North Carolina Center for Health and Aging
Hold the date: The North Carolina Conference on Aging will be held in Research Triangle Park October 13-15, 2010
The North Carolina
Center for Health and Aging (NCCHA), an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional center, was born in the 2004 NC
Legislative session when the General Assembly appropriated $10 million dollars for construction of the new NCCHA.
The Center is currently housed on the MAHEC campus, with satellite locations on the campuses of Western Carolina
University (WCU) and the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA). The Center initiative includes the
Asheville-based Center for Health and Aging, the UNCA Center for Health and Wellness, and the Western Carolina
University Health and Gerontological Sciences building.
An inter-institutional collaborative initiative with UNCA, WCU, and MAHEC, the mission of the
NCCHA is to promote healthy lifestyles and successful aging among all population groups. These educational
institutions, with the coordinating leadership of MAHEC, work with multiple partners in the community,
using the advantages of academic, clinical and community partnerships to improve the health and healthcare
of the people in Western North Carolina. Through collaboration with academia, healthcare providers,
policymakers and consumers, specific regional targets are identified on an on-going basis and strategies
are developed to implement successful interventions.
Our vision is to be a resource where people, agencies and institutions can access the education and
research expertise of UNCA, WCU, and MAHEC, dialogue with others, develop a broader and fuller
awareness of the opportunities for healthy living throughout the entire life cycle, and implement programs
that enhance their goals and support economic development.
The Center will focus its initial efforts in five major areas - Geriatrics, Pediatrics, Mental Health,
Health and Wellness, and Public Policy. Within each of these areas research activities as well as
educational events are being developed by Center staff and community partners.