The Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health hosted the 17th Annual Friedman Lecture & Awards on April 4 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Washington University School of Medicine campus.
This year’s event, co-sponsored with the Center for Health Economics and Policy, explored the role of health insurance and policy in shaping the future of the United States health system and rapidly aging population. The event’s keynote was presented by Marilyn Moon, PhD, Director of the Center on Aging and an Institute Fellow at the American Institutes for Research.
Dr. Moon discussed the overall demographic shift of United States towards an older population and the current state of healthcare spending in a post-Affordable Care Act era, including a decrease in the number of uninsured. Moon also analyzed the role of presidential administrations in promising healthcare reform contrasted against the realities of policymaking. She discussed the percentage of individuals composing the majority of health care costs, why risk pools matter, and the reality that there are no “magic bullets” for making healthcare affordable and accessible (e.g., more choice, cross-state competition, fewer regulations). Moon’s keynote was followed by an audience discussion with Moon, Timothy McBride, PhD, and Edward Lawlor, PhD.
“The audience was very engaged in the keynote talk and discussion. All of our speakers presented complicated ideas very simply, and many of our attendees told me that they felt better able to understand and participate in the health care debate after attending this event,” said Nancy Morrow-Howell, Friedman Center for Aging Director.
2017 Awards
Prior to the lecture and discussion, the Friedman Center for Aging recognized two individuals for their service to older adults in St. Louis. Awards are supported with funds from the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. For over 10 years, the Friedman Center for Aging has presented these awards on an annual basis. Awardees are selected based on nominations submitted to the Friedman Center—in addition to public recognition, awardees receive a small monetary award to support their work. Past awardees.
2017 FRIEDMAN AWARD WINNER: CHERYL KINNEY, LCSW, MSW
The Harvey A. & Dorismae Hacker Friedman Award for Excellence in Service to Older Adults recognizes individuals in the St. Louis Metro region who make outstanding contributions in service to older adults. Individuals may make this contribution through practice, education, advocacy, or research.
Cheryl Kinney is the Senior Director of Client Services and Quality Programs at the Alzheimer’s Association–St. Louis Chapter. Kinney has worked for over 20 years developing, coordinating, and supervising delivery of direct client services offered by the St. Louis chapter including the Helpline, care consultations, and education. She also serves as an adjunct instructor at Maryville University, University of Missouri–St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis and is a member of the Washington University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. Kinney was nominated by her practicum student Kakada Kuy and Vice President of Programs Stephanie Rohlfs-Young for her service to older adults and the aging field through practice and education.
2017 KOPOLOW AWARD WINNER: GANESH BABULAL, OTD
The Alene & Meyer Kopolow Award for Geriatrics, Psychiatry, and Neurology recognizes stellar contributions to the care of older adults by a resident, post-residency fellow, or junior faculty member in neurology, psychiatry, medicine, or related disciplines through direct patient care, education, or research.
Ganesh Babulal is an aging researcher currently working on research funded by the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer’s Association to examine cognitive and functional changes in older adults with and without preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Babulal uses standard road tests and naturalistic methodologies to examine driving performance and driving behavior to better understand driver safety and decline in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. He was nominated by Professor Catherine Roe, PhD, and Professor Jean-Francois Trani, PhD, for his scientific contributions to research and dissemination.
2017 Poster Session
After the lecture, attendees enjoyed a poster session and reception highlighting St. Louis area research and evaluation of aging-relevant issues, programs, and policies. Posters covered a range of aging topics including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, legacy beliefs across generations, influence of childhood experiences on health in later life, impact of case management on improved health outcomes, and more.
The 17th Annual Friedman Lecture and Awards was made possible by the support of the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Endowment for Aging at the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital.