On January 9, 2012, J Taylor Harden PhD, RN, FAAN, former Assistant to the Director for Special Populations at the National Institute on Aging, assumed the position of the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) Program Administrator at the coordinating center housed at the American Academy of Nursing. She follows…
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…and Experience Comes from Bad Judgment In Tuesday's post, I gave full rein to my fears about the possible faults and flaws with current federal Medicare quality improvement demonstrations. While I stand by what I wrote, I felt the immediate guilt of being caught stones in hand in a pretty…
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In case you hadn’t noticed the coincidence, Groundhog Day and the conclusion of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s Innovation Challenge grant program are both coming very soon. While it might not be readily apparent, I think this is a sign. For those of you who don’t favor…
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Delirium is acute brain failure, characterized by disorientation and confusion. Occurring in approximately 25% of older hospitalized patients, up to 50% of older surgical patients, and up to 75% of older intensive care unit patients, delirium is all too common. When it occurs, delirium is bad for patients during the…
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Consider this: a woman is hospitalized for pneumonia and her admission chest x-ray shows an “incidental pulmonary nodule,” or a growth in the lungs. Should she receive serial follow-up imaging to determine the presence of cancer? Of course! She may have cancer, and who wouldn’t want to know for sure…
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At least once a week for the last 10 years, I have probably said or written that our fragmented and myopic, episodically focused system of care doesn’t meet the needs of older adults with complex, chronic health problems. And if there is one growing aging issue that throws even more…
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It is a pleasure to introduce myself as a new member of the John A. Hartford Foundation staff. In the brief two months that I have been with the Foundation, I have felt overwhelmingly inspired by the dedication and passion of my colleagues and the tremendous amount of progress…
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Shortly before the holidays, I had the privilege of speaking with geropsychiatrist and researcher Dr. Stephen Thielke, a recipient of the Paul B. Beeson Award, which is funded in part by the John A. Hartford Foundation. I was excited to hear about the work that he and his colleagues are…
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Happy New Year! The New Year brings us to the 30th anniversary of the Foundation's Aging and Health program and a transition to its future. In 1982, the Foundation began a project, as a small part of its overall work in Health Care Cost and Quality, to recruit physician faculty…
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Live it up in 2012! Best wishes for a joyous and healthy New Year from Health AGEnda and the John A. Hartford Foundation
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