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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Immersion Program Taps Four More Medical Schools Innovative Effort with Chief Residents Will Influence the Training of New York, NY - The Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP) has chosen four new U.S. medical schools to participate in the Chief Resident Immersion Training in the Care of Older Adults (CRIT) national demonstration project. The CRIT project trains chief residents to diagnose and treat health problems common to older adults and empowers them to better train the medical students and residents under their supervision. ADGAP selected the four schools earlier this month. Yale University, Marshall University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the University of Cincinnati will further expand the impact of this initiative, already in place at five medical schools across the country. "It is increasingly critical that doctors recognize and address the unique needs of older patients," said Sharon A. Levine, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Geriatrics and Geriatric-Oncology Fellowship Programs and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Boston University School of Medicine (BUMC). "Chief residents play a critical and leveraged role in both the training of medical students and residents, and in the care of millions of patients treated in our nation's teaching hospitals." Levine, who is the Project Director for the CRIT demonstration project, noted that chief residents who have previously participated in the program at BUMC showed a 41% increase in geriatric knowledge, which is in turn passed on to students and residents and ultimately translated into better patient care. This kind of impact is ever more important given our country's demographics. In part due to the graying of the US population in the last three decades, the percentage of hospital inpatients 65 and older has nearly doubled-from 20% to 38%. Patients 65 and older undergo more than twice as many surgical procedures as those 45 to 64. The large and aging Boomer generation will only increase these numbers in the years ahead. A Tested Growing Program "Training and educating chief residents has a ripple effect on health outcomes that lasts for years because they are key influencers in both their institutions and in the careers of the students and residents they oversee," said Gavin W. Hougham, PhD, Senior Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation. "This program has already shown that it can improve the quality of care for the rising number of hospitalized older Americans, and we are very pleased to support its expansion." "With only 7,100 geriatricians nationwide, there will never be enough of us to care for the 35 million adults over the age of 65," says Levine, a geriatrician herself. "By further expanding this program, we have the best chance to influence the next generation of primary care doctors, surgeons, and medical specialists who are caring for older adults. We expect to continue to see significant gains in geriatrics knowledge and skills among our trainees." About CRIT Medical schools at the universities of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Rochester, and South Carolina were chosen to participate in CRIT in 2007. An additional four will be selected in 2009. Each institution receives a 30-month grant of $114,000 to conduct two intensive CRIT training retreats and follow-up training for their chief residents. Teams including both a chief resident and a faculty member responsible for residency training in surgical and medical specialties attend the interactive 2 1/2 -day CRIT retreats. Each retreat includes roughly 15 chief residents and their mentors. The demonstration project will train a total of roughly 390 chief residents. These chief residents will, in turn, teach the geriatrics evaluation and management skills they learn to approximately 18,000 residents and medical students. Most chief residents also develop and implement projects designed to foster geriatrics education of trainees or improve a specific element of clinical care. At BUMC, CRIT has shown impressive results. The 16 BUMC chief residents who participated in 2006 measured a 41% improvement in geriatric knowledge following the two-and-a-half day intensive educational retreat. They also showed significantly greater understanding of multifaceted geriatric health problems and expertise in assessing older patients, and related skills. About ADGAP About The John A. Hartford Foundation Founded in 1929, The John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of health care, training, research and service system innovations that will ensure the well-being and vitality of older adults. Its overall goal is to increase the nation's capacity to provide effective, affordable care to its rapidly increasing older population. Today, the Foundation is America's leading philanthropy with a sustained interest in aging and health. Through its grantmaking, the John A. Hartford Foundation seeks specifically to:
Recognizing that its commitment alone is not sufficient to ensure the improvements it seeks, the John A. Hartford Foundation invites and encourages innovative partnerships with other foundations and funders, as well as public, non-profit and private groups dedicated to improving the health of older adults. |
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