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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Todd Kluss |
GSA, AGHE Support Passage of Eldercare Workforce Legislation
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and its educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), applaud the recent reintroduction of a U.S. Senate bill to address the critical shortage of healthcare professionals able to meet the needs of the country’s older adults.
The Caring for an Aging America Act (S. 1095) was reintroduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on May 26. This legislation is designed to bolster the ranks of doctors, nurses, social workers, and other skilled health care workers required to care for a population of seniors that is projected to almost double over the next two decades.
“The legislation is an important a step in averting a crisis in quality care for older people,” said GSA President Donald Ingram, PhD. “The first of America’s baby boomers began turning 65 earlier this year. The country’s 65-and-older population is expected to swell to 72 million people by 2030.”
The Caring for an Aging America Act is expected to attract health professionals to gerontology and geriatrics by providing them with loan repayment opportunities in exchange for agreeing to work in underserved areas. This bipartisan bill expands the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s National Health Service Corps Program to include primary health care professionals with training in gerontology and geriatrics.
“It is important that we give every incentive for health professionals to receive specialized education in caring for seniors,” said AGHE President Graham Rowles, PhD. “As our population ages, older patients must be assured that care providers are fully equipped to meet their needs.”
The legislation addresses recommendations found in “Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce,” a report issued by the Institute of Medicine in 2008. The publication called for a labor pool of adequate size and competency to care for the rapidly growing population of American seniors.
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,400+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.
The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) is the educational branch of The Gerontological Society of America, the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. AGHE seeks to advance gerontology as a field of study at institutions of higher education through conferences, publications, technical assistance, research studies, and consultation with policy makers. It is currently the only institutional member organization dedicated to gerontology and geriatrics education worldwide.
Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition
Presented to C. Joanne Grabinski, PhD, Eastern Michigan University, and Mary Alice Wolf, PhD, Saint Joseph University.
This award honors colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired. Recipients are individuals who have been actively involved in AGHE through service on committees, as elected officers, and/or have provided leadership in one of AGHE’s grant-funded projects.
Administrative Leadership Award
Presented to Tammy M. Bray, PhD, Oregon State University
This award honors administrators on AGHE member campuses who have made exceptional efforts in support of gerontology or geriatrics education.
David A. Peterson Gerontology & Geriatrics Education Best Paper of the Volume Award
Presented to Nina M. Silverstein, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston; Elizabeth Johns, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston; and Judith A. Griffin, MA, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the article “Students Explore Livable Communities.” Honorable mention is given to Emily J. Robbins, MS, Miami University; Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD, Miami University; and Cary S. Kart, PhD, Miami University, for the article “Promoting Active Engagement in Health Research: Lessons Learned from an Undergraduate Gerontology Capstone Course.”
The purpose of this award is to recognize excellence in scholarship in academic gerontology in AGHE’s official journal, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.
Graduate Student Paper Award
Presented to Deborah Gray, MBA, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the paper “Weight and Wealth: The Relationship between Obesity and Net Worth for Pre-Retirement Age Men and Women.”
This award acknowledges excellence in scholarly work conducted by an AGHE Annual Meeting student attendee.
Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging
Presented to Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morinn-Nelson for “Niwechihaw/I help” in the primary reader (pre-K to 2nd grade) category, and Ann Grifalconi and Jerry Pickney for “Ain’t Nobody A Stranger to Me” in the elementary reader (3rd to 5th grade) category.
This award recognizes portrayals of meaningful aging in children’s literature.
