USA: American Geriatrics Society Applauds Dr. Mary Wakefield's Appointment

. NEW YORK, NY / American Geriatrics Society / February 26, 2009 American Geriatrics Society has applauded Dr. Mary Wakefield's appointment as Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and looks forward To working with Dr. Wakefield and HRSA to ensure reauthorization and expansion of Key Title VII and VIII Programs, and other initiatives integral to addressing the growing shortage of healthcare providers trained to meet the unique needs of America's aging population, says a press release from AGS. Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce, the Institute of Medicine's groundbreaking 2008 report, warns that the nation's healthcare workforce is too small and unprepared to care for the rapidly growing number of older Americans. Healthcare providers trained to meet older people's unique healthcare needs are already in short supply and the population of older Americans is expected to double in the next two decades. HRSA can play a key role in addressing this critical problem. The HRSA-administered Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs are integral to efforts to do so. Congress, however, last reauthorized Title VII programs in 1998, for five years, leaving the programs without authorization since 2003. Congress has continued to fund the programs, but the reauthorization process would provide an opportunity to expand and refine the programs to address current and projected needs for healthcare providers who are trained to care for older patients, states AGS. In addition to advocating for reauthorization of and additional funding for the programs, AGS strongly supports the expansion of loan forgiveness programs that would cover the cost of advanced training in elder healthcare for candidates who commit to caring for older adults for a specified period of time. "The AGS looks forward to working with Dr. Wakefield and others in Washington on loan forgiveness and other essential elder healthcare training initiatives, and to ensure that crucial Title VII and VIII programs are reauthorized, expanded, and funded so we can prepare our healthcare workforce to meet the needs of a graying America," said AGS President John B. Murphy, MD, professor of medicine and family medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School, and Chief Physician Officer at Rhode Island Hospital. "Dr. Wakefield's experience and expertise are highly relevant to the provision of care for our older adults and we commend President Obama for appointing her to this important post." A nurse who most recently directed the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dr. Wakefield has expertise in rural health care, quality and patient safety, Medicare payment policy, and workforce issues. Among other things she has served as a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Department of Veteran's Affairs' (VA) Special Medical Advisory Group. Roughly 50%, or nearly 6 million, of the VA's active patient population is older than 65, and close to 1 million are older than 85. Title VII Geriatrics Health Professions Programs include geriatric faculty fellowships for physicians, dentists, and behavioral and mental health professionals; the Geriatric Academic Career Awards (GACA) program; and the nation's Geriatric Education Centers (GECs). Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs support training and continuing education for nurses who care for the elderly and the development and dissemination of curricula concerning geriatric care. AGS also supports legislation, the "Retooling the Health Care Workforce for an Aging America Act," introduced in the Senate and House last month. Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (www.americangeriatrics.org) is a not-for-profit association of geriatrics health care professionals and has an active membership of over 6,500 health care professionals. Source: The American Geriatrics Society