The Mountain State Geriatric Education Center (MSGEC) is one of over 40 geriatric education centers funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions to prepare the nation's health professions to meet the unique health care needs of the elderly. The MSGEC was established at WVU to:

• Improve the training of health professionals in geriatrics
• Provide geriatric rotations for health science students
• Develop and disseminate curricula on the treatment of health problems in elderly individuals
• Train and re-train faculty to provide instruction in geriatrics
• Support continuing education for health professionals who provide geriatric care

The Mountain State Geriatric Education Center provides services to and fosters collaborative relationships among health professions educators at WVU and at several other sites within West Virginia. The MSGEC provides the foundation to strengthen multidisciplinary training of health professionals to diagnose, treat and prevent disease and other health problems that older people face.

The MSGEC was initially funded in 1997 for a three year period. In July of 2000, the MSGEC was funded for an additional five years  and formed a consortium with three West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnership (WVRHEP) sites and West Virginia State Community and Technical College. In 2001 two  additional WVRHEP sites and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine  joined the MSGEC consortium and in 2002 another two WVRHEP sites will be added for a total of seven. The consortium members will provide outreach and education to students, field faculty and health professionals in rural areas of the state and act as an advisory committee for the MSGEC activities.