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For Immediate Release
May 13, 2005

For Further Information:
Mary Anne Shannon
(212)308-1414 x 301

Orlando, FL- For top-notch reporting on a program designed to improve the care of older adults by matching medical students with older adult mentors, The American Geriatrics Society today presented its annual Aging Awareness Media Award to writer and editor Jan Collins.

The AGS made the presentation here, at its 2005 Annual Meeting, the premier scientific meeting for research on aging. The Society also awarded Joel Keehn Honorable Mention for his excellent work in the Consumer Reports On Health newsletter.

In her timely and enlightening report, "Where Seniors Make Better Doctors," published in Parade magazine, Ms. Collins describes an innovative program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia. Introduced in 2000, the program pairs each incoming USC medical student with an older volunteer mentor for his or her four-year medical school career.

The USC program gives the students in-depth experience with older patients -- an experience, Ms. Collins writes, "that will become increasingly critical: Seniors will constitute 20 percent of the U.S. population by 2030." (To read the article, visit http://www.jan-collins.com/articles.htm). There is already a shortage of trained geriatricians in the US, a shortage that is expected to worsen significantly as Baby Boomers enter late adulthood.

An editor and writer with more than 30 years of experience, Ms. Collins is the co-author of the nationally syndicated weekly column, "NextSteps," which covers aging and disability issues. She is also the editor of Business and Economic Review, a publication of USC's Moore School of Business.

The American Geriatrics Society's Aging Awareness Media Award honors reporting that meets high journalistic standards and provides the public with informative and in-depth coverage of geriatric health care issues. For more information, visit www.americangeriatrics.org/news.

About AGS
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (http://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 6,700 health care professionals, the Society has become a pivotal force in shaping attitudes, policies and practices in geriatric medicine. The American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting, the premier scientific meeting for geriatrics health care providers, educators, and researchers, began May 11 and runs through May 15.