At the Foundation we believe that improving the health of older Americans is a burning issue. We get up every morning thinking about how we can support our grantees to advance this mission, and we try to find ways that we ourselves can add value, beyond traditional grantmaking and monitoring…
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For someone encountering the term “Practice Change Fellow” for the first time, there might be a moment’s pause to figure out how these terms might interrelate. Of course, regular readers will know that such a Fellow is in fact a very important agent of change at the front line of…
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One of the great unsung pillars of geriatric care in the United States is the Veterans Administration. While the needs of young veterans returning from our current conflicts have gotten a lot of press and well-deserved attention, we can’t forget the needs of those who served in all of our…
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As you all know, we at the John A. Hartford Foundation have funded multiple programs designed to recruit and retain health care professionals in geriatrics. We are interested in learning what works: What is the best way to instill enthusiasm in students to pursue a career providing care to older…
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In the more than 30 years I've been with my wife, a professional journalist, I've learned two really important things about working with the media: 1. If you want to talk to "the media," call early, before deadline pressures mount, and 2. Reporters don't write the headlines; some editor does…
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Many older adults take 10 or more prescription drugs daily, often prescribed by several different doctors. Not only can all those pills be difficult to remember and afford, they can have unpleasant side effects and interactions that are magnified in the frail elderly. The most recent issue of the American…
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Recently I was at a briefing session of our long-time grantee, The National Health Policy Forum, to learn about current thinking around the care (and cost) of the “duals.” The duals—wonk shorthand for those people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid—number around 9 million and are some of…
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In 2008, the John A. Hartford Foundation, along with the rest of the world, suffered through a devastating economic meltdown that we are still feeling to this day, three-and-a-half years later. The Foundation’s assets plummeted by a third, but we were among the lucky ones. Other foundations had to close…
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Recently I attended the launch of the Innovation Advisors Program. This new program has been described as the Peace Corps for health reform and as the missing workforce ingredient for quality improvement in the health care system. It provides six months of training for people who are committed to increasing…
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For journalists on the health beat, complicated topics like Medicare, nursing homes, and end-of-life decision-making increasingly get front-page attention thanks to the massive waves of Baby Boomers turning 65 every day, implementation of the controversial Affordable Care Act, and the enormous health care-related financial pressures faced by families and the…
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