AGS Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA)

Established in 1999 to advocate on behalf of older people and their unique healthcare needs, to support research on aging, and to offer public education and related programs for older adults and those who care for them, The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) counted significant accomplishments in each of these areas in 2006. These were just a few:

"Health in Aging Stories" Site

The Foundation launched its Health in Aging Stories Site in March 2006. On the site, older adults who have benefited from geriatrics care and their caregivers recount their experiences with such care. The site, which also features contributions from geriatrics healthcare professionals who explain what makes geriatrics care unique, testifies to the difference it can make in the lives of older people. The site aims to help older adults and their caregivers determine whether they would benefit from geriatrics care. In addition, the FHA shares stories on the site with the media and policy makers to highlight the value of geriatrics care.

FHA and New York Junior League Partnership

In 2006, the New York City Junior League's Senior Care volunteer committee continued to work with the FHA to disseminate information from the Foundation's award-winning caregiving guide, Eldercare at Home, into neighborhoods throughout the city. During the year, Senior Care reached more than 300 seniors through a total of 30 presentations covering topics such as home safety, medication safety, and preventing and treating skin problems, depression, and sleep problems.

FHA Research Awards

Hartford Health Outcomes Research Scholars Awards
With funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation, the FHA presented four outstanding physician-scientists with Hartford Health Outcomes Research Scholars Awards in 2006. The Hartford Outcomes Awards support clinician-researchers who are committed to improving the healthcare of older adults as they make the critical transition from junior faculty to independent researcher. Each award recipient receives a $130,000 grant over a two-year period during which he or she conducts outcomes research addressing clinical strategies, innovative outcomes measures and quality of life for older patients. Research findings are presented at the American Geriatrics Society's Annual Scientific Meeting at the conclusion of the recipient's grant.

T. Franklin Williams Scholars Award
The FHA and the Association of Subspecialty Professors (ASP), with the generous support of The Atlantic Philanthropies, was pleased to present the 2006 T. Franklin Williams Scholars Award to Diana Kerwin, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics/Gerontology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The annual award goes to an academic geriatrician conducting research concerning older patients that has applicability to the care provided by sub-specialists in internal medicine. It is part of a broader effort in internal medicine in which specialty medical societies collaborate with ASP and The Atlantic Philanthropies to support research on aging. For the Williams award, the FHA is partnering with ASP to support a geriatrician. Over the course of two years, each recipient of the award receives a $75,000 grant that guarantees him or her protected time for research. Research findings are presented at the American Geriatrics Society's Annual Scientific Meeting at the conclusion of the recipient's grant.

2006 "An Evening With Friends"

More than 125 AGS members and other supporters of the FHA's Student Researcher Fund attended the fund's annual "An Evening With Friends" benefit during AGS' 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting in May. Attendees enjoyed top-notch entertainment provided by members of the AGS community, a dizzying array of desserts, and an open bar and -- with the help of presenting supporter Takeda -- raised $64,000 for the fund. The fund helps defray the travel expenses of students whose research has been accepted for presentation at the annual meeting. Each year, AGS accepts more than 100 student abstracts for presentation during the meeting and those students whose abstracts are chosen are eligible for financial assistance to offset travel costs. The annual meeting provides students with invaluable opportunities to meet professionals in geriatrics and discover the myriad opportunities the field has to offer.

FHA Health "Tip Sheets" and JAGS Summaries

The FHA released five additional public education "tip sheets" in 2006. The tip sheets, written for older adults and their caregivers, are posted on the FHA's comprehensive public education Web site, www.healthinaging.org, and can be printed and distributed at no cost. The 2006 tip sheets offer older adults advice on travel safety; walking safety; avoiding winter hazards; beating the holiday blues and getting needed vaccinations. In addition to educating the public, the tip sheets, which are sent to the press, help raise media awareness of the unique health concerns and healthcare needs of older adults.

Throughout 2006, the Foundation also continued to post easy-to-understand summaries of key studies from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society to the New Research section of www.healthinaging.org. Each month, the Foundation publishes summaries, written expressly for older people and their caregivers, of JAGS studies of particular interest to older adults. Summaries published in 2006 covered a wide range of topics, including how alcohol consumption may boost risks of bone fractures and falls in older men; the prevention of delirium and functional decline in older adults; and links between sleep problems and the risk of heart disease among caregivers.

The 7th Annual Lifetime of Caring Gala

More than 350 FHA supporters gathered at Rockefeller Center's famed Rainbow Room in October for the Foundation's seventh annual Lifetime of Caring Gala. The black tie event celebrated both the accomplishments of the Foundation and of other institutions and individuals whose work has contributed, in important and diverse ways, to the health and wellbeing of older adults. The event feted Greenwich (Connecticut) Hospital's standard-setting geriatrics programs; renowned television journalists and authors Deborah Roberts and Al Roker; Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation's Chief Executive Officer and head of Pharma North America, Alex Gorsky; and pioneering American artist Jane Freilicher. The gala, capped by a solo performance by legendary soprano Barbara Cook, raised more than $525,000 for the FHA.