Older man and woman looking at computer

Mini Medical School opens registration for 2022 program

Popular education event launches 20th year with new format, new name

(SACRAMENTO)

For the past 20 years, hundreds of older adults wanting to live healthier lives have learned how to do so from experts at UC Davis Health’s Mini Medical School. As the program opens applications for its 2022 classes, leaders are changing the format and renaming the program.

“UC Davis Health has increased our focus on better serving older adults in our communities through the Healthy Aging Initiative,” explained Katren Tyler, senior physician lead of the emergency department and the new director for the program. “Our goal is to both care for older adults as patients and to educate them with the knowledge and tools they can use in their daily lives.”

Now called the Healthy Aging Education Series, the name change reflects the breadth of aging-related topics and more closely aligns with UC Davis Health’s commitment to older adults and their families. Classes continue to be taught by faculty and health experts from the UC Davis School of Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

For years, classes have been limited to the physical space in which to host attendees. But the pandemic opened a new way of thinking — and a new way of delivering the information. The 2022 program will be offered as a live webinar, with an opportunity for participants to interact virtually with the presenters.

“If there is a silver lining from COVID-19, it’s that we as health care experts have used telehealth for provider visits that once required a trip to the clinic,” Tyler added. “Now, we can leverage the virtual setting to expand our educational resources to more people in a safe and convenient manner.”

Registration for the 2022 Healthy Aging Education Series opens online at 10 a.m., Nov. 2, 2021. Once signed up, participants will receive webinar links via email. Classes begin on Feb 5, 2022. All sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end around 11:30 a.m.

A full list of presentation topics for 2022 can be found on the website.

In addition to the Healthy Aging Education Series, the initiative’s focus on care for older adults includes a new Healthy Aging Clinic. UC Davis Health has also expanded geriatrics clinical faculty and leadership and earned the Age-Friendly Health Systems Committed to Care Excellence designation for its approach to caring for older adults who come in to the Emergency Department at UC Davis Medical Center.