “the professionalism and effectiveness of community-based organizations,” such as her own, Henderson said.

“The health and aging degree will give students more information about accepting and coping with the realities of aging, the impact of aging on the family, the need for sensitivity, understanding and respect, and symptoms of common diseases of aging.”

Greenwood lists two long-term goals for IU Kokomo’s HLAG program: to develop assessment tools to gauge the program’s progress, and to write proposals so that IU Kokomo could offer both a minor and a postgraduate certificate in health and aging. Those academic options would allow students in a variety of majors to focus their professional goals on work with the elderly, Greenwood said.

Students “well on their way to completing a bachelor’s degree, who don’t want to take on a double major” might find the HLAG minor a good alternative, she said. People who already have bachelor’s degrees have told Greenwood that they are interested in postgraduate training in health and aging, but don’t want to take a full graduate program. A postgraduate certificate program generally covers 20 credit hours of education, roughly half that of a typical graduate degree, Greenwood said.