Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of the elderly. The term geriatrics originates from the Greek γέρων geron meaning "old man", and ιατρός iatros meaning "healer". It aims to promote health by preventing, diagnosing and treating disease in older adults. There is no defined age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or geriatric physician, a physician who specializes in the care of older people. Rather, this decision is guided by individual patient need and the caregiving structures available to them. This care may benefit those who are managing multiple chronic conditions or experiencing significant age-related complications that threaten quality of daily life. Geriatric care may be indicated if caregiving responsibilities become increasingly stressful or medically complex for family and caregivers to manage independently.
Gerontological nursing is the specialty of nursing pertaining to older adults. Gerontological nurses work in collaboration with older adults, their families, and communities to support healthy aging, maximum functioning, and quality of life. The term gerontological nursing, which replaced the term geriatric nursing in the 1970s, is seen as being more consistent with the specialty's broader focus on health and wellness, in addition to illness.
Christine K. Cassel is a leading expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics and quality of care. She is planning dean of the new Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. Until March 2016, she was president and CEO of the National Quality Forum. Previously, Cassel served as president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation.
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a non-profit professional society founded on June 11, 1942, for health care professionals practicing geriatric medicine. Among the founding physicians were Dr. Ignatz Leo Nascher, who coined the term "geriatrics", Dr. Malford W. Thewlis, who was named the first executive secretary of the Society, and Dr. Lucien Stark who was appointed the first AGS president.
Geriatric medicine, as a speciality, was introduced in Egypt in 1982, and in 1984 a geriatrics and gerontology unit in Ain Shams University Faculty of Medicine was established.
Ewald William Busse was an American psychiatrist, gerontologist, author and academic administrator best known for being the dean of the Duke University School of Medicine.
Judith A. Salerno, MD, MS is a physician executive and the President of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Edward L. Schneider is a Professor of Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Professor of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, with a joint appointment in biological sciences and molecular biology at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Diane E. Meier, an American geriatrician and palliative care specialist. In 1999, Dr. Meier founded the Center to Advance Palliative Care, a national organization devoted to increasing access to quality health care in the United States for people living with serious illness. She continues to serve as CAPC's Director Emerita and Strategic Medical Advisor. Meier is also Vice-Chair for Public Policy, Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Catherine Gaisman Professor of Medical Ethics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Meier was founder and Director of the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City from 1997 to 2011.
Teresa Thomas "Terry" Fulmer, is the current president of The John A. Hartford Foundation. Earlier positions include distinguished professor and dean of the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University and dean of the College of Nursing at New York University. She is known for her extensive research in geriatrics and elder abuse. She has received funding from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Nursing Research and other foundations for her research regarding elder abuse.
Linda P. Fried is an American geriatrician and epidemiologist, who is also the first female Dean of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Her research career is focused on frailty, healthy aging, and how society can successfully transition to benefit from an aging population.
The Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA), a project of the Tides Center, is a coalition of 35 US national organizations that came together to focus on short- and long-term healthcare workforce issues relating to older adults. The Alliance helped pass the 2018 Raise Family Caregivers Act, supports ongoing funding for the Title VII Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, and advocates for including elder care in government and professional policies, including related questions of educating and maintaining the labor force such care requires.
The John A. Hartford Foundation is a private United States–based philanthropy whose current mission is to improve the care of older adults. For many years, it made grants for research and education in geriatric medicine, nursing and social work. It now focuses on three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers and improving serious illness, and end-of-life care.
Alexandre Kalache is a medical epidemiologist specializing in the study of aging. Since 2012 he is President of the International Longevity Centre-Brazil and since 2015 co-President of the Global Alliance of International Longevity Centres (ILC-GA). He formerly directed the World Health Organization global ageing programme at its Geneva headquarters following an academic career largely at the Universities of London and Oxford in the United Kingdom. Kalache has researched, written and spoken in the field of ageing issues as an academic, an international civil servant and an advocate.
Dr. Hannah Valantine is the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity at the United States National Institutes of Health.
Anne B. Newman is an American scientist who researches epidemiology and gerontology. She received her Bachelor's, Master's and M.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Newman's primary focus of study is on atherosclerosis, longevity and what specific factors allow for people to thrive while aging. She focuses on geriatrics, gerontology and epidemiology. She was the first scholar to be awarded the Katherine M. Detre Endowed Chair of Population Health Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been listed on the annual ISI Web of Knowledge most highly cited scientists for 2015, as published by Thomson Reuters. Newman is a member of the Delta Omega Honor Society in Public Health and the American Epidemiology Society. Newman's highest qualifications are in geriatric medicine and her certification is through the American Board of Internal Medicine. Newman lives in Point Breeze Pennsylvania with her husband, Frank Kirkwood. She is a mother of three.
Michael V Vitiello is an American researcher, academic and professor. He is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Washington. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Sleep Medicine Reviews as well as the Adjunct Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, and Co-Director of the Northwest Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Center, University of Washington.
Rose Anne Kenny is an Irish geriatrician. She is the Regius Professor of Physic and a professor of medical gerontology at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), director of the Falls and Black-out Unit at St James's Hospital in Dublin, director of the Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing and founding principal investigator for The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). She was admitted in 2014 to the Royal Irish Academy in recognition of academic excellence and achievement. Kenny is a fellow of Trinity College Dublin and of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Ireland, London and Edinburgh.
Kimberly Sherell Johnson is an American clinical investigator. She is a Full professor of medicine at Duke University and director of Duke REACH Equity. In March 2020, Johnson's academic work was recognized with the first Richard Payne Outstanding Achievement in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Mary "Molly" Carnes is an American physician who is a professor in the departments of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She Directs the Center for Women's Health Research, the Women Veterans Health Program, and the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. Her research looks to develop interventions that increase the participation of people from historically excluded groups in science.
