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288 Geriatric Nursing Volume 20, Number 6

Mosby Participates inHartford FoundationGeriatric Resource Booth

Mosby, a Harcourt HealthSciences company, is participating inthe innovative Resource Booth pro-gram developed by the John A.Hartford Foundation Institute forGeriatric Nursing. The unique Re-source Booth provides informationregarding geriatric programs andpublications to various specialtynursing groups at their conferencesthroughout the United States. Todate, the booth has been featured atconferences of the Oncology Nurs-ing Society, the American Academyof Critical Care Nurses, the WoundOstomy and Continence NursingSociety, the National League forNursing, the Association of Reha-bilitation Nurses, the New YorkState Nursing Administration, andthe Nursing Staff DevelopmentOrganization.

The booth, supported in part bya grant from the Avon ProductsFoundation, Inc., includes aging sen-sitivity materials, geriatric literature,curricula and training materials, alisting of gerontologic websites, andmaterials from a number of geriatricorganizations. For informationabout featuring the booth at a con-ference, contact Tammy Fisher at(212) 998-9001.

NYU Establishes Two NewPrograms for AdvancedPractice Nurses

New York University Divisionof Nursing has introduced two certi-fication programs to prepare nursepractitioners to care for people in

two commonly underserved popula-tions—children with special needsand homebound patients.

The Advanced Practice HomeHealth Nursing program preparesgraduates to deliver primary care topatients in their homes. Thesepatients include homebound adultsand children with acute illnessesrequiring care after hospitalization,people with permanent disabilities,terminally ill patients, and those suf-fering from long-term physical ormental health conditions.

The Home Health Nursing pro-gram builds on the existing advancedpractice nursing master’s degrees inpediatric, adult, elderly, holistic,nurse-midwifery, mental health, andpalliative care. The 12-credit pro-gram is offered as a master’s spe-cialty component in advancedpractice nursing or for a postgradu-ate’s advanced certificate for nursepractitioners, clinical nurse special-ists, or nurse-midwives. Graduateswill meet the requirements for certi-fication as advanced practice homehealth nurses and are eligible to takethe credential examination adminis-tered by the American NursesCredentialing Center.

For more information, contactNYU at (212) 998-6838.

AGS Launches Foundationfor Health in Aging

In response to the many healthcare challenges posed by a rapidlyaging population, the AmericanGeriatrics Society (AGS) createdthe AGS Foundation for Health inAging (FHA) in May at its annualmeeting.

“In establishing the AGSFoundation for Health in Aging, the

society has reached beyond its tradi-tional role as a professional mem-bership organization,” said AGSpresident Joseph G. Ouslander, MD.“Through initiatives in public educa-tion, clinical research, and publicpolicy, the foundation will build abridge between geriatrics health careprofessionals and the public and willadvocate on behalf of older adultsand their special needs: wellness andpreventive care, self-responsibilityand independence, and intergenera-tional connections to family andcommunity.”

For more information, call(800) 247-4779 or visit the websitewww.healthinaging.org.

Pfizer Urges Limited Useof Trovan

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, inconsultation with the FDA, hasdecided to limit the use of Trovan(trovafloxacin/alatrofloxacin) oraland intravenous formulations to cer-tain serious infections treated ini-tially in hospital and nursing homefacilities. This action is a result ofpostmarketing reports of very rareoutcomes of hepatic dysfunctionand/or liver failure in patients whohave been prescribed Trovan tabletsand intravenous formulations.

Pfizer has provided this com-munication as part of its commit-ment to ensure that health careprofessionals have access to the mostup-to-date information on all itsproducts. Further information re-garding the product informationchanges can be obtained by contact-ing Pfizer Medical Information at(800) 438-1985.

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New Procedure RestoresNormal Heart Rhythm in100% of Study Patients

A study published in the June17, 1999, issue of the New EnglandJournal of Medicine reports theresults of a new procedure evaluatedfor patients suffering from atrial fib-rillation (AT), a common heart con-dition that can increase the risk ofstroke. University of Michiganresearchers found that 100% of 50patients suffering from AT whoreceived CORVERT® (ibutilidefumarate injection, developed andmarketed by Pharmacia & Upjohn)alone or with an electrical shock(defibrillator paddles) of the heartwere successfully restored to normalheart rhythm compared with 72% of50 patients treated with shock alone.In all patients who did not initiallyrespond to electric shock, normalheart rhythm was restored whenelectric shock was performed againafter CORVERT administration.

The study suggested that pre-treatment with CORVERT beforeelectric shock may improve the suc-cess rate of electrical cardioversionin patients with AT. In this study,CORVERT treatment before shockalso reduced the intensity of theshock required by 30% of patientsand facilitated conversion to normalheart rhythm in patients in whomelectric shock initially had failed.

For details, contact Pharmacia& Upjohn at (908) 306-4400.

Study Targets CholesterolTreatment for Elders

A major new study to examinethe treatment of elevated cholesterollevels in older Americans with heartdisease was announced in August bythe Alliance for Aging Research. Thestudy will include an analysis of sub-groups, including postmenopausalwomen, Hispanics, and African-Americans, and look for treatmentdifferences among groups.

In addition to the risk analysisstudy, the alliance will conduct a con-

sumer survey of older people whohave had heart attacks to assess theirknowledge of cholesterol controland their perceptions of cardiovas-cular disease risk. For details of thestudy, contact the alliance at (202)293-2856, www.agingresearch.org.

CONGRATULATIONSThe University of Maryland

(UM) School of Nursing has ap-pointed Sandra J. Fulton Picot, PhD,RN, FAAN, a noted authority andgerontologic researcher, to theSonya Ziporkin Gershowitz En-dowed Chair in Gerontology. Herresearch, which centers primarily onfamily caregivers of the elderly(specifically the role of African-American caregivers), largely hasbeen funded by grants from theNational Institute of Nursing Re-search and the NIH National Insti-tute on Aging, as well as the U.S.Department of Education and stateand community agencies.

When the Gershowitz En-dowed Chair was created in 1984with a $1 million gift from SonyaGershowitz Goodman, MS ’73, tohonor her late mother, it was thelargest pledge ever made by a UMalumnae. Goodman established thechair to support a nationally recog-nized scholar in gerontology at UM.The first person to occupy this chair,Dr. Beverly Baldwin, died unexpect-edly in 1995 after serving 5 years.Picot, who did her doctoral work atthe school of nursing, was one ofBaldwin’s students.

Jeanie Kayser-Jones, RN, PhD,FAAN, professor of nursing andmedical anthropology at the Uni-versity of California–San Francisco,has been awarded a 5-year, $2.1 mil-lion grant from the NationalInstitutes of Health to conduct thestudy “An Ethnography of Dying inLong-Term Care Facilities.”

HCR ManorCare Foundation,Inc., a nonprofit corporation estab-lished to provide elderly-focusedphilanthropy, has selected six organi-

zations across the country to receive$126,634 in grants. With this round ofgrants, the foundation has givenmore than $1.5 million for elderly-focused research and outreach.

The six grant recipients are theAlliance for Aging Independently,Palo Alto, Calif; Rush Institute forHealthy Aging, Chicago, Ill.; TheJohns Hopkins University School ofMedicine, Baltimore, Md.; SeniorResource Connection, Dayton, Ohio;Sheltering Arms Senior Services,Houston, Texas; and Inova FairfaxHospital, Falls Church, Va. As withprevious grant recipients, these orga-nizations are programmatically andgeographically diverse.Although theirspecific missions differ, they all striveto improve the quality of life ofseniors in the communities they serve.

For more information, contactthe foundation at (419) 252-5500.

OPPORTUNITIESThe Hartford Geriatric Re-

search Scholars and Fellows Programconsists of a week-long intensive sem-inar that provides exposure tonational experts in geriatric nursingresearch, issues and obstacles inundertaking significant high qualityresearch, and group and individualmentoring and critiquing. In addition,fellows receive a $5000 award towardtheir research efforts and continue towork with a mentor for 2 months.

This year’s scholars and fellowswere selected from the Midwest; nextyear’s recipients (chosen in June2000) will be from the West. Lastyear’s honorees were from the EastCoast. For more information on the2000 Hartford Institute GeriatricNursing Research Scholars andFellows Program, E-mail hartford.ign@nyu.edu or visit www.nyu.edu/edu-cation/nursing/hartford.institute.

For professionals contemplat-ing a career in gerontology or thosenew to the field who lack academictraining, the Consortium of NewYork Geriatric Education Centersoffers a 40-hour certificate program.Registrants will acquire the founda-

290 Geriatric Nursing Volume 20, Number 6

Newsview cont.tion of knowledge they need foreffective professional practice witholder adults. Additionally, electivesoffered throughout the year providespecialized, more in-depth trainingon a variety of sites in New York.Registrants may complete the pro-gram in 1 week or over a 12-monthperiod. Noncertificate enrollees mayregister for electives alone. For moreinformation or to receive a brochureand registration form, call AnnaPeters at (800) 647-8233.

Marquette University Collegeof Nursing in Milwaukee now offersa scholarship for students of thegraduate gerontologic program, andthe first recipient graduated in May.For more information, contact MaryJane Schank, PhD, RN, at Clark Hall,P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WS53201-1881, (414) 288-3800, fax (414)288-1597.

RESOURCESThe National Institute on Aging

has launched a searchable clinicaltrials database of promising com-pounds to treat Alzheimer disease(AD). The AD Clinical Trials Data-base provides information about ADclinical trials and sites, study designs,promising drugs’ modes of action,eligibility criteria for volunteer par-ticipation, and locations and contactinformation for participating studysites. The database was developedcooperatively with the U.S. Food andDrug Administration.

To access the AD clinical trialsdatabase, go to the NIA’s AlzheimerDisease Education and ReferralCenter website at www.alzheimers.org and click on the link for clinicaltrials. For additional information,contact the center at (800) 438-4380.

The Association of Rehabili-tation Nurses has published Restor-ative Nursing: A Training Manual for

Nursing Assistants. This manual pro-vides restorative nursing assistantswith basic training on the principlesthey should know and practice. Thetext contains competencies, experi-ential activities, and additionalresources to help both the nursingassistant and the instructor reinforceclassroom instruction and get a feelfor what the restorative client expe-riences. The book is available for $35from the association; call (800) 229-7530 to order.

Report to the Congress: SelectedMedicare Issues (June 1999) is thesecond of two required annualreports of the Medicare PaymentAdvisory Commission.This 160-pagereport includes beneficiaries’ finan-cial liability and Medicare’s effec-tiveness in reducing personalspending, quality in traditionalMedicare, health care errors, man-aged care for frail beneficiaries,access to home health services, careat the end of life, and the quality ofcare for beneficiaries with end-stagerenal disease. Also included are anexecutive summary, tables, figures,terms, and appendixes on two mod-els for structuring informed benefi-ciary choice and Medicaid paymentsto the Program of All-Inclusive Carefor the Elderly. For copies of thereport, contact MedPac, 1730 K St.NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC20006, (202) 653-7220, fax (202) 653-7238, www.medpac.gov.

A new technology assessmentby the Agency for Health CarePolicy and Research (AHCPR) saysresearch is needed to determine thelong-term outcomes of cryosurgeryin men who undergo the procedurebecause radiation therapy was noteffective in treating their prostatecancer. AHCPR’s technology assess-ment, which was conducted atHCFA’s request, found that, in theshort-term, cryosurgery can result in

negative prostate biopsies aftersurgery and low or undetectableserum PSA levels in some patients.However, the assessment also foundthat, although the procedure itself iswell-tolerated, postoperative com-plications are significant. Majorcomplications of salvage cryosurgeryinclude incontinence, impotence, andobstructive urinary symptoms.

Free copies of the assessment,“Cryosurgery for Recurrent Pros-tate Cancer Following RadiationTherapy,” Health Technology Assess-ment No. 13 (AHCPR publicationNo. 99-0004), are available fromAHCPR at www.ahcpr.gov.

“Out-of-Pocket Spending onHealth Care by Women Age 65 andOver in Fee-for-Service Medicare:1998 Projections (FS #72)” presentsdifferences in spending by olderwomen and older men with respectto demographic characteristics,health status, insurance coverage,and income. The fact sheet also iden-tifies the subgroups of beneficiariesmost vulnerable to high out-of-pocket spending as a share ofincome. Copies can be ordered fromAARP, 601 E St. NW, Washington,DC 20049, (202) 434-3890.

Johnson & Johnson Medical hasopened an on-line store at www.jnjmedical.com/shop. Although thestore is coordinated and solely spon-sored by J&J Medical, all order pro-cessing, invoicing, pricing, customerservice concerns, and order-relatedquestions and issues are served andfulfilled by the customer’s selecteddistributor at the store.

Other J&J Medical newsincludes the availability of previ-ously published issues of WoundCaring on its website, www.jnjmed-ical.com. Internet users now are ableto access past issues of the quarterlynewsletter dating to its inception inJanuary 1994.