Education & Training
These education and training opportunities are brought to you free of charge by Oregon GWEP and its partners. Reach out with any questions! If we could be helpful by providing training for your team or community, please email us.
Healthcare Professionals
Families & Caregivers
Health Professions Trainees
Healthcare Professionals
How to Support Older Adults Learning Series
Format: Online
Cost: Free
Audience: Community Health Workers (CHW), Peer Support Specialists (PSS), and Peer Wellness Specialists (PWS) in Oregon
Description: This training empowers traditional health workers in Oregon to better serve older adults in their communities.
Create an account on the Oregon GWEP learning portal to register. For an overview of the registration process, see this User Guide.
Resources:
Navigating Dementia: Essential Skills for Care Teams
Format: Online
Cost: Free
Audience: Nurses, Social Workers, Pharmacists, Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and others!
Description: This 6-module online series covers an overview of dementias, Age-Friendly communication with persons living with dementia, communicating with the healthcare team, referring patients and family care partners to community resources, and more. CME credit available.
Resources: Flyer
Personal Safety and De-Escalation for Home Health Care Workers
Format: Online
Cost: Free
Description: This video offers practical information to help home health care workers stay safe during home visits, prevent escalation, and respond effectively.
Cognitive Health Assessment Training
Date: Oct 14, 2026
Time: 9:00 – 10:00 am PT
Frequency: 1x per month
Format: Zoom
Cost: Free
Description: Training includes overview of dementia, review of screening tools, conducting a cognitive health assessment, team-based implementation strategies.
Accelerated Aging in Our Communities and Healthcare Settings
Format: Online
Cost: Free
Description: This webinar explains accelerated aging, identifies those who are at risk, describes how geriatric syndromes can occur in younger people, and helps identify opportunities to better screen and assist those at risk. CME credit available.
Oregon ECHO Network: Healthcare professionals are invited to join our partner, Oregon ECHO Network, for no-cost training on several timely topics. Many include CME and MOC credits. Here are the upcoming Oregon ECHO Network programs focused on older adults:
Dementia in Primary Care ECHO
Dates: Sep 15 – Dec 8, 2026
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm PT
Frequency: Weekly on Tuesdays
Description: This 12-session ECHO will increase the capacity of primary care teams to diagnose and provide integrated care to patients living with dementia.
Resources: Flyer
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB): Oregon GWEP partners with the NPAIHB’s Clinical Dementia ECHO program to educate Tribal primary care teams and community team members about diagnosis and management of dementia. We work hand in hand with Tribal geriatricians and geriatric pharmacists to provide culturally inclusive care. If you are a healthcare team member working in a Tribal community, you can register for the Dementia ECHO here.
NPAIHB Indian Caregiver Dementia ECHO
Sep 24, 2026
Managing Firearms
NPAIHB Indian Caregiver Dementia ECHO
Oct 22, 2026
ABCs of Behaviors
NPAIHB Indian Clinical Dementia ECHO
Nov 12, 2026
Clinical Stages of Dementia
Families & Caregivers
Oregon Care Partners: Oregon GWEP partners with Oregon Care Partners to teach family caregivers about both the joys and challenges of caring for a person with dementia. Oregon Care Partners has many webinars and training opportunities for formal and informal caregivers. Join us at a future Oregon GWEP/Oregon Care Partners Tuesday evening webinar to learn more about caring for people with dementia and check out the Oregon Care Partners online library and calendar of events.
Oregon Care Partners' Family Webinar Series - Can They Make This Decision? Understanding Capacity and Consent in Dementia
Date: Oct 28, 2026
Time: 7:00 – 8:30pm PT
Description: This webinar discusses capacity and how it changes over the course of dementia. Join us to learn about informed consent and practical ways to bring up decision making capacity concerns with a healthcare professional.
Oregon Care Partners' Family Webinar Series - Seeing the Signs: Recognizing Hidden Pain in Dementia
Date: Nov 11, 2026
Time: 7:00 – 8:30pm PT
Description: This webinar explains why pain is often overlooked in people living with dementia, common signs of pain to watch for, and how healthcare professionals assess pain when communication is limited. Join us to identify signs of acute and chronic pain, non-prescription pain management options, and communication strategies to discuss pain strategies with a health care provider.
Oregon Care Partners' Family Webinar Series - Patient Priorities: Navigating Complex Care for Older Adults
Date: Dec 9, 2026
Time: 7:00 – 8:30pm PT
Description: This webinar explores the Patient Priorities Care Model and provides practical tools for recognizing and communicating what matters most to individuals. Join us to learn the benefits of the Patient Priorities Model and ways to incorporate what matters to the individual in advance care planning conversations.
AARP Oregon: Oregon GWEP partners with AARP Oregon to offer educational opportunities for older adults and family caregivers across the state, including through conferences, tele-townhalls, and webinars.
How Socializing Protects Cognitive Health in Older Adults
Format: Article
Description: This article discusses how social engagement supports cognitive and emotional health among older adults. It provides examples of social engagement and shares Oregon-specific resources.
Other Training Opportunities:
How to Support Older Adults Learning Series
Format: Online
Cost: Free
Audience: Care Partners & Community Members
Description: This training empowers care partners in Oregon to better serve older adults by providing knowledge, resources, and tools.
Create an account on the Oregon GWEP learning portal to register. For an overview of the registration process, see this User Guide.
Resources: Flyer
StrongPeople Virtual Class
Date: Jul 6 – Sep 23, 2026
Time: Mondays and Wednesdays
Time: 10:00 – 11:00am PT
Format: Online
Cost: Free
Audience: Community Members
Description: Join these free StrongPeople virtual classes in English or Spanish and improve your strength, balance, flexibility, and overall well-being in a supportive, welcoming environment. Learn more here.
Health Professions Trainees
Oregon GWEP works with health professions training programs across Oregon to design and implement Age-Friendly curricula.
OHSU/Portland VA Geriatric Medicine Fellowship
OHSU and the Portland VA host a 1-year geriatric medicine fellowship for physicians who have completed a family medicine or internal medicine residency. Oregon GWEP works with the fellowship program to provide fellows with curriculum development training as well as opportunities to rotate in rural and underserved sites. Click here to learn more about the fellowship program.
OHSU School of Nursing
The Oregon GWEP teamed up with the OHSU School of Nursing, La Grande Campus to develop and implement a year-long continuum of care rotation. First-year nursing students are gaining hands-on experience in caring for older adults across diverse settings, including community-based care, long-term care facilities, and critical access hospitals.
Oregon Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Scholars
Oregon GWEP partners with the Oregon AHEC Scholars program to provide an Age-Friendly AHEC Scholars Track for health professions students interested in caring for older adults in rural and underserved communities. This track provides GWEP mentorship and support for AHEC scholars in their rural training. Learn more about Oregon AHEC Scholars here.
Pacific University College of Health Professions (CHP)
Pacific University provides 8 degree-granting health professions training programs. Pacific CHP values interprofessional training and partners with Oregon GWEP to provide Age-Friendly Interprofessional Education electives for current trainees.
Samaritan Health Systems (SHS)
Located in Linn and Benton counties, SHS houses multiple residency programs including internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry. Oregon GWEP is happy to partner with SHS’s residency programs to deliver interprofessional education on complex older adult behavioral health challenges through case-based discussion sessions.