IU GERIATRICS electronic news for August 2002

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research welcome Cathy Schubert, MD to the Fellowship Program in Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Schubert graduated from medical school at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, and completed an internal medicine residency at Indiana University in June, 2002. Some of her clinical duties include consulting in the IU Center for Senior Health and seeing patients in general medicine and geriatric clinics at the VA and in House Calls for Seniors. She will also participate in geriatrics clinical duties in the ACE unit, at Lockefield Village and in the Palliative Care program.

Dr. Schubert joins the program's second-year fellow Youcef Sennour, MD. Along with performing clinical duties, Dr. Sennour looks forward to additional study on a variety of topics, including geriatric syndromes, in particular delirium and malnutrition, and in-patient care for older adults and implementation of Acute Care for Elders Units.

AWARDS

Hugh C. Hendrie, MB, ChB, DSc, has been awarded the first Doctor of Science in Medicine degree by his alma mater's Faculty of Medicine at the University of Glasgow. Descriptions of Bute Hall and the July 5th graduation portray a setting and ceremony befitting a queen, king, or distinguished clinician, mentor, teacher and researcher. Congratulations Dr. Hendrie!

Publications

Bennett SJ, Oldridge NB, Eckert GJ, Embree JL, Browning S, Hou N, Deer M, Murray MD. Discriminant properties of commonly used quality of life measures in heart failure. Qual Life Res 2002 Jun;11(4):349-59.

Champion VL, Rawl SM, Menon U. Population-based cancer screening. Oncol Nurs Forum 2002 Jun;29(5):853-61.

Farlow MR. Do cholinesterase inhibitors slow progression of Alzheimer's disease? Int J Clin Pract Suppl 2002 Jun;(127):37-44.

Sloane PD, Zimmerman S, Suchindran C, Reed P, Wang L, Boustani M, Sudha S. The public health impact of Alzheimer's disease, 2000-2050: Potential implication of treatment advances. Ann Rev Public Health 2002;23:213-31.

Williams LS, Rotich J, Qi R, Fineberg N, Espay A, Bruno A, Fineberg SE, Tierney WR. Effects of admission hyperglycemia on mortality and costs in acute ischemic stroke. Neurology 2002 Jul 9;59(1):67-71.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Jeffrey Darnell, MD was a featured columnist in Senior Matters, the WISH TV8's Senior Life Web page. Jeff's topic for the July 18th edition was "What is Cholesterol and What Can I Do About It?".

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH was invited to join primary care physicians as a panelist at the IU School of Medicine's July 22nd seminar “A Career in Medicine: Admission to Physician.” The seminar was part of the 2002 Undergraduate Summer Research Seminars offered to college students who are interested in a career in medicine.

Michael Murray, PharmD, MPH, was Co-Chair of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics Educational Symposium “Drug Interactions with Herbal Products and Food” July 22-23 in Bethesda, MD. He also opened the symposium with the presentation, "Drug and Herbal Product Use."

Steven Counsell, MD has been reappointed by Governor O'Bannon as geriatrics specialist on the Indiana Prescription Drug Advisory Committee. The committee advises the governor about HoosierRx, a program that has helped over 16,000 of Indiana's older citizens buy prescription drugs. Formerly run as a rebate program, this fall Hoosier Rx will switch to a debitlike system so eligible adults can get an immediate discount at participating pharmacies.

Christopher Callahan, MD has been selected to serve on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Advisory Committee for Depression in Primary Care: Linking Clinical and System Strategies, a five-year, $12 million national program with the goal of increasing the use of effective models for treating depression in primary care settings. The committee advises the RWJF National Program Office, and it reviews and recommends grant funding for specific program projects.

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH, and Kathy Frank, RN, MSN, have been appointed to the Annual Meeting Program Committee of the American Geriatrics Society. They travelled to New York City in July and met with committee members who are planning the 2003 AGS scientific meeting May 14-18 in Baltimore.

Chris Callahan, MD was a featured writer in the Indianapolis Star series Dialogue: The Future of Aging. His July 28th article, "Getting old doesn't mean getting sick," helped kick off the paper's six-month discussion on aging issues. Leaders in the field of aging are joining Star reporters in contributing to this discussion.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next Aging Research Work in Progress is August 27, 8-9am in VA D-6005. Teresa Damush, PhD will present "Improving Quality of Life in Mobility Disorders."