MGA Conferences and Forums

The Massachusetts Gerontology Association sponsors two conference events each year, the Annual Spring Meeting and Fall Policy Forum. All those in attendance at our conferences are presented with valuable information as well as the opportunity to network with peers in aging and aging related fields.

2011 MGA ANNUAL MEETING
The Annual Meeting, “Let There be Law: Empowering Aging Families” was held at The Heller School at Brandeis University on May 5, 2011.

The keynote speaker was Marshall B. Kapp, educated at Johns Hopkins University (B.A.), George Washington University Law School (J.D.
with Honors), and Harvard University School of Public Health
(M.P.H.). He is the Director of the Florida State University Center
for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law. He is a Fellow
of the Gerontological Society of America and of the American
College of Legal Medicine.

The panelists were Mary Catherine Bateson, cultural anthropologist and author; Ellen A. Bruce, Director of the Gerontology Institute of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston; and Donald N. Freedman, principal of the law firm of Rosenberg, Freedman & Goldstein LLP, of Newton.

2011 FALL POLICY FORUM
The Fall Policy Forum, “Care Transitions: Re-charting the Pathways, Reframing the Journey", was held at Hebrew SeniorLife’s NewBridge on the Charles on November 4.

Keynote
Valerie Parker Callahan, Director of Planning and Development at Greater Lynn Senior Services, shepherds cross continuum collaborations around consumer engagement in care transition, such as the Commonwealth’s Navigating Across Care Settings project and the Safe Passages initiative on the North Shore. Having held leadership roles in private and public sectors with small, non-profit organizations for more than a decade, she brings a repertoire of strong management skills and creative strategies for team-building and superior program results to projects she oversees in mobility management, regional quality, assurance, and the delivery of sustained health care supports.

Respondents
Craig Schneider is Director of Healthcare Policy with the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium. With expertise in electronic health record deployment, care transitions, end-of-life care, and payment reform, he oversees forums, educational events, data products, and collaborative projects.

Kenneth Peterson is a family nurse practitioner and primary care provider in the Dept. of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Plumley Village Health Services Clinic, where he delivers health care to socially disadvantaged patients of all ages.

Robert Schreiber, CMO and physician-in-chief for Hebrew SeniorLife, sustains strategic vision for the Dept. of Medicine in clinical care, academic teaching, and applied research.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 2012 MGA ANNUAL MEETING
The 2012 MGA Annual Meeting will be held at the Heller School, Brandeis University, May 15, 2012, from noon to 4:00 p.m. Details to follow.