@AmerGeriatrics honors Dr. Annie Medina-Walpole w/ #AGS16 Jahnigen Memorial Public Service Award
New York (April 5, 2016)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today announced that Annette (Annie) Medina-Walpole, MD, AGSF, a leading geriatrics clinician and educator at the University of Rochester (UR) in New York, will be honored with the 2016 Dennis W. Jahnigen Memorial Public Service Award. Across her career, Dr. Medina-Walpole has worked tirelessly to recruit and educate more professionals equipped to care for our growing older adult population—a critical unmet need for one of the country’s fastest growing groups.
“In the clinic, at the bedside, and the classroom, Dr. Medina-Walpole has led the charge on innovative educational programs to get more students and trainees across health care interested and engaged in geriatrics,” noted AGS President Steven R. Counsell, MD, AGSF. “We already need 20,000 geriatricians to care for America’s 46 million older adults, yet today less than 7,500 certified geriatricians are practicing nationwide. Our vision for tomorrow is a reality first and foremost because AGS leaders like Dr. Medina-Walpole are stepping up to model the way for aspiring eldercare experts.”
Added William J. Hall, MD, Fine Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center: “One of my greatest professional privileges has been the opportunity to work with Annie. In addition to being an extraordinary clinician, she has spearheaded seminal educational programs in geriatrics locally and nationally. Above all, she is a role model, a natural born leader, and one of the most compassionate human beings I have ever met.”
A Professor of Medicine and Acting Chief, Division of Geriatrics & Aging, at UR, Dr. Medina-Walpole’s influence in Rochester is perhaps matched only by her influence on the work of the AGS. Since joining the UR faculty in 1998, Dr. Medina-Walpole has fast become the leader of a highly ambitious program to integrate geriatrics into the whole of the university’s undergraduate medical curriculum. Through her efforts, aging became one of six underlying themes for the entire medical student community. More recently, Dr. Medina-Walpole developed a Skills in Complete Patient Evaluation course to engage medical students in understanding the importance of patient history and physical examination, including in older adults residing in nursing homes. Dr. Medina-Walpole also served as the UR Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Director and currently co-directs the UR Dean’s Teaching Fellowship, which trains faculty as master educators.
As an AGS member since 1995, Dr. Medina-Walpole remains a frequent reviewer for the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) and chaired the 2008 AGS Annual Scientific Meeting Program Committee. She is co-editor of the Geriatric Review Syllabus, a premier reference guide for clinicians engaged in continuing education, and was recently elected to the AGS Board of Directors. Yet Dr. Medina-Walpole is perhaps best known as a mentor, educator, and esteemed clinician for the many emerging health professionals who have benefitted from her guidance.
The late Dennis W. Jahnigen, MD, was a compassionate geriatrician and acclaimed educator who dedicated his life to training future leaders. Today, his namesake award recognizes an AGS member, like Dr. Medina-Walpole, committed to working with students and advancing geriatrics education in schools of health and medicine. It is one of several honors conferred by the AGS at its Annual Scientific Meeting—held this year in Long Beach, Calif., May 19-21. The 2016 award recipients include more than 15 healthcare leaders representing the depth and breadth of disciplines championing elder care.
About the American Geriatrics Society
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Its nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, consulting pharmacists, and internists. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy. For more information, visit americangeriatrics.org.
About the Dennis W. Jahnigen Memorial Award
The late Dennis W. Jahnigen, MD, was a compassionate geriatrician and acclaimed educator who dedicated his life to training future leaders. Today, his namesake award recognizes an AGS member committed to working with students and advancing geriatrics education in schools of health and medicine.
About the AGS Annual Scientific Meeting
The AGS Annual Scientific Meeting is the premier educational event in geriatrics, providing the latest information on clinical care, research on aging, and innovative models of care delivery. More than 2,000 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, social workers, long-term care and managed care providers, healthcare administrators, and others will convene May 19-21, 2016 (pre-conference program on May 18), at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach, Calif., to advance geriatrics knowledge and skills through state-of-the-art educational sessions and research presentations.