Meeting the healthcare needs of America's rapidly growing and increasingly diverse older population -- through innovations in education, training, treatment, modes of practice, public policy, and healthcare financing -- will be among the topics explored at the American Geriatrics Society's 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting this spring.

The April 30 - May 4 meeting, at Washington DC's Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, will cover the latest in aging and geriatrics research, key clinical issues, health policy, and innovative models of care delivery, and include a wide range of research presentations and state-of-the-art educational sessions.

"The 2008 AGS annual scientific meeting promises to be the best yet!" says meeting program chair Annette Medina-Walpole, MD, AGSF, Associate Professor of Medicine and Program Director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at the University of Rochester. "This year's program offers unique opportunities to develop leadership and advocacy skills as well as many forums in which to network among colleagues. There are also many new and exciting symposia, workshops and presentations in clinical care, research and education targeting all disciplines involved in the care of older adults."

Meeting highlights include the May 1 Henderson State-of-the-Art Lecture. Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, AGS member and director of the Center on Aging and Health, the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, and the Training Program in Clinical and Population-based Research on Aging at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions will deliver the lecture, which will focus on frailty and aging. Dr. Fried will also receive AGS' 2008 Henderson State-of-the-Art Award, which goes to an individual whose work helps healthcare providers better understand and respond to problems inherent in elder care.

The State-of-the-Art Clinical Updates Session, later that same day, will cover numerous key topics in geriatrics, including MuRSA in long-term care settings; pressure ulcers; epilepsy; diabetes; alcohol abuse; Parkinson's disease; immunizations; bipolar disorder; complementary and alternative medicine; and vitamin D and other essential nutrients. The Presidential Reception and "An Evening With Friends," which benefits the AGS Foundation For Health in Aging's Student Researcher Fund (see related story), follow.

Immediately after the AGS Awards Ceremony on May 2, AGS will honor William D. Novelli, Chief Executive Officer of the 38-million member AARP, with its 2008 David H. Solomon Distinguished Public Service Award. Named in honor of David H. Solomon, MD, founding director of the Center on Aging at UCLA's School of Medicine, the award is presented annually to an individual or organization embodying Dr. Solomon's qualities - integrity, honesty, and humility - and demonstrating excellence in research, teaching, patient care, and administration.

Mr. Novelli will deliver the meeting's Public Policy Lecture, focusing on strategies for advancing quality healthcare that ensures older adults choice and control, and enables them to remain as independent as possible. He will also discuss progress with AARP's largest advocacy campaign to date, "Divided We Fail, Together We Can Do Anything." The campaign, launched last January, aims to enlist the public in efforts to urge government, businesses, non-profits and other individuals to find ways to ensure all Americans access to affordable healthcare and long-term financial security. More specifically, the campaign's goals include ensuring all Americans: access to affordable healthcare, including prescription drugs; choices in affordable long-term care that allow older adults to live as independently as possible; a strengthened Social Security program; and initiatives that provide workers with financial incentives to save and effective retirement plans. The campaign emphasizes that these goals must be met in ways that don't burden future generations.

Poster and paper sessions on geriatrics education; ethics and quality of life; neurological and behavioral sciences; research concerning geriatric syndromes; health services and policy research; and organ specific and systemic diseases and biology of aging are scheduled throughout the four-day annual meeting, as are a wide variety of Special Interest Group sessions. The Section for Surgical and Related Medical Specialists' Annual Meeting, which is part of the AGS meeting, is scheduled for May 3.

The AGS meeting offers dozens of CME credit-granting continuing education sessions, including symposia, workshops and meet-the-expert sessions.

For more information about the AGS 2008 Scientific Meeting or for registration materials, visit www.americangeriatrics.org, or call 212-308-1414. You can register online, using our secure server at www.americangeriatrics.org; or by faxing your registration form to 301-694-5124. You can also send the registration form, with credit card information, or a check, payable to "ExpoExchange/AGS," to: AGS Annual Scientific Meeting, PO Box 590, Frederick, MD 21705-0590. Note: Those registering by March 24 pay a discounted registration fee.