The American Geriatrics Society - News - American Geriatrics Society Awarded $2.85 Million John A. Hartford Foundation Grant To Further Improve the Care Surgical and Related Medical Specialists Provided to Older Patients

For Immediate Release
January 5, 2010

For more information:
Janis Eisner
(212) 308-1414 x304
jeisner@americangeriatrics.org

American Geriatrics Society Awarded $2.85 Million John A. Hartford Foundation Grant To Further Improve the Care Surgical and Related Medical Specialists Provided to Older Patients

New York, NY - The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has been awarded a $2.85 million John A. Hartford Foundation grant to further improve the care physicians in surgical and other medical related specialties provide older patients. With the population of older adults in the US projected to double over the next two decades, improving specialty care to the aging is imperative.

The grant will enable the AGS to launch Phase V of its highly successful Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative (GSI). The Hartford Foundation has funded the initiative since its inception in 1994. Through the GSI, the AGS works with medical specialty organizations to increase geriatrics expertise in ten surgical and related specialties. The Initiative supports education and training, research, and leadership development in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, physical medicine & rehabilitation, thoracic surgery and urology.

The GSI has already made considerable advances in improving the care of older adults by expanding the geriatrics knowledge and skills of surgical and related medical specialists. These efforts are supported by collaborations between geriatricians and specialty educators and researchers at the local, regional, and national levels.

"The GSI has been amazingly fruitful in disseminating relevant information regarding the care of older patients," says Jeffrey Silverstein, MD, Chair of the Executive Committee to the Council of the AGS Section for Enhancing Geriatric Understanding and Education among Surgical and Medical Specialists (SEGUE), which oversees the initiative. "Working with our partner organizations, we expect the Phase V initiative to continue this outstanding progress."

In Phase V, the GSI will continue to develop leaders in the ten targeted specialties; will collaborate with national stakeholder organizations to develop, adopt, and implement standardized core geriatrics competencies for specialty physicians in the targeted specialties; and will support national specialty organizations' efforts to improve care for older adults in their fields. Phase V GSI activities will advance specific recommendations in Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Healthcare Workforce, the Institute of Medicine's landmark 2008 report outlining steps the US must take to improve care for a rapidly growing population of older adults.

For more information about the GSI, visit http://www.americangeriatrics.org/specialists/ or contact Janis Eisner at jeisner@americangeriatrics.org.

ABOUT THE AGS
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (www.americangeriatrics.org) is a non-profit organization of more than 6,400 healthcare professionals whose shared mission is to improve the health, independence and quality of life of older people. Our vision for the future is that all older adults will have access to quality healthcare that meets their unique needs. To achieve this, the Society focuses on: advancing eldercare research; enhancing clinical practice in eldercare; raising public awareness of the healthcare needs of older people; and advocating for public policy that ensures older adults access to quality, appropriate, cost-effective care. The Society is a pivotal force in shaping practices, policies and perspectives in the field.