One of the most important tools in improving geriatric care developed in the last 20 years is the ACOVE framework (Assessing Care Of Vulnerable Elders)--something we’ve written about many times. In this approach, experts and evidence are used to define a floor of quality care below which would constitute bad…
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Year after year nurses rank as the most trusted profession. That is only one of the reasons why the John A. Hartford Foundation has given so much support to nursing over the years. Their role is endlessly complex because they attend to the needs of patients, families, the health…
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Shortly after I joined the Foundation, I started working on an effort to deliver effective continuing education in geriatric issues for generalist physicians interested in improving their care of older patients. The project, which was known as PPE--Practicing Physician Education--was very successful by all internal criteria. We created a low-cost…
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Today I write from (unsurprisingly) damp Seattle, where I and many of my colleagues are enjoying half a week of high-level thinking on aging issues at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Annual Meeting. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Patient Safety and Quality: What Geriatrics Has to Offer.” Patient…
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Last month, the Administration on Aging (AoA), the part of the Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for the programs under the Older Americans Act (e.g., meals, senior centers, and aging and disability resource centers), was reorganized and will now be a division within the Administration for…
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Some foundations fall prey to exaggerated fears of being accused of lobbying and stay as far away from lawmakers in Washington, DC, as possible. However, The SCAN Foundation is one organization that knows its rights, knows the law, and knows and cares about the issues of aging--and besides, when…
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If we want to improve primary care for older adults, we need to know something about their primary care experiences. To find out, we commissioned our first poll, with help from Strategic Communications & Planning, called “How Does It Feel? The Older Adult Health Care Experience.” Between February 29 and…
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My mom has always worked hard. As a girl, she picked cotton every scorching summer on the South Texas farm where my “wela” (i.e. grandma) kept house. In adulthood, she straddled both sides of the supposed (and silly) “mommy wars.” She worked as full-time mom to my three sisters and…
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Sometime in the last few weeks Health AGEnda had its third birthday, making this a good time to review and reflect. Writing about the blog will also help me to get my thoughts in order for my upcoming presentation on the Foundation's use of social media in an American Geriatrics…
Read full postMentorship is an important component of leadership; it is essential for recruiting, retaining, and nurturing young professionals in the field of aging. Mentorship is also a contract, not only between the mentor and the mentee, but also for the mentee to become a mentor in the future. Twenty-five years ago…
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