The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) -- the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging -- has chosen Katie Maslow, MSW, of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as the 2015 recipient of the Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Productive Aging.
This honor, given annually, recognizes instances of practice informed by research and analysis, research that directly improved policy or practice, and distinction in bridging the worlds of research and practice. Individuals who are mid-career and actively engaged in the conception and development of innovative programs that demonstrate excellence in translating research into practical application or policy are eligible. The award is made possible through a generous grant from The New York Community Trust's Maxwell A. Pollack Fund.
The award presentation will take place at GSA's 68th Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 18 to 22 in Orlando, Florida. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process. Visit http://www.geron.org/2015 for further details.
Maslow is a scholar-in-residence at the IOM, with a primary focus on care-related issues for older people with cognitive impairment, dementia, mental illness, and co-existing medical conditions. Before joining the IOM in 2011, she worked for 15 years at the Alzheimer's Association, where she directed practice, research, and policy initiatives to improve the quality, coordination, and outcomes of health care and long-term services for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias and their family caregivers. She directed the association's initiatives on hospital care and managed care for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias and co-directed its multi-site demonstration project, Chronic Care Networks for Alzheimer's Disease.
From 1983 to 1995, Maslow was a policy analyst and senior associate at the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a congressional research agency, where she worked on congressionally requested studies on aging, Alzheimer's disease, long-term care, end-of-life care and care management.
She has served on numerous government and non- government advisory panels on aging, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and family caregiving. She has been a member of five National Quality Forum steering committees to develop quality measures for nursing home, home health, and mental health care, and measurement gaps for Alzheimer's and dementia care. She has recently directed a series of IOM meetings on care for people with advanced dementia and participated in the development of a 2015 IOM study, Cognitive Aging: Progress in Understanding and Opportunities for Action.
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society -- and its 5,500+ members -- is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA's structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.