Week In Review

The AGS/ADGAP Leadership & Life Skills Curriculum (LLSC), available exclusively for free to AGS Fellows-in-Training and Early Career Professional members, is a self-guided curriculum focused on developing a broad range of practical leadership, life and career related knowledge, and skills needed throughout your career. This online curriculum includes self-guided educational modules and audio companions, along with supplementary exercises and resources.
 
The AGS/ADGAP LLSC participants will have access to the Online Educational Modules and an exclusive Online Community through July 31, 2023.

The deadline for registration is TODAY, September 23, 2022 at 11:59PM ET.
 
For more information and to register for the LLSC, click here. For additional questions about the AGS/ADGAP Leadership & Life Skills Curriculum, please contact Elisha Medina-Gallagher at egallagher@americangeriatrics.org.

The AGS is thrilled to be launching a new webinar series focused on Geriatrics and the Changing Landscape of Healthcare, kicking off Thur., September 29th at 4:00 p.m. ET with a webinar featuring Alan E. Lazaroff, MD, AGSF, Cheryl L. Phillips, MD, AGSF, and Thomas D. Cain, MD.

Topics to be covered include:

• Medicare fee-for-service and the move to value-based care
• Health plans impact on delivery of care
• The role of geriatrics health professionals in this shifting landscape

Please click here to register and for the agenda for the webinar on Thu., September 29, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET, and add it to your calendar. Please click here to access the agenda.

Provider Relief Fund Reporting Period 3 Deadline: September 30
The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal for Reporting Period 3 (RP3) will remain open through September 30, 2022, 11:59 p.m. ET. Providers who received one or more PRF payment(s) exceeding $10,000 in the aggregate, from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021, must report on their use of funds in RP3 to comply with the PRF Reporting Requirements. Reporting Period 4 will open on January 1, 2023. Find more information on the PRF Reporting webpage, Resources page, and Notice of Reporting Requirements. 

 
Encouraging Preferred Flu Vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends annual flu shots by the end of October or as soon as possible each flu season. You can give flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same visit. New for this flu season, three specific flu vaccines are preferentially recommended for people 65 years and older. Preferred vaccines are potentially more effective than standard dose flu vaccines. There are three recommended vaccines: 

1. Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine
2. Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine
3. Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine

 
If one of these vaccines is not available, you may give your patients a standard-dose flu vaccine instead. Medicare Part B covers the seasonal flu shot and additional flu shots if medically necessary.
 
Learn more on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Flu Shot and CDC Flu & People 65 Years and Older webpages.

 
First National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers
This week, through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers as required by the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregiving Act. The Strategy includes the four key principles for efforts to improve support to family givers as well as nearly 500 actions that federal agencies, state and local governments, and the public and private sectors can take so that family caregivers have the resources needed to maintain their own health, well-being, and financial security. The five goals that provide the framework for the Strategy include: 

1. Increase awareness of and outreach
2. Advance partnership and engagement
3. Strengthen services and supports
4. Ensure financial and workplace security
5. Expand data, research, and evidence-based practices

 
The Strategy will be open for public comment for 60 days beginning on October 1. 
 
Read more: 

2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers

Actions for Federal Agencies

Actions for States, Communities, and Others

First Principles: Cross-Cutting Considerations for Family Caregiver Support

The NIH Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (CARD), a collaborative NIH Intramural Research Program initiative of NIA and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke established in 2020 recently opened a new research facility in Bethesda, Maryland. 

Named after U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, a longtime champion for expanded dementia research, CARD is designed to be a beacon for global scientific talent and a catalyst for innovation in the field. In this new building, intramural NIH researchers work side-by-side with scientists from around the world to accelerate the translation of scientific findings into real-world applications. 

Grants.gov went offline due to a scheduled downtime yesterday, September 22, and are planned to remain unavailable through Thursday September 29. 

To mitigate the impact, NIH due dates that fall on or between Thursday, September 22 and Friday, September 30, 2022 will move to October 3, 2022, with some exceptions and considerations.

Please click here for more information on how this downtime may impact your application. 

The following opportunities for public comment have opened recently:

From the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force:

• Screening for Anxiety in Adults: The Task Force determined that screening can help identify anxiety in adults younger than 65, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. More research is needed to recommend for or against screening for anxiety in adults older than 65. 
• Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk in Adults: The Task Force determined that screening can help identify depression in all adults, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. More research is needed on whether screening can help prevent suicide in all adults.
• The draft recommendation statements and evidence reviews for both opportunities are available for public review and comment until October 17th, 2022.   

From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): 

• Request for Information on Person-Centered Care Planning for Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCC): AHRQ published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking public comment on the current state of comprehensive, longitudinal, person-centered care planning for people at risk for or living with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) across settings of care (e.g., health systems, primary care, home, and other ambulatory practices), including innovative models and promising solutions.

• Public review and comments will be accepted until November 15, 2022. 

Join AGS for its virtual career fair on Wed., October 19th, 5:00-8:00pm ET. Participants can browse employers and privately interact with them via live text or video chat on a mobile device or desktop. It’s free to attend! Register here.

HRSA has announced a new funding opportunity for the Geriatrics Academic Career Award (GACA) program and will be awarding approximately $2.1 million to up to 26 grantees for four years. The application deadline is Thursday, November 3rd, 2022. For additional details and eligibility criteria, please review the funding opportunity here.

AGS/ADGAP is now accepting program applications for the AIRE Medicine-Geriatrics Integrated Residency and Fellowship (Combined Med-Geri Pathway). Applications are due Thurs., Nov. 10, with an additional opportunity to apply by Thurs., Jan. 20, 2023.  If your program intends to apply, please email Jen Cross at jcross@americangeriatrics.org to request an application form.