Geriatric primary care conference set for Aug. 24 in S.A.

San Antonio (July 31, 2007) — Noted gerontologist Thomas T. Perls, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine and geriatrics at Boston University, will be the morning keynote speaker for an aging continuing education conference scheduled in August in San Antonio.

Dr. Perls is founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest study of centenarians in the world. One of his interests is learning how centenarians avoid developing Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders.

The conference, “Geriatric Primary Care: Current Perspectives and New Horizons,” will take place from 7 a.m. (when registration begins) to 4:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, at the La Quinta Conference Center, 4431 Horizon Hill Blvd.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio’s South Texas Geriatric Education Center; the South Texas Veterans Health Care System; and the VISN 17 VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network are the conference sponsors.

Organizing centers include the Geriatric Research, Educational and Clinical Center at the Audie Murphy Division, South Texas Veterans Health Care System.

Advance registration is requested. The fee is $75 for Health Science Center employees, $50 for students, and $50 for military and VA employees. The fee for community professionals is $140 through August 10, after which it increases to $175.

Other topics will include the risk of ageism in screening programs, the new field of geriatric oncology, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), lipids and NAFLD in aging, ethical issues in end-of-life care, and cutting-edge management of frailty in geriatric patients.

For a registration form, an agenda of speakers and times, and a complete conference brochure in PDF, go to www.sagrecc.org.

This is the 28th year that the partners have organized an annual conference on aging. Anyone with questions may call Kathleen Kirk at (210) 567-7410.

A certification of continuing education (CE) will be awarded to participants who attend the entire conference. A certificate of attendance will be awarded to those not seeking CE units. More detailed information follows.

Physicians — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Education System designates this educational activity for a maximum of 7.0 American Medical Association (AMA) Physician’s Recognition Award (PRA) Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

Nurses — The VA Employee Education System will provide nursing CE for a maximum of 7.0 contact hours as determined by the standards of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Social workers — These professionals can earn up to 0.7 CE units for the 7.0 contact hours.

Licensed professional counselors — These professionals can earn up to 0.7 CE units.

Licensed nursing facility administration — This program has been submitted, but not yet approved, for 0.7 CE units for these professionals.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $536 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $14.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.



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