In This Issue

Commentary

VA Responds to the Needs of Aging Veterans
by James F. Burris,M.D., Chief Consultant for Geriatrics & Extended Care

...VA established the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) with the specific mission to study those medical conditions associated with aging, train health care providers in the care of the elderly, and to improve the care provided to older veterans.

Response to Commentary

Defining Better Care for Aging Veterans
by Joseph Francis, M.D., M.P.H., VA Central Office, Washington, D.C.

For the researcher or administrator seeking to define better care for aging veterans, three principles are key. First, we must get further into the "black box." VA’s care delivery is based on a model of primary care, which has been indisputably effective...

Research Highlights

Finding Better Ways to Support Family Caregivers
by Linda O. Nichols, Ph.D., VA Medical Center of Memphis

Family caregivers are estimated to reach 37 million by 2050, an 85 percent increase from 2000. Of these, about 20 percent provide care to individuals with dementia. The number of individuals needing dementia care will rise from 4.5 million to 13.2 million...

Evaluation of the Assisted Living Pilot Program
by Susan C. Hedrick, Ph.D., Northwest HSR&D Center of Excellence, Marylou Guihan, Ph.D., Hines HSR&D Center of Excellence, Michael Chapko, Ph.D., Northwest HSR&D Center of Excellence

Long known as a leader in providing an extensive continuum of long-term care services, VA was authorized in Public Law 106-117 to provide these services as part of a pilot demonstration and evaluation to assess the "feasibility and practicability of enabling veterans to secure needed assisted living services as an alternative..."

Depression and Suicide in Aging Veterans: SMITREC Initiatives
by Helen C. Kales M.D. and Marcia Valenstein M.D., M.S., VA Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research and Evaluation Center (SMITREC) and VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Ann Arbor, Michigan

A considerable number of older veterans experience depression which is associated with substantial suffering, disability, suicide risk, and decreased health-related quality of life. The majority of elders with depression receive treatment in primary care settings...

Profile

Highlights of the 2008 HSR&D National Meeting

"Implementation Across the Nation: From Bedside and Clinic to Community and Home" was the theme of the 26th VA HSR&D National Meeting that was held February 13-15, 2008 in Baltimore, Md. Hosted by HSR&D’s Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice...

Announcements

Asch Receives 2008 Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement

David A. Asch, M.D., M.B.A., has received this year’s prestigious Under Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research...