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For Immediate Release
April 26, 2006

For more information:
Erin Weller
(212) 308-1414 x 329

New York, NY - Recent cuts in federal funding for what are known as "Title VII" geriatrics training programs - the only federal programs of their kind -- have already had devastating effects on programs that train physicians, nurses, mental health professionals and other healthcare workers to care for older adults, according to an American Geriatrics Society survey that was released today.

"These cuts are already threatening programs that were established to train the healthcare professionals we'll so desperately need as our population ages," said AGS President, David B. Reuben, MD, director of the UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. "Congress must act to restore funds for these programs in 2007. The current shortage of geriatrics healthcare providers in the US could well reach crisis proportions in the next 25 years, when aging Baby Boomers will double the number of Americans 65 and older, and these cuts will exacerbate that shortage."

In late December, Congress eliminated Title VII funding for geriatrics, which totaled $31.5 million in 2005. The funds supported three crucial initiatives: geriatric faculty fellowships, Geriatric Academic Career Awards (GACAs), and the nation's 50 Geriatric Education Centers (GECs). The geriatric faculty fellowships train physicians, dentists, and behavioral and mental health professionals to teach geriatric medicine, dentistry, and psychiatry. The GACAs support geriatric physicians who pursue academic medicine and go on to train healthcare professionals and the next generation of geriatricians. And the GECs offer numerous programs through which geriatricians train primary care doctors, nurses and other health care providers to meet older adults' unique health care needs. Older adults, particularly those with multiple health problems, have different healthcare needs than younger adults do.

In the wake of the cuts, AGS surveyed more than 140 directors of geriatric academic programs to find out how the cuts were affecting geriatric medicine, dentistry and psychiatry fellows and GACA recipients at their institutions.

The directors of these programs reported that they had been able to find replacement funds - from state or private sources - to support fewer than 12% of their GACA awardees and fellows. GACA awardees not only train fellows and medical, nursing and other healthcare professions students, they also go out into the community to teach general practitioners, nursing home staff and others how to better care for older adults, and they provide direct care for older adults in university-affiliated clinics and health centers. The vast majority of fellows and awardees will have to cut back on teaching because they will need to make up lost Title VII income by doing more clinical work, research, or both, the program directors reported.

Loss of funds for GECs will also limit geriatrics training in the community. "Loss of our GEC leaves 98 health providers without the means to complete the mini-fellowships in which they enrolled and also eliminates our programs to reach rural providers and direct care providers in nursing homes," reported Jane F. Potter, MD, professor and chief of the section of geriatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and president-elect of the AGS.

All told, the 43 geriatric academic program directors responding to the survey (30% of those surveyed) reported losing funding for 101 fellows and GACA awardees.

A coalition of medical organizations, including the AGS, is advocating for restoration of Title VII geriatrics funds in the 2007 federal budget.

For complete survey results, visit www.americangeriatrics.org/advocacy.

ABOUT THE AGS
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (www.americangeriatrics.org) is a nationwide, not-for-profit association of geriatrics health care professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence, and quality of life of all older people. The Society supports this mission through activities in clinical practice, professional and public education, research, and public policy. With an active membership of over 6,500 health care professionals, the Society has become a pivotal force in shaping attitudes, policies, and practices in geriatric medicine.