About Us
Age-Friendly Care
Background
Age-Friendly Care Background: Started in 2024, Age-Friendly Care was developed as part of Azusa Pacific University’s (APU) Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) to strengthen those who work with older adults through education for new and existing workers, collaboration with health professionals to promote optimal care, and innovation in research and technology.
Our mission
Guided by our faith-based commitment to service, the mission of Azusa Pacific University’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) is to advance the geriatric workforce by educating, equipping, and mobilizing a diverse group of interprofessionals to care for older adults in underserved communities through innovative, age and dementia-friendly care.
Our Vision
To create a future where every older adult—regardless of life circumstances— receives compassionate, coordinated, and age-affirming care delivered by a competent, interprofessional workforce.
Our Values
- Commitment to Age-Friendly Care: We believe that care should address the unique mobility, mental clarity, and medication safety needs, centering on what matters most to each aging individual.
- Interprofessional Education and Care Collaboration: We believe that the best geriatric outcomes are achieved through teamwork. We foster cross-disciplinary collaboration to promote age and dementia-friendly care informed by ongoing education.
- Compassionate Care: We honor the lived experiences of older adults, advocating for care that supports independence, well-being, and quality of life throughout all stages of the aging journey.
- Community Collaboration: We partner with local community based organizations, caregivers, and direct workers to build sustainable approaches that enhance aging care and uplift underserved communities.
- Innovation in Geriatric Education: We develop and deliver forward-thinking training programs that prepare a capable workforce to meet the evolving needs of aging populations.
- Rooted in Faith: Driven by our faith, we see the image of God in every person we serve. Guided by this belief, we believe that care should honor and dignify this aspect of each individual.
Head of the GWEP Grant
Dr. David Picella, PhD
Background: David Picella, PhD, has practiced in Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) as a nurse practitioner (NP) since 1997. In HBPC, Picella led interprofessional teams caring for older adults in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home settings, and primary care clinics. He was a clinical preceptor at Azusa Pacific University (APU) for five years, followed by one year as adjunct faculty, after which he became full-time faculty in 2018. Currently, Picella serves as the director of the Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) Program at APU. In 2019, he received the Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA) from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), focusing on improving gerontological competencies among faculty and other interprofessional students (IPE), while enhancing care for underserved older adult populations. His current clinical practice focuses on age-friendly and dementia-friendly healthcare in HBPC. Starting in 2023, Picella became project director (PD) for a new HRSA five-year, $5 million Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) at APU. As PD for the GWEP, he is building an academic-practice-based community partnership to educate and train IPE faculty, staff, students, physicians, direct care workers, and others to achieve high-quality outcomes in underserved older adult communities.
Check Out Some Of Our Articles
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Innovation Spotlight: Elli Cares App – Preventing Wandering, Connecting Families
Picture an older adult living alone in a suburban neighborhood. Their adult child lives far away, balancing work and family.…
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GWEP Monthly Report
At the end of each month, the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) data team reviews all activities of the GWEP…
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California’s ALW Program: Reducing Nursing Home Costs with Access Challenges
California’s Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) program, a Medi-Cal initiative, fully funds the monthly cost of care, meals, and residence in…
