11th Annual Geriatrics Health Care Symposium Set for April 22 at University of Louisville

Online, April 5, 2011 (Newswire.com) - LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The latest research and information concerning health care for older adults will be on the agenda at the 11th Annual Geriatrics Health Care Symposium, sponsored by the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine in the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

The symposium will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, April 22, in the 16th Floor Conference Center of the Rudd Heart & Lung Center at Jewish Hospital, 201 Abraham Flexner Way. Advanced registration is required at http://uofl.me/geriatrics11.

Tailored for health care professionals, the symposium annually provides the latest research and best-practice information in a variety of geriatric topics including rehabilitation, polypharmacy (management of multiple drugs for a patient), home care, hospital care and more. This year's symposium will provide specific information that health care professionals should consider when dealing with transitions of care, polypharmacy and drug utilization, and the emerging issues of the Baby Boom generation.

"The health issues of our older population are topics all health care practitioners must become familiar with as this segment of our population continues to grow," Christian Furman, M.D., vice chair for geriatrics at UofL, said. "About 1 in 8 Americans were elderly in 1994, but the U.S. Census Bureau projects that 1 in 5 Americans will be elderly by the year 2030. The elderly population is expected to more than double during that time span - from 35 million in 2000 to an estimated 71 million in 2030.

"This growth makes it imperative that anyone in the practice of medicine understand the special needs and unique circumstances of the geriatric patient."

Two keynote sessions kick off the day's agenda. At 8 a.m., the 11th Annual Irving B. Perlstein Gerontology Lecture will feature Kenneth Brummel-Smith, M.D., addressing "Rehabilitation of the Older Patient." Brummel-Smith is the Charlotte Edwards Maguire professor of geriatrics and the founding chair of the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University in Pensacola. At 9 a.m., Joseph Hanlon, Pharm.D., professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, will present the First Annual Jean Frazier Lecture, "Are We Ready for the Baby Boomers?"

Faculty from UofL Geriatrics will conduct the sessions that make up the rest of the agenda for the day:

• 10:15 a.m., "Role of the Interdisciplinary Team in Management of Polypharmacy," Christian Furman, M.D., vice chair for geriatrics and associate professor
• 11 a.m., "Non-pharmacologic Management of Behavior," Laura Grooms, M.D., assistant professor
• 1 p.m., "Transitions of Care," Patrick Murphy, M.D., associate professor
• 2 p.m., "Self-inflicted Wounds: Problems with Medicine Administration," Dee Antimisiaris, Pharm.D., assistant professor and clinical pharmacist
• 3 p.m., "Problems with Hospital Transitions," Belinda Setters, M.D., associate professor

Continuing education credit for physicians and nurses will be available, and lunch and refreshments are included. Cost to attend is $75 for physicians and nurses not affiliated with UofL; $35 for UofL faculty, nursing students and allied health students; and free for UofL medical students, residents and fellows upon presentation of a valid UofL ID.

The Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine at UofL and Jewish Hospital and St. Mary's Foundation co-sponsor the keynote lectures. The Irving B. Perlstein Gerontology Lectureship was created by the family of Perlstein, an internal medicine physician at Jewish Hospital who conducted significant research on aging and thyroid dysfunction. The Jean Frazier Lecture Series was created by Mrs. Frazier to increase awareness of the causes and effects of polypharmacy.

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