SHAPING PROFESSIONAL AND PUBLIC AWARENESS OF GERIATRICS

AGS Releases Major Report on the Lack of Professionals to Care for Our Growing Senior Population

Major news outlets look to the AGS as a key source of reputable information on a wide range of issues concerning health and aging.

The June 2005 release of the Society's watershed report, "Caring for Older Americans: The Future of Geriatric Medicine," published by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, generated significant media coverage and brought much-needed attention to the current shortage of healthcare professionals trained to meet the needs of the nation's burgeoning older population.

Care provided by physicians with special geriatrics training is distinguished by their ability to manage multiple, complex conditions and polypharmacy, working with a multidisciplinary team in a variety of clinical, community, and long-term care settings, the report notes. If current educational trends continue, it is projected that there will be only one geriatrician for every 7,665 older adults in the year 2030, when millions of Baby Boomers will have reached retirement age.

The Future of Geriatric Medicine identifies current obstacles to attracting trainees to the field and supporting current practitioners who care for older adults. The report also outlines strategies for overcoming these obstacles. The AGS and numerous other organizations have used and will continue to use the report's recommendations to identify educational and clinical objectives, to develop health policy, and to implement strategies for change over the coming years that will help optimize the health of all older people.

The report, nearly a year in the making, was the work of an AGS task force that included more than two dozen leading geriatrics practitioners, researchers, and academicians. A draft report was peer-reviewed by over 20 national organizations and 25 individuals, including many past AGS Presidents.

Commissioning a New Institute of Medicine Report

In 2005, the AGS began working with Corrine Rieder, Executive Director of The John A. Hartford Foundation, and Harvey Feinberg, President of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and his staff, to commission an IOM report on geriatrics workforce and trainings issues and create a blueprint for geriatric care in the 21st century. AGS proposed such a report in The Future of Geriatric Medicine, advocated for the report, and began working with the Hartford Foundation and other foundations to commission it, collaborating to bring potential funders and the IOM together.

2005 Aging Awareness Media Award

The AGS established the Aging Awareness Media Award to acknowledge the role journalists play in shaping attitudes, policies, and practices concerning health care for older adults. The 2005 award, presented during the Annual Meeting, went to writer and editor Jan Collins. In addition to her co-authorship of a nationally syndicated weekly column, "NextSteps," which covers aging and disability issues, Ms. Collins received the award for her inspiring report, "Where Seniors Make Better Doctors," published in Parade magazine. The story describes an innovative program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Introduced in 2000, the program pairs each incoming USC medical student with an older volunteer mentor, with whom the student works throughout his or her 4 years of medical school.

Other Media Opportunities

The White House Conference on Aging and other events focused the media spotlight on geriatrics healthcare issues during 2005. The AGS Communications Team capitalized on these opportunities by placing stories in major news outlets throughout the country. Stories appeared in HealthDay News, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, The Saturday Evening Post, The Arizona Republic, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Reuters and on the Associated Press news wire services.