Health Affairs GrantWatch Paper: The John A. Hartford Foundation and The Growth of Geriatrics

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Health Affairs has published a new GrantWatch paper in its January issue, "The John A. Hartford Foundation and The Growth of Geriatrics," by Stephen Isaacs, Paul S. Jellinek and Terry Fulmer.

The authors discuss the impact of The John A. Hartford Foundation’s past thirty-plus years of grant making in aging and health.

The Foundation made improving the care of older adults one of its two priorities in 1983 and its sole priority in 1994. To accomplish this, the Foundation adopted a two-part strategy:

  • create a field of professionals capable of caring for an aging population, and
  • test models of care for older adults.

The paper notes that, "Geriatrics is now a recognized medical, nursing, and social work specialty, although low reimbursement, the stigma associated with caring for older people, and low prestige discourage students from entering it. Foundation-funded models of care have proven viable, and one of them - palliative care - has been widely adopted. The JAHF focused on an important social need for more than three decades, and this targeted and consistent effort has magnified its impact."

To read the Health Affairs GrantWatch paper, click here.
To go to the Evaluation Report of 30 Years of JAHF Funding, click here.