News & Events

After a nation-wide search, Dr. Kathi Heffner has been appointed Associate Chief of Research for the Division of Geriatrics & Aging. Dr. Heffner will build a robust interdisciplinary program of study that spans the Division and links it to related centers of academic excellence across the University of Rochester.

Thomas Caprio, M.D., associate professor of Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health Sciences, recently earned the designation Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

The Academy is the professional organization for physicians who care for patients with serious illness. Fellow status honors dedication to and scholarship in the field of the hospice and palliative medicine and represents a minimum of five years of membership, participation in AAHPM activities, letters of recommendation, and board certification in hospice and palliative medicine.

Caprio is medical director of URMC's Geriatric Assessment Clinic, Chief Medical Officer of UR Medicine Home Care, and medical director of the Visiting Nurse Service. He received his medical degree from State University of New York at Buffalo and trained in Internal Medicine at SMD.

Following residency, he joined SMD's Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program in July 2003. He subsequently completed a two year research fellowship, obtained his Master's degree in the School of Public Health as well as a Master's degree in health professions education at the UR Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

Caprio will receive the designation during the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association in Boston, Mass., March 17, 2018.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine's membership includes more than 5,000 physicians and other health care professional committed to improving the care of patients with serious or life-threatening conditions. Since 1988, AAHPM has supported hospice and palliative medicine through advancement of clinical practice standards, fostering research, providing education, and through public policy advocacy.

Members of Wilmot Cancer Institute's Geriatric Oncology team shared their findings and expertise at the recent International Society of Geriatric Oncology annual conference.

Although more than half of cancers are diagnosed in adults age 65 and older, oncologists are still learning how best to individualize therapies for older adults. Wilmot's team focuses on improving the treatment decision-making and quality of life for this population and their caregivers.

"At Wilmot Cancer Institute, we have one of the few geriatric oncology clinical and research programs in the country," says Supriya Mohile, M.D., M.S., associate professor of Hematology/Oncology who leads Wilmot's Geriatric Oncology team. "In addition to having four physicians dually certified in geriatrics and oncology, we have a robust team including researchers and trainees in geriatric oncology, nursing, psychiatry, and palliative care. It was wonderful for our team to have our research acknowledged and highlighted at this international meeting of experts in geriatric oncology."

Mohile presented findings from two studies using a geriatric assessment tool. This tool evaluates a variety of factors such as health and medical conditions, physical ability, issues with memory or falling, cancer symptoms, medications that could affect chemotherapy and a patient's home care situation. It is used to inform the oncology team as they develop the patient's care plans.

In one study, Mohile looked at whether impairments such as physical performance and cognition recorded using the geriatric assessment were associated with anxiety and depression in caregivers. Analyzing data from 349 pairs of patients age 70 and older and their caregivers, Mohile found that patient distress was associated with caregiver anxiety, and the patient's functional and nutritional status were associated with caregiver depression.

In a second study of data from 342 older adults with advanced cancers, Mohile, presenting on behalf of Marie Flannery, PhD, examined the variability in their reported quality of life. She focused on the role of symptom severity, and she found that both geriatric impairments and symptom burden had significant influence on the patients' quality of life.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant to University of Rochester Medical Center researchers exploring methods of making cognitive training more effective for older adults by improving their attitudes toward computers.

Feng Vankee Lin, Ph.D., R.N., an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and director of the CogT Lab promoting successful aging, and Benjamin Chapman, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, are principal investigators on the $421,000, two-year study. Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., professor of neurology, is a co-investigator on the grant, which is also receiving recruitment support from Dallas Nelson, M.D., and Sarah Howd, M.D., in the Department of Medicine's Division of Geriatrics and Aging.

Computerized cognitive training methods, such as online "brain games" have been widely implemented among adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in recent years. However those interventions have not proven to be a consistently reliable method of improving or maintaining the cognitive health of older adults. Results are highly variable, and one possible explanation lies in how comfortable seniors feel using technology.

At the core of the study is the notion of person-centered care -- integrating individuals' preference throughout the process of intervention. The person-centered approached has been shown to improve engagement among older persons, including those with MCI, and pilot data collected at assisted-living facilities suggests that computer-led leisure activities promotes psychological well-being among older persons with MCI and may change their perception about technology. A computer used for fun activities may no longer seem daunting, complex, or irrelevant, but instead be seen as familiar and enjoyable.

Dr. Annette Medina-Walpole was appointed as the Paul H. Fine Professor in Medicine. She retains her joint appointment as Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Aging in the Department of Medicine.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has announced that Daniel Mendelson, M.S., M.D., FACP, AGSF, CMD, will be chair of the AHA's Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation Council. Dr. Mendelson is the Associate Chief of Medicine and Director of Palliative Care for Highland Hospital.

The council comprises CEOs and senior executives from the nation's leading hospitals representing rehabilitation, acute long-term care, skilled nursing, home health and continuing care services. As chair, Dr. Mendelson will lead the section's council on public policy issues of concern to post-acute and continuing care providers and AHA member service strategies.

Mendelson helped establish UR Medicine Geriatrics Group, which provides primary medical care at several nursing homes and assisted living facilities; he has served as the group's associate medical director as well as medical director of several nursing homes. He co-founded and continues to co-direct the Geriatric Fracture Center at Highland Hospital and lectures worldwide about topics related to fragility fractures and co-management. He is the founder of the Palliative Care Consultation Service at Highland Hospital and was one of the first certified palliative care physicians in the U.S. Mendelson is the William and Sheila Konar Family Professor of Geriatrics, Palliative Medicine, and Person-Centered Care in the Division of Geriatrics at the UR School of Medicine & Dentistry.