News/Press Releases

• .@AmerGeriatrics Commends Bipartisan Leaders on Bringing HR2781, Important #Geriatrics Workforce Training Legislation, That Much Closer to Becoming Law http://ow.ly/A2YA30p6LK8

New York (July 11, 2019)—As members of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce move to debate, amend, and revise a host of important health proposals, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) again pledged enthusiastic support for one of the Committee’s most important bills under consideration: The Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781).

Introduced by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Burgess (R-TX) earlier this year, the bill reauthorizes workforce training programs under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. Among these initiatives are the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the Geriatrics Academic Career Awards (GACAs), both critical to the care all Americans need as our country continues to age.

New York (May 17, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today offered a ringing endorsement of the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781), a proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure communities across the U.S. have access to health professionals and other critical supports improving care for us all as we age.

Introduced by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Burgess (R-TX), a physician, the bill reauthorizes the workforce training programs under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act including the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the Geriatrics Academic Career Award (GACA) Program. The bill draws on considerable insights from the Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA), a collaborative comprised of more than 30 member organizations co-convened by the AGS and now reflecting the diverse expertise of millions of professionals who support health in aging for older Americans.

Portland, Ore. (May 2, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today honored 21 leading health professionals who joined the newest class of AGS Fellows—a select group of experts recognized for their deep commitment to the AGS and to advancing high-quality, person-centered care for us all as we age.

“All of our fellows are colleagues who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to geriatrics, have contributed to advances in care, and are active participants in AGS activities,” noted Sunny Linnebur, PharmD, BCP, BCGS, President of the AGS, in recognizing the new AGS Fellows at the AGS 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS19; May 2-4 in Portland, Ore.).

This year’s fellows hail from all four corners of the country and reflect the increasingly interprofessional nature of geriatrics as a field attracting doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physicians assistants, social workers, and many others. They include:

New York (May 1, 2019)—Sunny Linnebur, PharmD, BCGP, BCPS, the new president and second pharmacist to lead the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) since its founding, is no stranger to questions about a “magic pill” for aging.

“The ‘prescription’ we all need is broader but also much simpler than any one pill,” Dr. Linnebur explains. “It’s about prescribing a better approach to care for our health system. That approach is powered by collaboration, driven by how health changes with age, and focused on prioritizing what health means to us individually.”

That prescription “takes a village,” Dr. Linnebur is quick to note. It also takes cutting-edge research, innovative public and professional education, and better public policy. The latest updates across all these frontiers will be on display at the AGS 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS19; May 2-4 in Portland, Ore.), where Dr. Linnebur and more than 2,500 of her colleagues will cast their widest net yet for social and scientific breakthroughs shaping better care for us all. Among this year’s highlights are marquee presentations by:

• At #AGS19, Dr. Courtney Balentine of @UTSW_Surgery and Dr. Candace Yvonne Parker-Autry of Wake Forest Baptist Health will be honored for research building broader home for #geriatrics in other specialties http://ow.ly/q2SB30orL9G

New York (April 16, 2019)—Advancing care for older people across health specialties, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the AGS Health in Aging Foundation today announced that Courtney Balentine, MD, MPH, of the University of Texas Southwestern and Candace Yvonne Parker-Autry, MD, of Wake Forest School of Medicine will receive this year’s Jeffrey H. Silverstein Memorial Award for Emerging Investigators in the Surgical and Related Medical Specialties. Presented at the AGS 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS19, held May 2-4 in Portland, Ore.), the award will recognize Dr. Balentine and Dr. Parker-Autry for accelerating research at the intersection of geriatrics and other specialties.

“Our country is changing as we age, and our health care needs to follow suit,” notes Laurie G. Jacobs, MD, AGSF, AGS President. “In their efforts to build connections and expertise beyond geriatrics, Dr. Balentine and Dr. Parker-Autry prove that our colleagues from across medicine can not only become proficient in the care we all need as we age but also can build a rich body of research to push that care to new heights.”

• .@AmerGeriatrics Honors Expert & Emerging #Geriatrics Leaders at #AGS19

New York (April 16, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) annually honors researchers, clinicians, educators, and emerging health professionals who have made outstanding contributions to high-quality, person-centered care for older people. This year’s award recipients include more than 20 leaders representing the breadth of disciplines championing care for us all as we age.

Arti Hurria Memorial Award for Emerging Investigators in Internal Medicine Who are Focused on the Care of Older Adults

• Lauren Ferrante, MD, MHS (Yale School of Medicine)

Choosing Wisely® Champion Award

• Rebecca Dobert (Baystate Medical Center)

Clinician of the Year Award

• Kellie Flood, MD (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Clinical Student Research Award

• Leaders & colleagues at @AmerGeriatrics bestow one of #geriatrics’ highest honors on the late Dr. Arti Hurria, who set the gold standard for bringing geriatrics expertise to all health specialties http://ow.ly/Q63J30onxyK

New York (April 9, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) will recognize the late Arti Hurria, MD, a geriatrics oncologist who was one our country’s most passionate advocates for older adults with cancer,  with the David H. Solomon Public Service Award. Dr. Hurria, who tragically passed away in November 2018, was committed to improving the geriatrics competence of all physicians and health professionals—like David H. Solomon, MD, namesake for this award. Dr. Hurria set the standard for interprofessional collaboration between researchers in aging and those from other specialties. Her husband, Thomas Lee, MD, will accept the award on her behalf at the AGS 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS19), May 2-4 in Portland, Ore.

“We are privileged to work in a profession attuned to the memory of those who have gone before us,” notes Laurie G. Jacobs, MD, AGSF, AGS President. “The model Dr. Hurria set of servant leadership continues to benefit her colleagues and older adults. We, like many others, will continue to carry that legacy forward.”

• The @AmerGeriatrics names @UAB’s Dr. Kellie Flood #Geriatrics Clinician of the Year #AGS19 http://ow.ly/Rhu530onxnZ

New York (April 9, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today named Kellie Flood, MD, one of Alabama’s premier geriatrics health professionals, its 2019 Clinician of the Year. An Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), as well as Associate Chief Medical and Quality Officer for Geriatrics and Care Transitions at UAB Hospital, Dr. Flood will be honored at the AGS 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS19) May 2-4 in Portland, Ore.

“Dr. Flood represents everything we’ve come to expect from a geriatrics health professional,” noted Laurie G. Jacobs. MD, AGSF, AGS President.  “She’s a skilled researcher, educator, and health system leader—all this because she remains so connected to the older people under her care.”

A board-certified physician in internal medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care, Dr. Flood wears dual caps as a leading clinician and an influential educator in a state where both are in high demand. Dr. Flood launched and continues to serve on the inpatient geriatric consult service that currently performs more than 1,400 consultations annually. And while coordinating that volume of care is impressive in its own right, Dr. Flood is perhaps best known for “going above and beyond” for each of her patients as individuals.

• At #AGS19, Dr. Nicki Brandt of @UMSOP honored for impact training future #geriatrics leaders in pharmacy & beyond http://ow.ly/3m8Y30onxtr

New York (April 9, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today announced that Nicole Brandt, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, BCPP, FASCP, of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy will be honored with the 2019 Dennis W. Jahnigen Award celebrating work to train health professionals in the care we all need as we age. A Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science and Executive Director of the School of Pharmacy’s Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging, Dr. Brandt has dedicated more than two decades to uncovering best practices in medication management for older people and to training fellow pharmacists, doctors, nurses, social workers, and other colleagues in the compassionate, team-based care we all need as we age.

“In her research, leadership, and approach to education, Dr. Brandt embodies all the hallmarks of geriatrics as a ‘team sport,’” notes Laurie G. Jacobs, MD, AGSF, AGS President. “An expert on medication management—one of the most important topics for our patients—Dr. Brandt has helped the AGS build a bridge between that expertise and the training our diverse health workforce needs to keep us all safe, healthy, and independent as we age.”

• Training all health professionals to care optimally for older adults is critical as we all age; the new @AquiferOrg @AmerGeriatrics online curriculum has solutions to get us closer http://ow.ly/Wqn130okZ8e

New York (April 5, 2019)—Among many breakthroughs that have made living longer possible, better health care—and more experts to make that care possible—loom large. Given that all of us are aging, we need more clinicians, researchers, and advocates to keep that momentum going. Ideally, for example, we’d already have more than 22,000 geriatricians in the U.S. (though at present less than 7,000 certified clinicians are practicing nationwide). With a limited number of geriatricians, how are we to train the next generation of clinicians to optimally care for older people? A new tool from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and Aquifer (the non-profit leader in developing clinical learning tools for health professions education) holds promise for bridging that gap. Aquifer Geriatrics (available at Aquifer.org/Courses/Aquifer-Geriatrics/), the AGS national online curriculum in geriatrics, is leveraging e-learning and geriatrics’ thought-leadership to advance much-needed training to care for older adults.