I’m pretty sure that this is true only late at night when people are telling scary stories around the campfire. But the Hartford Foundation does seem to have a doppelganger in (or to be a doppelganger of) The Leyden Academy for Vitality and Ageing in the Netherlands. Their mission, translated into English, is train[ing] young medical doctors and ambitious professionals to become pioneers in implementing excellence to advance the quality of life of older people.
A few months ago the Leyden Academy staff were touring the U.S. to learn about aging and health issues on our side of the Atlantic and came to our offices for a very interesting discussion of our respective programs. Despite very different history and funding, we found that our two organizations had much the same focus on preparing the health care workforce to deliver care to older adults and the same concern that ageism, reimbursement, and prestige issues stand in the way of attracting health care professionals to the field.
Because no one is a prophet in their own home town and, like the Hartford Foundation, the Leyden Academy often finds itself crying in the wilderness (to mix biblical metaphors), the Leyden Academy followed up their visit with a video interview with me about Hartford’s program, its victories and challenges, and what we see ahead. While the result of our decidedly low-tech approach to video recording has some drawbacks, their staff did do a great job of editing me into near coherence. Moreover, I was tremendously impressed with my opposite number, Rudi Westendorp, MD, PhD, the director of the Academy--although I was somewhat intimidated by the fact that he is clearly better educated, more linguistically competent and, although you can’t tell on the video, taller.
I hope that our history in improving the health and health care of older Americans gives them some reassurance of the merits of their mission. I know that their commitment and zeal gave me a lift and renewed my commitment to ours.