FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAINE – The Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine (Lunder-Dineen) is proud to announce the recent launch of two free, on-demand educational activities about caring for older veterans. These continuing education-certified webinars were recorded during the University of Maine Center on Aging’s 8th Annual Geriatrics Colloquium. Both webinars are specifically designed for social workers and licensed mental health counselors.

The first webinar entitled “Aging Veterans: The Challenges, Some Solutions, and Some Remaining Challenges,” is conducted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Director of Geriatric Programs Kenneth Shay, DDS, MS. This session is designed to enhance the practice of working with aging veterans and their families by expanding an understanding of the demographics related to aging veterans, the range of health care challenges veterans face, and the programs and services available to aging veterans.

The second session is “The Joys and Sorrows of Older Veterans: Thoughts from a Geriatric Psychiatrist,” led by Maine Medical Center Adult and Geriatric Psychiatrist Janis Petzel, MD, DFAPA. In this session, Petzel discusses the capacities and challenges facing older veterans, the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder over the lifespan, and the ways that works of literature can illuminate the traumas of war.

“Older adult health is a critical topic of educational need in Maine, which has the oldest population in the country,” said Lunder-Dineen Senior Program Manager Denise O’Connell, LCSW, CCM, CCP. “We collaborate with conferences across the state to record and disseminate educational content so that every health care professional in Maine has access to the same high-quality education.”

About Lunder-Dineen:
The Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine believes that health education is powerful medicine. That is why it offers free, easily accessible and evidence-based education to Maine health care providers and the communities they serve through an innovative partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital and an ongoing collaboration with Maine’s health care community. Its goal is to improve the overall health of Maine residents by expanding their health knowledge and by advancing the skills and expertise of Maine health professionals. To learn more about Lunder-Dineen and its free educational resources, please visit www.lunderdineen.org.