Dear AAGP Members,
New Year is a time of reflection and preparation for change. There is always some trepidation about leaving the past behind and excitement about moving forward. This year will be another challenging one for our communities, but we are resilient and strong.
Throughout my time as your President, we have been asked to join many coalitions that advocate for areas of shared concerns, even ones we wouldn’t usually think of as in our purview, such as vaccination schedules for children. But, we have allied with many of these groups because AAGP is a group of diverse disciplines and integrated communities. A healthy population, no matter what the age, is relevant to our mission to improve mental health care and wellness in aging adults. So, if you come across issues and advocacy that you feel AAGP should be involved with, please don’t hesitate to let the AAGP Board and/or the relevant Committee know.
The AAGP Board Elections results are in! It is so gratifying to see expanded member interest in the future of AAGP. Everyone who runs for these positions has a history of service and devotion to our growth. I hope that those who were not elected this time around will continue to be active and hopefully run again! Drs. Steve Huege and Lisa Boyle have both served on multiple committees and have been active with AAGP for over 20 years. Our new Directors, Drs. Julie Dumas and Gwenn Smith are well-known in our community and I’m so delighted that they’ve chosen to represent our non-physician colleagues in these positions. Of course, the new MIT Director, Dr. Molly O’Connor, will be starting on more direct contributions to our mission and we all look forward to working with her!
In the coming months, there will be more changes in our world, both planned and unplanned. I have enduring optimism that our community will be able to weather all storms if we can remain stalwart together.
Happy New Year!
With gratitude,
Elizabeth J. Santos MD, MPH
President, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry