The Awards committee functions to promote members of the section on Geriatrics that have provided extraordinary service to geriatric patients, to students as well as to the Academy. The specific awards extend to outstanding service and/or excellence in: clinical service, clinical education of students, academic preparation of students, volunteers in action, advocacy of older adults and the outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant in Geriatrics.
The purpose of the AGPT Communications Committee is to develop an overall comprehensive communications strategy for the Academy using various electronic and other media including the website, social media, PR and other technologies. The Communications chair will set and guide the strategy to consistently articulate the Academy’s mission and vision. Sub-Committees of the Communications Committee include:
Social Media: Maintain a consistent, energetic social media presence to increase the AGPT’s profile with membership, other healthcare professionals and older adults via Facebook and Twitter with planned expansion into LinkedIn by creating and posting content (both original and industry) regularly.
Website/Listserv: The Website Sub-Committee oversees maintaining and improving content on the Academy’s website www.geriatricspt.org and the Listserv moderator monitors all listserv posts for appropriateness to maintain high quality listserv participation. (Lead: Lucy Jones, PT, DPT, MHA, GCS)
Public Relations Sub-Committee works to get free press for PTs working with older adults, and to get media attention for issues faced by aging adults. The PR Committee also has a marketing role to plan/coordinate the Academy’s marketing efforts related to its products and courses. (Lead: Karleen Cordeau, PT, MS)
The purpose of the Education Committee is to serve as a forum and preferred channel for information, resources, and professional networking related to PT and PTA education in the area of geriatric physical therapy. Sub-Committees of the Education Committee include Regional/Conference Programming, Online Education and Academic Education.
The Finance committee advises the Board of Directors on matters pertaining to the Academy’s financial needs, growth, and stability based on periodic review of income, expenditure and investments. The two specified functions of the Finance Committee are to present a balanced budget to the Board of Directors and the Membership and to annually review the Investment Policy and recommend changes to the Treasurer. These two functions generally require reviewing the budget during October and a conference call at the end of the month. Additional conference calls may be required if the Finance Committee is required to do additional tasks by the Board of Directors.
The purpose of the Geriatric Specialty Council (GSC) is to develop and maintain the process for certification and re-certification of Geriatric Specialists in Physical Therapy. The three-person committee reports regularly to the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists. The committee coordinates item writing and test development in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the Specialization Academy of Content Experts (SACE), and the Committee of Content Experts (CCE). The committee participates, and at times invites other section members to participate, in standard setting of the examination and key validation of specific items. The GSC reviews all re-certification portfolios, validates that complete information is contained in the Professional Development Portfolios, and makes recommendations to the ABPTS. The committee collaborates with the Academy and ABPTS to increase awareness of the certification by publishing information in GeriNotes, hosting an annual breakfast at Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), and other marketing projects.
GeriNotes is the member magazine for the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy (AGPT). It is distributed five times per year: January, May, July, September and November. Some issues have focused topics pertinent to a specific area of geriatric physical therapy. These issues have authors with special knowledge in the focused area. Other issues are general with a variety of articles submitted by Academy members. Academy news and committee reports are also provided in each issue. The Editorial Board of GeriNotes meets annually at the Combined Sections Meeting. Members of the Academy are encouraged to submit articles for publication in GeriNotes. Instructions for authors are published once a year and are available here. The copyright is held by the AGPT.
The Editorial Board of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy consists of an Editor in Chief and 10 to 16 others that the Editor has invited to be board members. All have expertise relevant to geriatric physical therapy but not all are physical therapists. Neither are all members of the American Physical Therapy Association. The Board is responsible for the content of the Journal. This responsibility is carried out primarily by assisting with the peer-review of submitted articles. However, board members contribute also by soliciting and submitting articles and by providing feedback on Journal content and procedures.
The Membership Committee exists to recruit new members and retain current membership. Committee members formulate and implement strategies designed to inform members and prospective members of the benefits of the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy. The committee develops and promotes activities designed to demonstrate the advantages of Academy membership. Other duties include assisting with booth activities at the CSM and National Meetings, conducting exiting member surveys, as well as welcoming and encouraging all members to contribute and be involved in Academy activities. Committee member participation is flexible, depending on members time and availability.
This active committee is responsible for finding the best candidates for the elections that are held once a year. The members serve a three-year term and take on more responsibility each year until in the last of the three years the committee member is the chair of the Nominating committee. The committee meets at Combined Sections. The chair represents the committee at the Academy Board meetings, however the committee stays separate from the board to maintain their independence in finding the best candidates. They attend Member Meetings and talk to the membership to encourage leaders to run for office. The job entails phone and e-mail meetings with the other committee members and communication to the membership at large and to specific candidates.
The Reimbursement and Legislation Committee is concerned with monitoring federal legislation as it relates to reimbursement for physical therapy services. The Committee Chair is the Federal Affairs Liaison (FAL) who is appointed by the President of the AGPT.
The Committee Chair is responsible for facilitating the R&L Committee, which consists of volunteer members. Members assist the Chair by staying current on reimbursement issues relative to his/her region or state. Particular issues of interest include: the therapy cap, Medicare direct access, Medicare reform, Medicaid reform, PPS reform, and CPT code development. The committee communicates through email, phone calls, and at APTA conferences.
On July 31, 2018 CMS finalized three 2019 Medicare payment rules for the Skilled Nursing Facility PPS, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS, and Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS. Individually and collectively, the final rules issued today put patients over paperwork, ease provider burden, and make significant strides in modernizing Medicare
For more information, https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2018-Fact-sheets-items/2018-07-31-3.html
A look back at all the Academy has accomplished in the last 40 years!
http://geriatricspt.org/?8t676f
Take a look at how we celebrated at CSM!
https://animoto.com/play/60zmmaUls2Qmjwqqz6EeWQ
Committee Purpose: To promote practice activities related to aging adults to PT and PTAs including but not limited to assisting those therapists/therapists assistants pursuing geriatric Board certification, advanced clinical proficiency recognition for PTA's, and the development/creation/dissemination of evidence-based documents/clinical practice guidelines including collaborating with APTA and the PTNow Portal.
The global population is currently undergoing the greatest demographic shift in the history of humankind. A direct consequence of this “longevity miracle” – if left unchecked – will be an explosion in the incidence of chronic diseases afflicting older people. In the absence of systematic and system-wide interventions, this tsunami of need is poised to engulf health and social care systems throughout the world. Osteoporosis, falls and the fragility fractures that follow will be at the vanguard of this battle which is set to rage between quantity and quality of life.
By 2010, the global incidence of one of the most common and debilitating fragility fractures, hip fracture, was estimated to be 2.7 million cases per year. Conservative projections suggest that this will increase to 4.5 million cases per year by 2050. While all countries will be impacted, in absolute terms, Asia will bear the brunt of this growing burden of disease, with around half of hip fractures occurring in this region by the middle of the century. And the associated costs are staggering: in Europe in 2010, osteoporosis cost Euro 37 billion, while in the United States estimates for fracture costs for 2020 are US$22 billion.
If our health and social care systems are to withstand this assault, a robust strategy must be devised, and an army of health professionals amassed to deliver it. This strategy must transform how we currently treat and rehabilitate people who have sustained fragility fractures, in combination with preventing as many fractures from occurring as possible. The latter can be achieved in part by ensuring that health systems always respond to the first fracture to prevent second and subsequent fractures. In short, let the first fracture be the last.
A major step towards making this aspiration a reality has occurred today with publication of a Global Call to Action to improve the care of people with fragility fractures. Endorsed by 81 leading organizations from around the world, covering the fields of medicine and nursing for older people, orthopaedic surgery, osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, physiotherapy, rehabilitation medicine and rheumatology, the case for transformation of the following aspects of care has been made:
The Call to Action was conceived at an annual congress of the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN), when six leading organisations came together to determine how they could most effectively collaborate to improve fracture care globally. Lead author of the publication, Professor Karsten E. Dreinhöfer said “Fragility fractures can devastate the quality of life of people who suffer them and are pushing our already overstretched health systems to breaking point”. Dreinhöfer added “As the first of the baby boomers are now into their seventies, we must take control of this problem immediately before it is too late”.
The Global Call to Action illustrates that for the first time, all the leading organisations in the world have recognized the need for collaboration on an entirely new scale. “The Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy has a long history of promoting bone health to improve population health and we are proud to be among the charter group of global endorsers. The publication of this CtA along with the unprecedented level of consensus shared by societies across the world provides an opportunity to drive widespread implementation of best practice in the United States and globally,” Dr. Greg Hartley, President of the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy.
The Global Call to Action proposes specific priorities for people with fragility fractures and their advocacy organisations, individual health workers, healthcare professional organisations, governmental organisations and nations as such, insurers, health systems and healthcare practices, and the life sciences industry. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the years 2020-2030 to be the “Decade of Healthy Aging” and later this year the United Nations (UN) will hold its Third High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases. The authors highlight the opportunity for WHO and UN to consider the recommendations made in the Global Call to Action as an enabler for their global initiatives.
Read more at http://fragilityfracturenetwork.org/cta/
Fragility Fracture Network Central Office
c/o MCI Schweiz AG
Schaffhauserstrasse 550
8052 Zürich
Switzerland
Key contacts:
Kate Mangione, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Member, Physio Special Interest Group
The Research Committee evaluates and addresses the research needs of the Academy. Some of these activities include review of abstracts for CSM, recognition of research activities through presentation of research awards, and focusing on research objectives for the Academy such as educating Academy members about evidenced-based practice. The committee communicates through email, phones calls and at APTA conferences.
The State Advocates work at the local level to advocate for older adults. Some of the responsibilities of an Advocate are:
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