News/Press Releases

• .@AmerGeriatrics shares #COVID19 #geriatrics recommendations with #Congress, Trump Administration http://ow.ly/8QIb30qsinc

New York (March 24, 2020)—In letters sent yesterday to Congressional leaders, Vice President Pence, and White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx, MD, experts at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) reinforced the need for medical supplies, telehealth, expertise in older adult care, and a range of other priorities in response to COVID-19. As diverse as these important focal points are, they highlight a key theme that crosscuts the pandemic: Building momentum for older adult care builds momentum for us all.

• On #WorldDeliriumDay, @AmerGeriatrics launches AGS CoCare: HELP™ to turn tide for serious condition affecting millions #delirium #geriatrics #aging #ThisIsGeriatrics http://ow.ly/8GwJ30qp4OW

New York (March 11, 2020)—With the launch of HELP.AGSCoCare.org, the online home for AGS CoCare: HELP™—a seminal program designed to prevent delirium, functional decline, falls, and other adverse outcomes among hospitalized older adults—the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) hopes this World Delirium Day will be one that turns the tide for this serious health condition affecting millions annually.

“Empowering health systems to recognize, manage, and prevent delirium is a hallmark of geriatrics,” notes Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, who developed the original Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP), now known as AGS CoCare: HELP™. “With this critical expansion of a key program that made delirium prevention possible, we have bandwidth through the AGS to reach more health systems than ever before,” Dr. Inouye concluded.

New York (Feb. 19, 2020)—Experts at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) raised grave concerns with President Trump’s 2021 budget proposal, which remains “deeply troubling for older Americans, families, and health professionals.” In comments shared below, the AGS warned that the proposal would eliminate training programs, reduce funding for health research, and jeopardize coverage and services for older Americans if adopted as written.

“Even though this proposal is just a ‘wish list’ for now, it sends a troubling message,” said Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA, Chief Executive Officer of the AGS. “That’s why we’re urging everyone to let the White House and Congress know that cutting support for older adults now cuts care for us all as we age.”

In assessing the Trump Administration’s proposal, the AGS raised significant objection to changes that fail to reflect the needs of all Americans, particularly those who are most vulnerable.  Specifically, the proposal would:

• #Geriatrics experts at prestigious @AmerGeriatrics @NIHgov conference hope a call for hard evidence can address “soft tissue” disorders that make falls, fractures, & muscle loss unnecessarily common w/ age http://ow.ly/e6FV30pYKig

New York (Dec. 3, 2019)—Experts at a prestigious medical conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) National Institute on Aging (NIA) hope their work—reported this week in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS)—can help yield hard evidence to address the range of “soft tissue” and bone disorders that contribute to falls, fractures, and muscle loss as we age.

“Falls, fractures, and muscle loss all have a major impact on our health as older adults, not only because they stop us from keeping active but also because that inactivity can have a ripple effect on all aspects of health and quality of life,” said Cathleen Colón-Emeric, MD, MHSc, FACP, AGSF, who co-chaired the AGS-NIA conference this past March. “By looking at some of the key and interrelated health conditions that can contribute to falls, fractures, and muscle loss, we hope we can contribute to closing knowledge gaps as we develop better care.”

New York (Oct. 28, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) congratulates the U.S. House of Representatives, which within hours of bringing the legislation to the floor approved by voice vote the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781) championed by Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Michael Burgess (R-TX). The bill, which received early, widespread bipartisan support as a critical measure to support health for all Americans as we age, now moves to the U.S. Senate, where AGS experts have advocated ardently for swift passage to ensure appropriate supports for older Americans.

 “The future we’re working for at the AGS—a future when all older Americans have access to high-quality, person-centered care—begins by building the workforce to make that possible, and by ensuring that workforce can connect us to the tools and supports we need as we grow older together,” observed Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA. CEO of the AGS. “The EMPOWER for Health Act will make that possible by supporting two training programs that are as critical to our future as they are widely supported, thanks in large part to the bipartisan efforts that will make this bill law.”

New York (Oct. 28, 2019)—Among several legislative proposals slated for a vote today in the U.S. House of Representatives, one in particular offers a glimpse at something unique: Bipartisan collaboration and support. But as experts from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) observe, that may be because the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781) stands poised to accomplish something as unique as it is necessary: Putting federal power behind training the health workforce we need as we age.

“The future we’re working for at the AGS—a future when all older Americans have access to high-quality, person-centered care—begins by building the workforce to make that possible, and by ensuring that workforce can connect us to the tools and supports we need as we grow older together,” observed Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA. CEO of the AGS. “The EMPOWER for Health Act will make that possible by supporting two training programs that are as critical to our future as they are widely supported, thanks in large part to the bipartisan efforts that will make this bill law.”

• With @AmerGeriatrics CoCare: HELP, #Geriatrics Experts Are Expanding Seminal Program that Put #Delirium Prevention on the Map http://ow.ly/N2Ss30pHkm6

New York (Oct. 10, 2019)—A seminal program for preventing delirium (the medical term for abrupt, rapid-onset confusion or altered mental state, affecting millions of older adults annually) and loss of function for hospitalized older adults stands poised for a major expansion thanks to the American Geriatrics Society (AGS). As the soon-to-be newest addition to the AGS “CoCare” portfolio, a suite of programs helping embed geriatrics expertise in broader care for older adults, AGS CoCare: HELP™ represents a new step forward for a program that has already taken significant strides.

• #Geriatrics experts on achieving #gender #equity in health care: “When #women rise, we all rise.” Learn more in new @AGSJournal position statement from @AmerGeriatrics https://bit.ly/WhenWomenRise

New York (Oct. 1, 2019)—Putting power and potential behind gender equity in health care isn’t just common sense. It’s critical to the future of health, safety, and independence for us all as we age, so says the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) in a new position statement released today, International Day of Older Persons. The statement outlines strategic objectives that can help us achieve a simple truth: “When women rise, we all rise.”

“Gender discrimination isn’t just ‘wrong.’ It has real and alarmingly negative public health consequences,” said Sunny Linnebur, PharmD, FCCP, FASCP, BCPS, BCGP, president of the AGS. “At a time when more of us than ever before are poised to contribute to our communities thanks to longer lifespans, we need the whole of society—irrespective of gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation—to stand against discrimination as we stand up for women. Because when women rise, we all rise.”

• We’ve long thought cognitive decline was just “characteristic of aging,” but researchers convened by @AmerGeriatrics w/ funding from @NIH suggest there’s nothing “just characteristic” of connections between #age & #cognition http://ow.ly/KNww30ppggU #geriatrics

New York (Aug. 23, 2019)—Declining mental sharpness “just comes with age,” right? Not so fast, say geriatrics researchers and clinicians gathered at a prestigious 2018 conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) with support from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In a report published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), attendees of a conference for the NIA’s Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists Transition into Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) program describe how increasing evidence shows age-related diseases—rather than age itself—may be the key cause of cognitive decline. And while old age remains a primary risk factor for cognitive impairment, researchers believe future research—and sustained funding—could illuminate more complex, nuanced connections between cognitive health, overall health, and how we approach age.

• .@AmerGeriatrics Commends Bipartisan Leaders on Bringing HR2781, Important #Geriatrics Workforce Training Legislation, Even Closer to Becoming Law http://ow.ly/vqrZ30p9OoK

New York (July 17, 2019)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) again pledged enthusiastic support for the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781). H.R. 2781 took a significant step toward becoming law today following an approval of the legislation’s language by the full House Energy & Commerce Committee Wednesday evening. The measure now moves to the House floor for consideration, hopefully before Congress breaks for its summer recess in August.

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.