News/Press Releases

• New #geriatrics research published in @AGSJournal offers roadmap to “revolutionary change” for #personcenteredcare

New York (Oct. 3, 2018)—Published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), two new research articles and a corresponding commentary from preeminent geriatrics leaders describe ways to make person-centered care—a novel approach to health that puts personal values and preferences at the forefront of decision-making—more actionable for older people. With our national health system at a tipping point favoring care focused on personal priorities, these new studies are among the first to celebrate “thoughtful, systematic, and incremental” approaches to ending care long fragmented and fraught with the potential for poor communication between patients, caregivers, and health professionals.

“Making person-centered care a reality for older adults with complex care needs will take time and effort, including significant research to move promising approaches from the lab bench to the clinic,” said William B. Applegate, MD, MPH, AGSF, Editor-in-Chief of JAGS and lead author on the editorial addressing the two new studies (DOI: 10.1111/jgs.15536). “This work is helping test innovative strategies, which will move us toward a broader and more balanced approach to care while also providing an impetus to reengineer our care systems.”

• New @AGSJournal report on assessing #mobility has experts moving toward consensus on care we need as we age #geriatrics @AmerGeriatrics http://ow.ly/obHV30lXOUF

New York (Oct. 2, 2018)—Experts at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today unveiled a list of recommendations to help health systems prioritize a vital function for us all as we age: mobility. Mobility refers to our ability to move freely and easily (on our own or with assistance). Published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), the AGS white paper (DOI: 10.1111/jgs.15595) focuses on assessing mobility for hospitalized older adults, offering a roadmap for shifting health care’s focus away from negative markers of mobility loss and toward a deeper appreciation of ways mobility can be proactively assessed—and often preserved—to promote high-quality, person-centered care.¹

• Could links between vision, hearing, & brain health explain parts of how we age? @AmerGeriatrics & #geriatrics experts like sound (& sight) of those connections, according to @AGSJournal report http://ow.ly/Ng4Y30lX4ge

New York (Sept. 24, 2018)—Experts at a prestigious medical conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) hope their work—reported today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society—will have colleagues seeing eye-to-eye on an important but under-researched area of health care: The link between impaired vision, hearing, and cognition (the medical term for our memory and thinking capabilities, which are impacted as we age by health concerns like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease).¹ With vision and hearing loss already affecting up to 40 percent of older adults¹—and with one-in-ten older people already living with Alzheimer’s disease²—the conference reviewed the current state of science regarding how these common health challenges might be connected, why the answer might matter, and what can be done to reduce sensory and cognitive impairments to preserve our health for as long as possible.

Geriatrics experts today voiced grave concerns regarding drastic proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, & other support platforms essential to us all as we age, as outlined in the U.S. House of Representatives.

New York (July 2, 2018)—In response to a budget blueprint in the U.S. House of Representatives proposing more than $530 billion in cuts to Medicare and more than $1.5 trillion in cuts to federal health programs overall—and a time when more Americans than ever before are poised to contribute to our communities thanks to federal services and supports—the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today redoubled its strong opposition to any plan for balancing governmental spending at the expense of older Americans.

“We are troubled by this budget proposal to decrease support for older adults even as more and more people across our communities approach age 65,” noted AGS Chief Executive Officer Nancy Lundebjerg, MPA. “Federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid have been essential to the forward momentum that has helped us live longer. We continue to offer our support and expertise to the many bipartisan legislators and experts working across the aisle on meaningful proposals that would help—not harm—us all as we age.”

New York (May 22, 2018)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today offered a ringing endorsement of the bipartisan Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2888), a proposal in the U.S. Senate to ensure communities across the U.S. have access to health professionals and other critical supports improving care for us all as we age. Introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the bill echoes similar bipartisan legislation proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2017. Now pending in each chamber of Congress, both proposals draw on considerable insights from the Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA), a collaborative comprised of more than 30 member organizations reflecting the diverse expertise of millions of professionals who support health in aging for older Americans and caregivers.

“The future we’re working for at the AGS—a future where all older Americans have access to high-quality, person-centered care—begins by building the workforce to make that possible and by ensuring that workforce can connect us to the tools and supports we need as we age,” notes AGS Chief Executive Officer Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA. “We commend Sens. Collins and Casey for working with us and our partners to make that future a reality with the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act. By standing behind this legislation, and a similar bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, we’re committed to a future when all Americans can look forward to high-quality, person-centered care.”