Two New York-based grantmaking organizations and a Washington-based policy and research organization have funded a new $14.3 million program to promote research and physician training on aging.
The program received $7.9 million from the John A. Hartford Foundation and $1.2 million from the Commonwealth Fund. Friends of the Alliance for Aging Research contributed $5.2 million.
According to a report by the alliance, some 4,000 U.S. physicians are trained in geriatrics, far short of the number needed to treat the 65 million Americans who will be 65 or older by the year 2030.
Under the program announced earlier this month, 10 junior medical faculty members will receive three years of funding to dedicate their careers to geriatric education, research and clinical care.
A national program committee chaired by William N. Kelley, chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and dean of the medical school, will provide overall guidance. The Alliance for Aging Research in Washington and the American Federation for Aging Research in New York will provide administrative and technical support.
