Week In Review

As this listserv went to press, the Senate was scheduled to vote on a House-passed government funding bill to avoid a government shutdown slated to take effect at midnight tonight. It is now believed that the Senate will have the votes to pass the measure after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor to announce that he would vote in support of the bill to keep the government open, noting that a government shutdown would be a far worse outcome for the country. Earlier this week, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the legislation to be voted on by the Senate today, the “Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025,” that would extend funding for the federal government through September 30, 2025. The bill does not increase overall funding for the federal government but does include increases for agencies and programs that are priorities of President Trump, including the Department of Defense and Homeland Security. Of interest to AGS members, the bill extends several Medicare telehealth flexibilities for six months that are set to expire March 31st, including the extension of audio-only telehealth, and removing geographic barriers to participating in telehealth. Unfortunately, the bill does not include a fix for the 2.83% Medicare physician pay cut that went into effect on January 1st.

The AGS Q1 newsletter is on its way to you and we are kicking off the year with our latest updates and insights! If you can’t wait to read it, the digital version is available now on the AGS website. In this issue, you’ll find:

• A guide for planning your #AGS25 adventure
• Our year two update and data snapshot of the AGS/ADGAP Benchmarking Survey
• The top ten JAGS studies of 2024
• A Member Profile with Helen Fernandez, MD, MPH
• AGS 360 with Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA

And much more…

Be sure to check it out here.

Have you used the Geriatrics Evaluation and Management Tools (GEMS) on GeriatricsCareOnline lately? Digital access (including printer-friendly PDF format) is free for AGS members! Nine GEMS tools have been reviewed and updated this year, with more to be released in the upcoming weeks. GEMS provides clinical templates which follow a History & Physical (H&P) format, and are meant to provide guidance to clinicians and trainees who are caring for older adults.  Take advantage of your free member subscription to GEMS today!

The American Geriatrics Society results of recent Board and Nominating Committee elections have been  announced. The following AGS members were elected by the membership:

• Alison Moore, MD, MPH, FACP, AGSF, AGS President-Elect
• Caroline Vitale, MD, AGSF, AGS Board Member (2nd term)
• Heather Whitson, MD, AGSF, AGS Board Member (2nd term)
• Esther Oh, MD, PhD, AGSF, AGS Board Member (1st Term)
• Louise Walter, MD, AGSF, AGS Board Member (1st Term)
• Sunny Linnebur, PharmD, BCGP, BCPS, FCCP, FASCP (Nominating Committee member, 2nd term)

The Board elected the following AGS Board members as officers of the Society:

• Ramona Rhodes, MD, MPH, MSCS, AGSF (AGS Treasurer, 1st term
• Judith L. Beizer (Judy), PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, AGSF (AGS Secretary, 2nd term)

The AGS Board also elected Brent Schell, MD as the Early Career Professional Board Member.

“In this election cycle, we were fortunate to have an outstanding slate of candidates,” said outgoing AGS Board Chair, Donna Fick, PhD, RN, GCNS-BC, AGSF, FGSA, FAAN. “The newly elected and re-elected Board members bring a wealth of expertise and experience to our mission, and I am confident they will help drive the Society’s continued success. As we look ahead to the AGS Annual Meeting, I look forward to passing the Board Chair role to Mark Supiano, MD, AGSF, as he concludes his presidency, and celebrating Paul Mulhausen, MD, AGSF, as he steps into the AGS President role. My congratulations also go to Alison Moore who was elected AGS President-Elect, and to Ramona Rhodes and Judy Beizer who will serve as AGS Treasurer and AGS Secretary, respectively.”

During this webinar hosted by the AGS Older Adults Vaccine Initiative, Dr. Robert A. Zorowitz, Regional Vice President of Health Affairs for the Northeast Humana and member of the AGS Older Adults Vaccine Initiative's Advisory Committee, presented coding information on vaccination and payments. You can access the recording and slides here.

Did you know that Dr. Zorowitz is also the author of the vaccination coding section for the AGS Vaccine Initiative’s  online educational curriculum? Available for free (with CME available) at vaccines.agscocare.org

Please consider applying to be on the Editorial Board of JAGS.  

Being an editorial board member is an opportunity to engage in the selection and guidance of cutting-edge research and scholarship for the leading clinical geriatrics journal.  The primary role of editorial board members is to provide at least 6 high quality timely reviews per year. Detailed expectations of editorial board members are below. We are seeking applicants with the following qualifications:

• Reviewed for JAGS at least 3 times in the last 12 months
• Reviews are of high quality
• Academic faculty at the Instructor, Assistant, Associate, or Professor level
• Member of the American Geriatrics Society

We strongly encourage and welcome applicants from backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in medicine.

To apply, please send the following via email to JAGS Managing Editor, Kylie Bade, at jagseditorialoffice@wiley.com.

• A paragraph on why you are qualified and your motivation for joining the JAGS editorial board. Please also include one suggestion on how to make JAGS the best clinical geriatrics journal it can be.  Please also include a few brief sentences describing how you contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion and how you can enhance these values while on the editorial board.
• Your NIH biosketch or CV

This call for applications will be open until March 21. For more information, please see this pdf.

Registered for #AGS25? We hope you join us at 8:00 PM on Friday, May 9 (Room TBD) for a screening of Aging in America: Survive or Thrive, a 1-hour documentary that is also airing on PBS May 1. Fifty years ago, Dr. Robert Butler, who was the first director of the National Institute on Aging and coined the term ageism, published his Pulitzer Prize–winning book, Why Survive?: Being Old In America. Using the book as a guide, the film explores critical topics such as ageism, healthcare, economic insecurity, and Alzheimer’s disease. Narrated by Martin Sheen and featuring personal stories and renowned experts (including AGS members!), the documentary celebrates the promise of increased longevity while addressing crucial and unprecedented public policy challenges.

Be sure to register for #AGS25 and join us in Chicago to reconnect with your colleagues at the premier educational event in geriatrics! #AGS25 will provide the latest information on clinical care, research on aging, and innovative models of care delivery.

Visit meeting.americangeriatrics.org for more information on the meeting, including the full schedule of session and events.

Register today!

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. Some upcoming opportunities we'd like to highlight include:

• Submit an abstract to share your research at the 21st EuGMS Congress by March 31st. Sessions will cover a broad range of topics, from personalized care approaches and integrative health strategies to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in geriatric care. 

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 event: 

• Don't miss The John A. Hartford Foundation’s webinar, Medicaid Spending Reductions: Implications for Older Adults, on March 20th for a nonpartisan briefing exploring proposed Medicaid spending reductions and their impact on older adults and family caregivers.

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