The Birth of Geriatrics in America

An Accidental Career in Geriatrics

“…From a sense of institutional loyalty, I agreed to do so, although I knew nothing about geriatrics. However, during the process of writing the proposal, I became more familiar with the subject matter, what was actually going on in the country at that time, the development of the GRECCs, number of existing programs that had been established in the mid‐1970s, and the program that Les Liebow pioneered at Mount Sinai and later at Long Island Jewish Hospital . We submitted our application, and to my surprise, it was funded.…”

History and Trends

“…In 1962, the American Nurses Association held focus groups on gerontologic nursing practice, and the first geriatric nursing standards were established in 1968. The first fellowship in Medical Geriatrics was started in 1966 by Leslie Libow at City Hospital Center (an Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, formerly Mount Sinai School of Medicine, affiliate) [19], and the first department of Geriatrics was established at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 1982. In 1988, the first certifying examination in Geriatrics was offered, and 62 internal medicine and 16 family practice programs were accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to offer Geriatrics fellowship programs.…”

Morley‐JAGS Link to Perspectives of Geriatrics Paper

“…To the Editor : The invitation to me from Drs. Yoshikawa and Ouslander to write “The Birth of Geriatrics in America” for the new series “Pioneers in Aging” was a much‐appreciated opportunity. I inadvertently omitted from the table two colleagues: John Morley, MD, whose creativity and energy have done so much for our field and for the growth of the Journal of Gerontology—Medicine , the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association , and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society , and John Burton, MD, who provided me with a stimulating “Visiting Professorship” to his renowned program at Johns Hopkins.…”