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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
AGS' Offices Will Be Closed February 15 AGS News Will Not Publish Next Week
AGS' offices will be closed Monday, February 15, for Presidents' Day. They will reopen Tuesday, February 16. AGS News Week in Review will not publish next week. Look for the next issue in your Inbox on February 23.
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At AARP-UN Global Aging Meeting, AoA's Greenlee Says There is "No Better Time" To Be in Field
Academics, government officials, and members of foundations and other organizations focused on aging gathered at the United Nations last week for the fourth annual AARP-UN Briefing Series on Global Aging.
The series serves as a forum for dialog on how to develop policies benefiting older adults and society as a whole. The theme of this year's event was "Social Integration," and the series put special emphasis on global health, access and barriers to health services, health systems reform, healthcare spending and the human rights of older people.
"According to the United Nations, by 2050, one in five of the world's population will be over the age of 60," noted Featured Speaker Jennie Chin Hansen, President of the AARP.
"Aging will be the norm and this will change what we will be doing worldwide," said Keynote Speaker Kathy Greenlee, the US Assistant Secretary for Aging, who discussed the challenges of and opportunities for meeting the needs of a graying population.
While the perception abroad is that most older Americans live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, the vast majority of eldercare in the US is provided by family members, noted Ms. Greenlee, who heads the federal Administration on Aging (AoA).
"One of the best things we've learned over the years in this country is about our caregivers: 80% of aging care is done by families," she noted.
Ensuring that family caregivers have the resources they need to care for their older loved ones is essential, and this is a key focus of the AoA, Ms. Greenlee explained. President Obama's newly proposed fiscal year 2011 budget for the agency, she noted, is good news for family caregivers and seniors. The President's spending plan includes significant funding for a new Caregiver Initiative, she explained. The initiative would significantly boost funding for three existing programs. It would allocate $50 million more for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which provides grants to the nation's area agencies on aging so they can offer families eldercare information, training, counseling, and referrals, and respite care. The initiative would provide $2.5 million more for the Lifespan Respite Care program, which affords family caregivers brief breaks from caregiving. And it would allocate an additional $50 million for the Home and Community Based Services program, which helps cover elder transportation, participation in adult day programs and home care through local agencies on aging.
"There is no better time to be in this field, to help individuals and shape this field," Ms. Greenlee said.
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Things We Like
"Amazing Feats of Aging," the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's fascinating new exhibit, examines why and how we and other animals age
The show, which runs through May 2, looks at aging across the animal kingdom; the biology of aging; what constitutes healthy aging; and the aging of the brain. Among other things, visitors can watch their faces "age" 25 years; compare young and older cells; learn about the "graying" of the population; and analyze differences between a brain that ages normally and one affected by Alzheimer's. Created by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, the exhibit was made possible by a Science Education Partnership Award grant from the National Center for Research Resources, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH.)
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Spotlight on Member Benefits
A free yearly subscription to Clinical Geriatrics, is one of the many benefits of membership in the American Geriatrics Society.
Clinical Geriatrics is a monthly medical journal that focuses on both clinical and practical issues related to the treatment and management of older patients. The journal publishes authoritative, clinical articles covering a wide range of areas, including cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, musculoskeletal disease, nephrology, neurology, oncology, pain management, psychiatry, pulmonary medicine, rheumatology, and urology. Clinical Geriatrics also offers insightful columns, including "Spotlight," a bi-monthly column by AGS member Barney Spivack, MD. In addition, the journal provides ongoing continuing medical education approved by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Each issue offers an opportunity to earn credit hours towards the AMA's Physician Recognition Award.
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The Practice Change Fellows Program: Enhancing Leadership in Geriatric Care 2010 Call For Applications (Deadline: April 7, 2010)
The Practice Change Fellows program is now accepting applications for the 2010 award cycle. The program is designed to develop healthcare leaders who can effectively promote high quality care for older adults. Eligible applicants must hold a leadership role in a health organization or institution and have service line or programmatic responsibility for care to older adults. They must be sufficiently senior in their organization to have decision-making authority and be able to effect change. Nurses, physicians, and social workers are eligible to apply. Applications and more details are available at www.practicechangefellows.org. The application deadline for the 2010 award cycle is April 7.
As many as 10 Practice Change Fellows are selected through a national competition for each award cycle. Fellows receive $90,000 over the two-year program and work with accomplished national mentors to design, implement, and evaluate a new project. This project will ideally focus on an innovative aging-related program or geriatric service line. Fellows will participate in tri-annual meetings where they will receive input on their projects from national program mentors and Advisory Board members, join in case-based discussions on how to effect change, and attend interactive presentations led by national experts. Completion of formal leadership training is another core component of the program. By the end of the two years, Fellows will be able to articulate a vision of what they hope to accomplish in the upcoming five years and the steps necessary to achieve this.
The Practice Change Fellows program is funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the John A. Hartford Foundation, and administered by the Division of Health Care Policy and Research at the University of Colorado Denver in partnership with the National Council on Aging. Past AGS member recipients include Alice Bonner, PhD, RN and Audrey Chun, MD -- Learn more about their work.
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Got A Minute? Top Health Policy News Picks
AGS' staff and public policy advisors continue to keep an eye out for top healthcare policy stories that our members should read. This week we recommend the 4 picks below:
Obama Invites Republicans To Share Ideas At Televised Health Reform Summit
Dems May Add Health Provisions - Including COBRA Subsidies and Medicare Fixes - To Jobs Bill
Research Roundup: Medicare Spending, Community Health Centers, Children's Dental Services
Health Spending Consumes More Of U.S. Economy, Will Tip Toward Government
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