The American Geriatrics Society -

For Immediate Release
May 4, 2006

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

American Geriatrics Society Names Dr. Jane F. Potter Society President, Appoints New Officers and Elects New Board Members

Chicago, IL -- The American Geriatrics Society named Jane F. Potter, MD, Society President at its Annual Meeting, the premier scientific meeting for aging research, today.

Chief of the Section of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Dr. Potter holds the medical center's Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Geriatric professorship and is a professor in its department of internal medicine. In addition, Dr. Potter is Medical Director of the university's Geriatric Assessment Program and an associate clinical professor in the Department of Medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha.

"I'm delighted that Jane will be taking over as President of the AGS," said outgoing AGS President David B. Reuben, MD, who will take over as Chair of the AGS's Board of Directors today. "We look forward to having such a talented, accomplished, insightful, and effective leader at the helm."

High on the list of the Society's priorities for the coming years is addressing a growing, nationwide shortage of geriatrics healthcare providers. This shortage could reach crisis proportions in the next two decades as the nation's 77 million Baby Boomers reach retirement age.

Dr. Potter, a member of the AGS since 1980, is director of both the Geriatric Residency Rotation and the Geriatric Fellowship Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Since taking over as chief of the university's geriatrics and gerontology section, she has expanded the section, which originally included one physician, so it now includes seven. In each year at the university's medical school, students learn from geriatrics faculty, as do students in a wide array of the university's health professional programs. Dr. Potter is also a Deputy Director of the AGS /John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative.

The AGS Board Secretary in 2004, Dr. Potter has been a member of many other AGS committees, including the Public Policy, Clinical Practice, Nominations, Finance, and Bylaws committees, and has chaired several. Dr. Potter has also contributed to numerous AGS publications. She was a Question Editor for the early editions of the Geriatrics Review Syllabus and an Associate Editor for the fourth edition. She has been an Editor of all eight editions of Geriatrics At Your Fingertips and has co-edited the Geriatric Syllabus for Specialists. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The recipient of numerous research grants, and research and teaching awards - including the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Outstanding Teacher Award -- Dr. Potter has authored more than 130 articles for scholarly journals, book chapters, and abstracts.

The American Geriatrics Society also named several other officers and Board members today. Todd P. Semla, PharmD, was named President-Elect; John B. Murphy, MD, was appointed Treasurer, and Cheryl P. Phillips was named Secretary. Cathy A. Alessi, MD, Marie A. Bernard, MD, Charles Seth Landefeld, MD, and Wayne C. McCormick, MD, MPH, were elected to the Board of Directors.

Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) 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 education on the clinical care of older people; research; public education and information; public policy efforts; and through collaborative relationships with other organizations. For more information about AGS programs and initiatives, visit the AGS Web site at www.americangeriatrics.org.