News/Press Releases

New York (May 23, 2017)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) voiced deep concern for proposed cuts to geriatrics health professions programs (which would be eliminated), healthcare research, Medicaid, and a range of services benefitting us all as we age—all cuts outlined by President Trump in his full budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, which begins on October 1, 2017.

Released today in follow-up to the President’s “skinny budget” blueprint, which also saw serious opposition from the AGS and geriatrics leaders when unveiled earlier this year, today’s more extensive budget recommendation poses serious challenges for older adult well-being:

San Antonio, Texas (May 18, 2017)—As the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today celebrates its 75 year history improving care for older adults, Past AGS President and veteran geriatrics researcher James T. Pacala, MD, MS, AGSF, will highlight where geriatrics has been and where it has yet to go in a special 75th Anniversary Lecture at the AGS 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting, taking place this week in San Antonio, Texas. Delivered from 11am to 12pm CT at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Dr. Pacala’s presentation will address past advances in the care of older adults that have contributed significantly to our increased longevity as a nation.

Professor and Associated Head, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Pacala has performed research and published extensively on models of care for older adults and on innovative teaching methods for training future healthcare professionals. Dr. Pacala is a Past President and Board Chair of the AGS, and has co-authored several of the Society’s most influential texts—most notably early editions of its annual reference handbook, Geriatrics At Your Fingertips. What brings Dr. Pacala to the #AGS17 podium today, however, is his prowess as an AGS and geriatrics historian.

Honoring the AGS’s 75-year legacy serving older adults, incoming AGS President Dr. Debra Saliba has vowed to champion collaboration, clinical excellence, and crafting high-quality care for us all as we age.

• Dr. Debra Saliba—#geriatrics clinician, researcher—to open one of #geriatrics’ largest research conferences: #AGS17 (5/18-5/20) http://ow.ly/EVQ130bFSYA

San Antonio, Texas (May 15, 2017)—As more than 2,500 geriatrics experts converge on San Antonio, Texas, for the 2017 American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS17), the AGS’s 75-year legacy in research, clinical practice, and public policy will be reflected in the expertise of its newest president: Debra Saliba, MD, MPH, AGSF, a seasoned geriatrician and recognized health services researcher. An AGS member since 1994 and an AGS Board representative since 2010, Dr. Saliba will begin her tenure as AGS President outlining a sustained commitment to an age-integrated society as she opens #AGS17, which begins May 18.

New York (May 15, 2017)—The Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP) this week welcomed its newest President, Susan Parks, MD, at a meeting of the organization coinciding with the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, Texas (May 18-20). Associate Professor and Director, Division of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia, Dr. Parks will now lead one of the nation’s only organizations committed to advancing academic geriatrics programs promoting older adult care, research on aging, and geriatrics education at accredited medical schools across the U.S.

“Dr. Parks has long been recognized as an innovative leader in geriatrics education,” observed Sharon Brangman, MD, AGSF, incoming ADGAP Board Chair and Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Division Chief, Geriatrics, University Geriatrics, and the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease at Upstate University Hospital in New York. “Dr. Parks’s approach to geriatrics education has been a model for fellow educators, and now she will help ADGAP model the way toward a future when more students embrace geriatrics as a rewarding and much-needed vocation in health care.” 

New York (May 11, 2017)—As part of their shared commitment to bringing the knowledge and expertise of geriatrics to fellow healthcare professionals and the public, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the AGS Health in Aging Foundation this week congratulated two distinguished scholars who are the first recipients of the Thomas and Catherine Yoshikawa Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Clinical Investigation and the Jeffrey H. Silverstein Memorial Award for Emerging Investigators in the Surgical and Related Medical Specialties. The awards will be presented to Sei Lee, MD, MAS, a geriatrician, and Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, a urologist, respectively, at the AGS 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS17) in San Antonio, Texas, May 18-20.

New York (May 4, 2017)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) remains opposed to the amended American Health Care Act (AHCA) that today passed the U.S. House of Representatives despite serious concerns from geriatrics experts and a host of other stakeholders across health care. This legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would harm access to key health services for older adults, caregivers, and healthcare professionals—which is why the AGS now urges the U.S. Senate to oppose the bill in its current form. 

“The present proposal would still increase costs, reduce coverage, and cut benefits, putting health, independence, and quality of life at risk for all of us as we age,” reiterated Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA, Chief Executive Officer of the AGS. “We are committed to working with Congress and the Trump Administration on meaningful reforms, but we continue to oppose changes that might jeopardize access to high-quality, person-centered, and affordable health coverage for all older Americans.” 

The AGS has previously voiced opposition to several iterations of the AHCA. AGS experts noted that any health reform legislation would need to: 

New York (April 27, 2017)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has named Fatima Sheikh, MD, CMD, MPH, Medical Director at FutureCare in Maryland and Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the 2017 AGS Clinician of the Year. In her work across post-acute and long-term care, Dr. Sheikh is recognized not only as a skilled physician serving the needs of particularly frail older adults in the Baltimore area but also as a dedicated mentor for a diverse and growing interprofessional team. Dr. Sheikh will be honored at the AGS 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting (May 18-20 in San Antonio, Texas).

“Geriatrics expertise is complex and multifaceted, and that’s especially true when working with frail older adults like those cared for by Dr. Sheikh,” notes AGS President Ellen Flaherty, PhD, APRN, AGSF. “Dr. Sheikh and the healthcare professionals fortunate enough to learn from her are setting a new standard for what it means to provide high-quality, person-centered care.”

New York (April 27, 2017)—Barbara Resnick, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, AGSF, a Past President of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and a pillar for geriatrics research, education, and clinical practice, will be honored by her AGS peers this May with one of their highest accolades: the David H. Solomon Public Service Award.

“Dr. Resnick has set the gold standard for public service in caring for older adults,” notes AGS President Ellen Flaherty, PhD, APRN, AGSF. “Her research interests in healthy aging have branched across her career to embrace mentoring for established and emerging colleagues and the care we all hope to receive as we age.”

The Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Dr. Resnick has achieved national and international renown for her research on exercise and mobility. Yet Dr. Resnick is perhaps most well-known as a mentor to countless students, faculty members, researchers, and clinicians who now form the base for the burgeoning healthcare professional workforce attuned to the needs of older adults.

New York (April 27, 2017)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today announced that Maura Brennan, MD, AGSF, FACP, FAAHPM, HMDC, a champion of education in geriatrics and Chief in the Division of Geriatrics, Palliative Care, and Post-Acute Medicine at Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass., will be honored with the 2017 Dennis W. Jahnigen Award.

“Dr. Brennan has helped countless students and fellow educators bridge empathy for older adults with an interest in geriatrics in the classroom, where the future of our field is taking shape,” notes AGS President Ellen Flaherty, PhD, APRN, AGSF. “By inspiring interest in geriatrics across the diverse professions involved in well-being, Dr. Brennan has become a model for the critical role education plays in high-quality, person-centered care.”

New York (April 27, 2017)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) announced that Richard M. Allman, MD, Chief Consultant for Geriatrics & Extended Care Services, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), will deliver the prestigious Henderson State-of-the-Art Lecture at the AGS 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting (May 18-20; San Antonio, Texas). Dr. Allman’s lecture, “Building, Sustaining, and Promoting Age-Friendly Health Systems,” will focus on the role of leadership, research, education, and quality improvement in developing and maintaining better systems for older adult care.

“The VA has played such a critical role in advancing geriatrics care and research for those who have served our country, and Dr. Allman has been integral to that legacy,” notes AGS President Ellen Flaherty, PhD, APRN, AGSF. “As we work to shape the context of care for all older adults, exploring how better health outcomes are tied to better health systems has never been more important—which is why we so value Dr. Allman’s expertise.”