2012 ANNUAL REPORT

Addressing the Looming Health Care Crisis

In consultation with experts on aging such as Robert N. Butler, MD, founding director of the National Institute on Aging, and then Chairman of the Department of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the Trustees and staff identified the most important health care challenges facing older adults. There were four: (1) fragmentation of health and social services, (2) accelerated growth in health care costs, (3) lack of medical personnel with a special interest and training in geriatric care, and (4) limited resources available for aging-related medical research.

“At that time there was abysmal capacity in the teaching institutions of physicians, nurses, and social workers in issues related to aging,” says Mr. Volk. “Geriatrics in most of these institutions did not even have a place at the table.”

William R. Hazzard, MD, a pioneer in the field of geriatrics, wrote that, prior to 1978, “…there were no trained geriatricians; no geriatrics faculty to develop model geriatrics care programs, train geriatricians, educate medical students, residents, or practicing physicians, or conduct aging-related research. There was no recognition as a specialty by the American Board of Internal Medicine and no designated training programs for faculty development or clinical geriatrics training.”

No other foundation at the time was paying adequate attention to the aging of the population. Today, the Hartford Foundation is still the country’s largest private foundation focused only on aging and health.

“The Hartford Foundation has been the most significant investor in assuring better quality of care for older adults and a quality workforce.” Jennie Chin Hansen, RN, MS
CEO American Geriatrics Society