The day after I posted a blog about the importance of medical students receiving education in geriatrics, Rosanne Leipzig, MD, published an excellent op-ed in the New York Times on the same topic entitled “The Patients Doctors Don’t Know”. Dr. Leipzig, who leads the Foundation’s Center of Excellence in Geriatric…
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One of the problems we face in our work at the Foundation is that ageism and ignorance about what it takes to provide high quality health care to older adults is so ingrained that most of the time it is hard to notice. The want-to-be cardiologist who says that he…
Read full postThis past year has been challenging for everyone. In response to the plummeting financial market, we have had to ask Hartford grantees to scale back programs and strategically redefine their core elements to make the most of fewer resources. I know it must be a difficult time to be a…
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While arrogance combined with a great excess of infallibility is the black lung of foundation program work and a nearly unavoidable occupational hazard for even the best program staff, the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) has the treatment for the disease. Their Grantee Perception Report (GPR) gives both confidential feedback…
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Reading our 2008 Annual Report, A Call for Leadership in Aging, one paragraph jumped out at me. It’s on page 24, the first paragraph under “Answering the Call”: The next time you say to yourself, “Why don’t they do something about that?” look in the mirror. Ask the person…
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When I came to the Hartford Foundation 13 years ago, I had extensive board, higher education, and governmental experience and networks, but I didn't know the field of aging or foundations, nor did I have a network in either area. Fully recognizing that I would need to expand my…
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The 2008 Hartford Annual Report, A Call for Leadership in Aging, identifies four essential elements of a leadership program: formal training, mentoring, peer networking, and answering the call. The second element, mentoring, has long been recognized as a critical factor in the development of successful leadership. Mentors share their…
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There are those who view leadership as an innate set of qualities that catapult individuals into positions of influence; they hold a belief that leaders are born into the role. Here at the John A. Hartford Foundation, we believe that leadership, while certainly requiring some level of natural talent…
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Hot off the press is our 2008 Annual Report, A Call for Leadership in Aging. Unlike Hartford reports of years past that have showcased a single discipline or initiative, this report focuses on the need for leaders in aging from all facets of health care. As it stands, our…
Read full postAfter I posted about the possible merits of moving older adults into an assisted living facility rather than keeping them at home, along comes a story about the benefits of social interaction for older adults. The New York Times article details bridge-playing older residents of the Laguna Woods, California, retirement…
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