Library presents Health Care Policy Forum on aging on November 14

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On November 14, 2012, the UT Southwestern Library and the Dallas Area Agency on Aging will co-sponsor a U.S. Health Care Policy Forum presentation by Craig Rubin, M.D., Chief of Geriatrics Section, Department of Internal Medicine, entitled “Changing Aging: Reflections on Geriatrics Then & Now”. The program, which is free and open to all, will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the McDermott Lecture Hall (Room D1.602).

Currently, the population of Americans 65 and older is approximately 13% of the population, but that number is expected to nearly double – to more than 70 million – by 2030. Therefore, providing high-quality, cost-effective healthcare to older adults is imperative.

According to the American Geriatric Society:

  • One in five Americans will be eligible for Medicare by 2030.
  • More than 20% of older adults have at least five chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, and dementia.
  • Older adults with more than four chronic conditions account for 80% of Medicare spending.
  • Older adults access healthcare services more than younger adults and children. They account for:
    • 26% of all physician office visits;
    • 35% of all hospital stays;
    • 34% of all prescriptions;
    • 38% of emergency medical services responses; and
    • 90% of all nursing home use.

What changes are necessary in health policy, clinical practice, and medical education to meet the challenges of an aging population?  Dr. Rubin, whose career has spanned this “graying” of America, will offer his insights from 30 years of research and care of elderly people.

Ramona Rhodes, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, will host the event. Lunch will be served; come early! For more information, contact John Fullinwider by phone at 214-648-3801.

Craig Rubin, M.D., graduated from New Jersey Medical School in 1982.  In 1985 he completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and joined the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern in Dallas the same year. In 1989 Dr. Rubin was named Chief of the newly created Geriatrics Section, a title he retains today.  He was promoted to Professor in 2000 and is the Director of the Mildred Wyatt and Ivor P. Wold Center for Geriatric Care.  He also holds the Margaret and Trammell Crow Distinguished Chair in Alzheimer’s and Geriatrics Research, the Seymour Eisenberg Distinguished Professorship in Geriatric Medicine, and the Neill Walsdorf, Sr. Professorship in Geriatric Research.  He is actively involved in patient care, teaching and research. He has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals in the areas of comprehensive geriatric assessment, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and medical education.  Dr. Rubin serves on the American Geriatrics Society Public Policy Committee and is the principal investigator of UT-SAGE, a 4-year, $2-million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to strengthen physician training in geriatrics.

Ramona Rhodes, M.D., M.P.H., is Assistant Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics Section at UT Southwestern. Dr. Rhodes completed a clinical geriatrics fellowship and postdoctoral research fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University’s Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, during which time she was named a Haffenreffer Fellow in Medical Sciences for excellence in fellowship from the Graduate Medical Education Department of Rhode Island Hospital. Her current research projects look at access to hospice for African Americans, racial differences in the quality of care patients receive at the end of life, and racial differences in feeding tube insertion among persons with advanced cognitive impairment.

Forum Sponsors: UT Southwestern Medical Center Library, UT School of Public Health/Dallas Campus, UT Southwestern School of Health Professions, Medical Humanities Interest Group, UT Southwestern Department of Family Medicine/Division of Community Medicine, Community Council of Greater Dallas/Dallas Area Agency on Aging, UT Southwestern Department of Clinical Sciences, and UT Southwestern Clinical and Translational Alliance for Research (UT-STAR)

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