Geriatrics Conference brings national experts to Maine

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The 27th Annual Maine Geriatrics Conference was held on June 7 - 8, 2017 at the Harborside Hotel and Marina in Bar Harbor Maine, providing a beautiful backdrop for a weekend of education for those who care for Maine鈥檚 older adults.

 There were more than 250 attendees, most of them older adult health practitioners and service providers. A select group of the attendees were GEMS, which stands for Geriatrics Education Mentorship with Seniors. GEMS are community dwelling older adults from the far reaches of Maine who attended the conference with the support of sponsorship from the Maine Community Foundation, York Hospital and Geriatrics Conference Planning Committee. 

The goal of this annual conference is to bring nationally renowned presenters to Maine to alleviate the financial burden of attending a national meeting. This year, Elizabeth Eckstrom, M.D., M.P.H., director of Geriatrics, Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Oregon Health Sciences University; and Bradley Fisher, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Gerontology and Psychology, Missouri State University; provided excellent keynote presentations.

麻豆传媒COM was well represented among the attendees and presenters. In addition, Nathan Harmon, D.O. 鈥05, director, Inpatient Geriatrics at Maine General Medical Center, provided a plenary presentation and Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D., of the 麻豆传媒COM Division of Geriatric Medicine, moderated the Closing Attendee Forum. Victoria Stacey Thieme, D.O., of 麻豆传媒COM, and Thomas Wickham (麻豆传媒COM 鈥20), presented a workshop titled, 鈥淐annabis Therapy and Hospice: Study of the Mark Bushey Compassion Program.鈥 10 麻豆传媒COM students and graduates also attended the conference. Jessica Harnisch Boyd (麻豆传媒COM鈥19), who conducted a Round Table discussion on her research "Caring for older adults in rural Maine: Barriers, Challenges, Solutions."

The Maine Geriatrics Conference Planning Committee included representatives from each organization across the state with a focus on aging, including the Maine Primary Care Association. The 麻豆传媒COM Division of Geriatric Medicine is the convener for this conference and works closely with the Maine Gerontological Society.

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