The UNLV Center on Aging has established a "satellite campus" at the Horizon Pines Senior Apartments, a Nevada Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) property for low-income, older citizens. The satellite campus will pool the resources of the two organizations to meet common objectives related to older HAND residents and their families.

The satellite campus, established through a new partnership between the Center on Aging and HAND, will enhance the ability of both organizations to respond to particularly vulnerable older citizens. The focus is on at-risk older residents, including those who are socially isolated or are having difficulty re-entering the labor force.

"This effort is also in line with the goal of the Center on Aging to create a community-based 'learning laboratory,'" said Barbara Hirshorn, center director. "We want to make the university's resources accessible to the larger community. Through this partnership, the Center on Aging can impact the well being of older people in the community. At the same time, it will create important opportunities for learning and research for students and faculty."

The UNLV Center on Aging was created in 2000 to study issues related to aging and to help formulate public policy concerned with an aging society. Housed in UNLV's College of Liberal Arts, it serves as a focal point for interdisciplinary aging-related initiatives across the UNLV campus and for the implementation of collaborative activities within the community, across the state, and nationwide.

Hirshorn is a gerontologist who focuses issues related to maintaining the self-sufficiency and productivity of older persons. She is particularly concerned with promoting the well being of older residents in the community context, including older workers, the "near poor," grandparents raising grandchildren, and those who are socially isolated.

For further information, contact the UNLV Center on Aging satellite office at 896-2770 or Barbara Hirshorn at 895-0847.