Department of Health Professions Certificates
Passionate about a specific area of health care? Earn a certificate or digital badge!
Aging Services Digital Badge
Why pursue an Aging Services Digital Badge?
PURPOSE: The badge allows students to begin their aging services / LTC career as they complete the courses – reflecting the need and nature of hiring in this industry.
CAREER BENEFITS: Globally, the workforce pool is rapidly changing. The recent Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment projections sends a clear message to the long-term care field—millions of direct care jobs will need to be filled in the years ahead, and stronger recruitment pipelines, improved job quality, and a range of workforce interventions are critically needed for the workforce in this sector.
How Students Can Utilize the Badge: This badge will help enhance learner knowledge of the field while upskilling individual experience through a motivating and engaging format. The badge can be a pathway to students brand new to higher education or students returning to college to add skills and competencies to their existing portfolio. The badge can also be a bridge to students who might want to continue their education after completing the badge.
Aging Services Digital Badge Required Courses
Students must complete 6 credit hours (courses listed below) and 1 immersive experience (webinar, interview, volunteering). The Aging Services Digital Badge can be a stand-alone achievement, add on, or it can be utilized as a feeder into a certificate or bachelor’s degree program. Students in any major whether undergraduate or graduate, can complete the Digital badge.
Required Courses:
- AGE 1010 – Aging Services Leadership: Introduction to Aging and Long-Term Care Service Credits: 3
- AGE 2020 – Ageism and Ableism in Society Credits: 3
Hear from an Aging Services Student!
Jessica Flores-Faisal is a Master of Health Administration student who completed the Aging Services Digital Badge to enhance her career and understanding of the aging population.
“While taking classes in Health Care Management, Flores-Faisal learned about aging services and the stigmas older adults face in health care and in broader society. The field immediately sparked her interest. “I wanted to continue that knowledge of aging services and bring that awareness to other individuals,” she said, “especially because the older population is just continuing to grow.” Read More Here.
Contact Us to Learn about Aging Services!
If you are interested in Aging Services Leadership but have more questions, please contact us! You can set up an advising appointment with Dr. Amy Dore by emailing her at [email protected].
You can also request an advising appointment using the form here.
Aging Services Leadership Certificate
The Aging Services Leadership (ASL) certificate assists individuals interested in gaining knowledge pertaining to aging, eldercare, and gerontology. The certificate will prepare individuals to understand the cultural, physical, and social aspects of aging along with the aspects of how aging affect populations. The certificate will prepare individuals to apply administrative principles required in the management of aging services such as nursing home, long term care settings, and home health services. The certificate includes required pre-requisite and core courses along with elective courses in which students can tailor the certificate to meet specifications of their career goals.
Aging Services Leadership Certificate Requirements
The Aging Services Leadership Certificate requires the following courses and electives. In addition to the courses listed below, many courses will require prerequisite courses prior to registration.
Summary of Certificate Requirements
Required Prerequisites: 6 Credits
Required Core Courses: 9 Credits
Required Elective Courses: 9 Credits
Total: 24 Credits
Course Information
- SOC 1010 – Introduction to Sociology (Credits: 3)
- PSY 1001 – Introductory Psychology (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3800 – Long-Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum (Credits: 3)
- SOC 1040 – Introduction to Social Gerontology (Credits: 3)
- SOC 3040 – Sociology of Aging (Credits: 3)
Choose 9 Credits, 3 Credit Hours Must Be Upper Division:
- ANT 3480 – Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness (Credits: 3)
- COMM 3220 – Communication and the Elderly (Credits: 3)
- CJC 4220 – Criminal Justice and the Elderly (Credits: 3)
- EXS 3790 – Fitness Programming for Children, Adolescents, and Older Adults (Credits: 3)
- FIN 3450 – Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3150 – Health Care Organization and Management (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3700 – Health Disparities in the U.S. (Credits: 3)
- HCPS 3000 – Introduction to Patient Navigation (Credits: 3)
- HSL 1420 – Activity and Fitness Programs for the Elderly (Credits: 2)
- HSP 3610 – Financial Accountability and Organizational Control in Nonprofit Organizations (Credits: 3)
- HSP 4520 – Grief Counseling (Credits: 3)
- ITP 1700 – Medical Terminology (Credits: 2)
- ITP 2950 – Wellness Coaching I (Credits: 3)
OR - HPS 2700 – Wellness Coaching I (Credits: 3)
- ITP 3100 – Health Education and Counseling (Credits: 3)
- ITP 3200 – Ethics in Health Care (Credits: 3)
- ITP 3700 – Physiology of Aging (Credits: 3)
- ITP 4400 – Wellness Coaching II (Credits: 3)
OR - HPS 4700 – Wellness Coaching II (Credits: 3)
- MKT 3190 – Marketing for Social Good (Credits: 3)
- NUT 3050 – Concepts of Lifecycle Nutrition (Credits: 3)
- PSY 2270 – Death and Dying (Credits: 3)
- PSY 3270 – Adulthood and Aging (Credits: 3)
- PSY 3540 – Cognitive Aging (Credits: 3)
- RECR 2330 – Advocacy, Leisure, and the Aging Adult (Credits: 3)
- RECR 4630 – Recreation Programs for the Older Adult (Credits: 3)
- SOC 3100 – Death and Dying (Credits: 3)
- SOC 3810 – Population Issues: Life, Death and Migration (Credits: 3)
- SWK 3030 – Social Work with Older People (Credits: 3)
The Colorado Chapter of LeadingAge
The Colorado chapter of LeadingAge provides some key data relevant to the growing need for assistance and the importance of Aging Services Leadership itself:
- 28,900 Assisted Living Centers Nationwide
- Adult Day Services growing 5.5%/year
- Through 2026, the projected growth of jobs in healthcare settings is at 18%. But, the demand for home health and personal care aides will far outpace the sector’s growth, with an increase of 41% to more than 4 million jobs.
- Life Plan Communities (CCRCs) and Nursing Homes are expanding service offerings, which translates to more jobs.
- PACE programs are expanding rapidly nationwide at a rate of 12%/year.
- The population of adults age 65 and older will increase from 47.8 million in 2015 to 88 million in 2050.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that nearly 70% of people who reach the age of 65 will ultimately need some form of long-term services and supports (LTSS).
- By 2035, the number of older households with disability will increase by 76% to reach 31.2 million.
- The US will need 2.5 million LTSS workers by 2030 to keep up with the growth of America’s aging population.
Health Data Science Certificate Requirements
Health Data Science is a field that focuses on applying information science methods to analyze and understand health care information, to progress from raw data to knowledge for improved decision-making and care delivery. Health Data Science uses interactive data analytic tools to explore large sets of health data to improve patient care and outcomes, improve effectiveness and efficiency of health operations, decrease costs and risk, and manage the health of populations.
Health Data Science Certificate Course Requirements requires the following courses. In addition to the courses listed below, many courses will require prerequisite courses prior to registration.
Course Information
- HCM 3150 – Health Care Organization and Management (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3600 – Health Information Systems (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3830 – Analytical Methods in Health Data (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3840 – Statistical Methods in Health Data (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3850 – Database Systems in Health Care (Credits: 3)
- HCM 3860 – Health Care Business Intelligence (Credits: 3)
Accreditation
Academic Accreditation is an assurance of the quality of an academic program. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the North Central region, including Colorado and 18 other states. The mission of the HLC is to serve the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning. For more information, please visit the Higher Learning Commission.
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Department of Health Professions
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Campus Box 33, PO Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362
