IU GERIATRICS electronic news for June 2004

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research congratulate Bruce Grau, RN, GNP, who was a close runner-up for the American Academy of Home Care Physicians' "House Calls Provider of the Year." This was the first year nurse practitioners were eligible to win the annual national award which was previously limited to physician candidates. The award is meant to honor those pioneering clinicians who are bringing house calls back into the medical care mainstream and was presented to the winner at the AAHCP meeting held in conjunction with the 2004 AGS national meeting. Bruce notes, "I am extremely proud and honored to be so recognized by my peers and fellow house call travelers!"

Congratulations to Michael D. (Mick) Murray, PharmD, MPH, who has been named the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Pharmaceutical Policy & Evaluative Sciences Division at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He will also serve as Director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research. At a recent Regenstrief Institute farewell reception, Center for Aging Research investigators praised Mick for the research expertise and leadership he shared with colleagues and his ever-calm and upbeat attitude. We wish Mick well and hope we can continue our research collaborations!

GRANTS

Tamilyn (Tami) Bakas, DNS, RN, has received funding for a K01 by the National Institute of Nursing Research for "Caregiver Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Kit." The award will fund the development and pilot-testing of the Telephone Assessment and Skill-building Kit (TASK), an individualized 8-week intervention program geared toward reducing depression and improving general health in stroke caregivers. Dr. Bakas is Associate Professor of Nursing and an IU-CAR Affiliated Scientist.

AWARDS

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, has been recognized locally and nationally for his research accomplishments. He received the 2003 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine. At the national level, Mike received a Merck/American Geriatrics Society New Investigator Award at the AGS Annual Meeting in May. The award is presented to young investigators in medicine, whose original research, as presented in a submitted abstract, reflects new and relevant research in geriatrics. Congratulations, Mike!

PUBLICATIONS

Bakas T, Austin JK, Jessup SL, Williams LS, Oberst MT. Time and difficulty of tasks provided by family caregivers of stroke survivors. J Neurosci Nurs. 2004 Apr;36(2):95-106.

Williams LS, Ghose SS, Swindle RW. Depression and other mental health diagnoses increase mortality risk after ischemic stroke. Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Jun;161(6):1090-5.

Evans RM, Hui S, Perkins A, Lahiri DK, Poirier J, Farlow MR. Cholesterol and APOE genotype interact to influence Alzheimer disease progression. Neurology. 2004 May 25;62(10):1869-71.

Groh WJ, Bhakta D, Lowe MR, Bennett SJ. Come see the softer side of clinical outcomes: Quality-of-life measures in implanted defibrillator trials. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2004 Mar;15(3):292-4.

PRESENTATIONS

AGS ~ The American Geriatrics Society held its 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting May 17-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following IU Geriatrics Program and Center for Aging Research colleagues contributed to the meeting:

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, presented the posters "Fragmentation of health care among older adults receiving care in an urban public hospital" and "Regional fragmentation of preventive health services for older adults in a public urban health system."

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, presented the posters, "Who refuses diagnostic work-up for dementia in primary care?", "Aggressive behaviors related to dementia: should my loved one go to assisted living or nursing home?", and "Managing delirium in hospitalized elderly."

Cathy Schubert, MD, presented the poster, "Medical comorbidity in cognitively impaired older adults in primary care."

Steve Counsell, MD, chaired the inaugural meeting of the new Special Interest Group on "Health Care for Low Income Seniors" and participated as a mentor in the AGS Mentoring Program for fellows-in-training and junior faculty.

Amna Buttar, MD, MS, was a speaker at the Acute Hospital Care Special Interest Group educational session, "Evidence based review of delirium management in the 21st century."

The AGS symposium " Evidence-based Clinical Update 2003-2004, That Was the Year That Was" recognized Malaz Boustani and his co-authors on behalf of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for their publication, "Screening for dementia in primary care: a summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force." The annual symposium identifies areas in clinical medicine where new strong evidence has been uncovered that should affect geriatric practice.

SGIM ~ The Society for General Internal Medicine held its 27th Annual Meeting May 12-15 in Chicago. Our faculty contributed the following geriatrics and aging research activities:

Mike Weiner, MD, MPH, presented the poster, "Impact of videoconferencing on nighttime, on-call medical decision-making in the nursing home?"

Usha Subramanian, MD, MS, presented the poster, "Randomized controlled trial of a tele-health intervention for home care patients: utilization and patient satisfaction."

Chris Callahan, MD, participated as a senior SGIM mentor in the "One-on-One Mentor" program. Mentees may be students, residents, fellows, junior faculty, or mid-career faculty who may seek advice about clinical, educational, investigative or administrative career paths, balancing family and work priorities, as well as work in progress.

As chair of the SGIM IDEA (Improving Doctoring for Elder Americans) Task Force, Chris Callahan planned the annual meeting's first SGIM Visiting Professor in Geriatrics & Gerontology program. The objective of this innovative program is to raise the visibility of aging-related research and education among SGIM members, particularly junior faculty, fellows, and other trainees, through a series of sponsored educational and mentorship activities during the annual meeting.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Michael D. Murray, Pharm D, MPH, will serve as an expert for the United States Pharmacopeia's. To promote public health, the USP establishes state-of-the-art standards to ensure the i quality of medicines for human and veterinary use and develops authoritative information about the appropriate use of medicines.

Steve Counsell, MD, attended by invitation a conference entitled, " Cost-effective Medicaid for Older Marylanders: Scientific Perspectives on the State's New Proposal" in Baltimore and hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. While in Baltimore, Steve also visited the Johns Hopkins Geriatrics Center and met with John Burton, MD, past Director and Division Chief.

On June 16th, Steve Counsell, MD, and Gene Lammers, MD, MPH, presented their ongoing collaborative efforts to develop a Geriatrics Center of Excellence (CoE) at the Community Leaders Breakfast by request of Daniel F. Evans, Jr, President and CEO of Clarian Health Partners, Inc. In attendance were two state senators and several other "VIP's". The Geriatrics CoE is a partnership between Clarian Health and the IU School of Medicine and will include clinical services, education and research programs.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, and Greg Abernathy, MD, will present "Indianapolis Pathology Informatics Network" at Aging Research Work in Progress August 3, 8:30-9:30am, in the Regenstrief Institute 6th floor boardroom. The presentation will describe local efforts exploring the feasibility of the Shared Pathology Information Network, a research initiative of the Resources Development Branch of the Cancer Diagnosis Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The IU Geriatrics Conferences held on the first and third Wednesdays, 7:30-8:30am, will take a hiatus during the months of July and August.