IU GERIATRICS electronic news for November 2003

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research welcomed Douglas K. Miller, MD, to the Indiana University family in November. Doug will be named the Richard M. Fairbanks Professor in Aging Research and is the Associate Director for the IU Center for Aging Research and a Research Scientist in the Regenstrief Institute. In addition to his research activities, Doug will provide geriatric consultation for the IU Geriatrics Program. His most recent affiliation was at Saint Louis University where he was on faculty for 24 years and was Professor of Medicine and Associate Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine. Read about Doug's training and professional accomplishments in the September 2003 issue of IU Geriatrics.

AWARDS

Congratulations to Lisa Hovious who was awarded a Tony and Mary Hulman Health Achievement Award for Individual Recognition for Exceptional Contributions to Geriatrics and Gerontology in October, 2003. Lisa is a registered nurse who has been caring for older adult patients in the outpatient settings at Wishard Health Systems for more than 25 years, most recently in the IU Center for Senior Health. In their nomination letter, geriatricians Jeff Darnell and Chris Callahan noted Lisa “has embodied the ideal attributes of a caring and capable nursing professional. On a daily basis, she gives her best to our neediest and most vulnerable citizens. She is an effective and efficient liaison between the patient, physician, and other health care providers and she serves as the central point of coordination for the myriad people and programs involved in the patient’s care. Many wonderful nurses have worked with our geriatric team over the past two decades, but none has performed for so long or so consistently in the hectic world of primary care nursing for older adults. This is a tremendous accomplishment and we wish to salute a health care professional who has changed the world one patient at a time.” We're proud of you, Lisa!

PUBLICATIONS

McHorney CA, Kesterson J, Williams L, Tierney W. Relating quality-of-life scores to future sentinel clinical events and health care utilization. Clin Ther. 2003;25 Suppl D:D19-20.

Miller DK, Chibnall JT. Strategies for recruiting patients into randomized trials of palliative care. Palliat Med. 2003 Sep;17(6):556-7.

Landefeld CS, Callahan CM, Woolard N. General internal medicine and geriatrics: building a foundation to improve the training of general internists in the care of older adults. Ann Intern Med. 2003 Oct 7;139(7):609-14.

Allen KR, Hazelett SE, Palmer RM, Jarjoura DG, Wickstrom GC, Weinhardt JA, Lada R, Holder CM, Counsell SR. Developing a Stroke Unit Using the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Intervention and Model of Care. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003 Nov;51(11):1660-7.

Champion VL. Breast self-examination: what now? Oncol Nurs Forum. 2003 Sep-Oct;30(5):723-4.

O'Donnell BF, Wilt MA, Hake AM, Stout JC, Kirkwood SC, Foroud T. Visual function in Huntington's disease patients and presymptomatic gene carriers. Mov Disord. 2003 Sep;18(9):1027-34.

PRESENTATIONS

Susan J. Bennett, DNS, presented "Computerized interventions for improving heart failure care" at the annual scientific meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America, September 22, 2003, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Amna Buttar, MD, MS, presented “Clinical approach to the frail patient: Strategies for health care providers and caregivers,” at the Frailty and Its Intersection with Delirium Conference sponsored by the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on September 25, 2003.

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, presented "Next-Generation health care applications," at the Fall 2003 Internet2 Member Meeting in Indianapolis, October 15. 2003.

Mike Weiner presented "Improving comprehension of medication instructions in older adults with heart failure using a patient-centered approach," at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 47th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on October 16, 2003. A local co-author was Mick Murray, PharmD, MPH.

Amna Buttar, MD, MS, presented “Management of Delirium,” at the CME conference of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America, in Houston, Texas, on October 3, 2003.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Christopher Callahan, MD, co-edited the October 7, 2003 Annals of Internal Medicine supplement “ Improving Geriatrics Training: Training Internists in the Care of Older Adults.” Scroll to the bottom of the page to find supplement publications.

Linda S. Williams, MD, taught “Stroke Prevention and Botox® Therapy” to students attending the October 14 session of the IU School of Medicine’s Mini Medical School. The 6-week lecture series focuses on current trends in medicine with students witnessing first-hand how IUSM faculty contribute to medical science.

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, taught “Myths and Realities of Medical Errors“ to students attending the October 28 session of Mini Medical School. At the completion of the series, participants are given a certificate of achievement signed by IUSM Dean Craig Brater.

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH, was elected to the IUSM Academic Standards Commmittee for medical students and was appointed to the Faculty Steering Committee.

Steve Counsell, MD is serving on the VISN 11 Primary Care/Geriatrics Interface Workgroup developing screening tools for assigning older veterans to receive primary care in general medicine vs. geriatrics clinics, and making referrals for geriatrics consultation.

Michael Weiner, MD, MPH, presented “Preventing Medical Malpractice by Improving Patient Safety” on November 13, 2003. The presentation was part of a series of campus lectures related to medical malpractice.

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH, has been named Associate Editor for POGOe, the Portal of Geriatrics Online Education, a web-based clearinghouse that will provide a peer-reviewed source of geriatrics educational materials for physicians at all levels of training. It will also offer clinician educators a peer-reviewed outlet for publishing the materials they develop. POGOe is supported by a grant to ADGAP from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Steve Counsell, MD, was asked by John Barth, Managed Care Director, Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning, to participate in the Medicaid Select Risk-Based Managed Care Study Committee and help devise a strategy to ensure access, quality improvement and cost-effective delivery of health care to Indiana's aged, blind and disabled.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The December 17 Geriatrics Medicine Conference features Askiel Bruno, MD, associate professor of neurology and director of IU's Stroke Program. He will present "Stroke in the Elderly," in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.

The January 7 Geriatrics Medicine Conference features Steven J. Willing, MD, MBA, associate professor of radiology and informatics and chief of interventional neuroradiology. His presentation, "Vertebroplasty/Kyphoplasty in Older Adults," will be in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.