Week In Review

AGS members can access their free digital subscription to the newly released 26th edition of Geriatrics At Your Fingertips^®! Simply log in with your AGS member credentials at GeriatricsCareOnline.org and GAYF^® will be listed in the My Library tab beneath Books & Online Texts. Look for the goldenrod-colored cover.

In this 26th edition, we have made updates in every chapter and have included new information on drug treatment for symptomatic heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction, emerging blood tests and newly approved drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and MCI, the management of incontinence, diagnosis of giant cell arteritis, medical marijuana for chronic pain, and more.

Remember GAYF^® is also available as a print book– available for purchase for yourself and your favorite colleagues or trainees here.

Bulk discounts and institutional licensing opportunities are also available.

The AGS vaccine professional resources, including our Essential Vaccine Mobile App and GEMS Tool, are now up-to-date with the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending older adults receive an additional dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine.

On April 22nd, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting final rule. Notably, CMS established a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 hours per resident day (HPRD), which includes at least 0.55 HPRD of direct registered nurse (RN) care and 2.45 HPRD of direct nurse aide care. CMS finalized a requirement to have an RN onsite 24 hours per day, seven days a week, to provide skilled nursing care. CMS will also require states to report on the percent of Medicaid payments that are spent on compensation for direct care workers and support staff delivering care in nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. You can review the comments submitted by AGS on the proposed rule here and the following summary documents from CMS on the final rule.

1. Final Rule
2. CMS Press Release 
3. CMS Fact Sheet

Have you been following the AGS #IAmGeriatrics Video roll out on our Twitter/X and Facebook pages? The AGS has been rolling out short video clips of some of the newest members of the AGS member community on what they love about geriatrics and why they chose to practice in geriatrics. 

A big thank you to all who participated in these videos and to the fellowship program directors who facilitated connections to make these happen. We are #AGSProud! You can view these videos on our Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram and LinkedIn pages or you can find them on the AGS website.

The countdown is on to the 2024 Virtual Annual Meeting taking place May 9th – 11th, with preconference days on May 7th & 8th.  Be sure to mark your calendar and register today!

#AGS24 will feature updates and insights on all things geriatrics, including clinical care, research on aging, innovative models of care and quality improvements, and much, much more. Be sure to attend the Poster and Paper sessions held throughout #AGS24 – there are nine paper sessions and three poster sessions, each with a live chat feature for you to engage with the authors.

Click here to read the 2024 research abstracts in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) supplement. 

Learn how to implement the Digital Healthcare Equity Framework, a guide designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to ensure equity in digital healthcare solutions for users and stakeholders. Despite advancements, disparities in healthcare access persist, making intentional equity considerations crucial. The framework, based on evidence and consensus, assists in developing equitable digital healthcare solutions. This guide can be used to understand to assess equity across the digital healthcare lifecycle.

The AGS Opportunities for Investigators resource serves as a central location for geriatrics and aging-related opportunities such as grant funding, presentation or publication submissions, travel stipends for scholarly meetings, networking events, comment periods, and in-person or virtual meetings and webinars. One upcoming opportunity we'd like to highlight is:

• Apply for funding for the Alzheimer's and Dementia Programs Initiative (ADPI) - Grants to States and Communities program by June 11, 2024. Cooperative agreement grants awarded under this opportunity will support and promote the development and expansion of dementia-capable home and community-based service systems in states, communities, and tribes.

The MyAGSOnline Events Calendar is a valuable resource to discover and register for upcoming events, webinars, and other opportunities. We'd like to highlight the following upcoming events: 

• Register for this webinar hosted by the AGING Initiative in collaboration with the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging happening on Monday, May 13, 2024 at 2:00 PM ET where James McNally, PhD will present "A Team Science Based Resource to Support the Evolution of MCCs Research". During this presentation, Dr. James McNally will highlight the various University of Michigan resources available to the research community and discuss their relevance to the study of multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). 
   
• Join the Bold Public Health Center of Excellence on Dementia Caregiving for the webinar "Applications of Health Equity in Dementia Caregiving: Policy and Practice" on May 15, 2024 12:00 PM ET. It will focus on reviewing policy implementation, sharing how healthcare organizations can be involved in equity efforts relating to dementia caregiving, the importance of prioritizing community engagement, and strategies to engage dementia caregivers and those with lived experience in policy and practice. 

Have an opportunity or event you'd like to see listed? Email the details to Jennifer Fisher at jfisher@americangeriatrics.org