AGS Members and Affiliates, Membership Communications and Other Member Benefits

AGS Members

AGS added nearly than 1,000 new members in 2006, surpassing its goal of recruiting at least 850 new members over the course of the year -- and boosting membership to nearly 6,600. During the year, the Society began offering free online memberships for residents and students.

As evidenced by the demographic information below, AGS' membership continues to represent the spectrum of professionals involved in all aspects of geriatric healthcare and research.

AGS' Growing Affiliate Network

The local, state, and regional efforts of AGS' growing network of affiliates continued to contribute to the Society's successes in 2006. Throughout the year, our affiliates helped raise awareness of the importance of geriatrics care, advocate for high quality care for older adults, and provide important educational and professional networks for geriatrics healthcare providers.

AGS extends its thanks to those members whose initiative and hard work helped the Rhode Island and West Virginia societies garner official affiliate status in 2006. During the year, the Indiana Geriatrics Society was granted provisional affiliate status and AGS members in Massachusetts met to discuss re-establishing a Massachusetts Geriatrics Society. AGS members in Oklahoma, Southern Illinois/Wisconsin and Arkansas also expressed interest in starting local affiliates.

AGS' Council of State Affiliate Representatives (COSAR) was pleased to honor the South Carolina Geriatrics Society (SCGS) with its 2006 State Affiliate Achievement Award in recognition of its highly successful efforts to increase its membership across all disciplines. Among other things, the SCGS introduced new member benefits, including a quarterly newsletter and a variety of educational programs - and boosted its membership more than 400% in 2006.

Membership Communications and Other Member Benefits

AGS offers numerous benefits to members -- including free subscriptions to its weekly email list servs, quarterly member newsletter and journals; access to its members-only MYAGS portal; and discounts on Society products and annual meeting registration - and both updated and introduced several new benefits in 2006.

In 2006, AGS updated its Practice Management Toolkit, one of the many free and invaluable tools and resources available to members via MYAGS.

AGS also launched its members-only AGS' Grassroots Media Toolkit, now available via MYAGS The toolkit is designed to help members work with the media to, among other things, raise awareness of important issues affecting the health of older adults. It includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides to writing Letters to the Editor, Op-Eds, and articles and columns on aging and health. The kit also includes sample Letters to the Editor, Op-Eds, columns and articles.

The Society redesigned and improved the AGS Web site in 2006 as well, making the site easier to navigate.

To make it easier for members and others to participate in advocacy efforts on behalf of policy supporting quality healthcare for older Americans, the AGS launched its online Health in Aging Advocacy Center in March 2006. The advocacy center provides AGS staff with tools for alerting AGS and ADGAP members and others who register with the center to policy developments and AGS advocacy campaigns. More

AGS launched its Careers in Geriatrics Web page in the fall of 2006. The page, which profiles members in a wide range of disciplines, gives potential recruits, journalists and other readers a sense of the myriad opportunities a background in geriatrics affords.

In another effort to link members and possible recruits, AGS' created its Careers in Geriatrics Local Mentoring Program, which pairs students and other trainees interested in geriatrics with AGS members. The program matches members and trainees based on each trainee's goals and interests and geographic location.

To help geriatrics healthcare providers help Medicare beneficiaries understand the Medicare drug benefit, which debuted in 2006, AGS provided ongoing updates, alerts, and resources concerning the plan via its weekly list serv, AGS Week in Review; its quarterly newsletter, AGS News, and a new Medicare Part D section of its Web site. Via the site, AGS also offered helpful information and tools for patients, to which members could refer their patients.