Geriatrics Conference brings national experts to Maine

The 27^th Annual Maine Geriatrics Conference was held on June 7 - 8, 2017 at the Harborside Hotel and Marina in Bar Harbor Maine, providing a beautiful backdrop for a weekend of education for those who care for Maine’s older adults.

 There were more than 250 attendees, most of them older adult health practitioners and service providers. A select group of the attendees were GEMS, which stands for Geriatrics Education Mentorship with Seniors. GEMS are community dwelling older adults from the far reaches of Maine who attended the conference with the support of sponsorship from the Maine Community Foundation, York Hospital and Geriatrics Conference Planning Committee. 

The goal of this annual conference is to bring nationally renowned presenters to Maine to alleviate the financial burden of attending a national meeting. This year, Elizabeth Eckstrom, M.D., M.P.H., director of Geriatrics, Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Oregon Health Sciences University; and Bradley Fisher, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Gerontology and Psychology, Missouri State University; provided excellent keynote presentations.

UNE COM was well represented among the attendees and presenters. In addition, Nathan Harmon, D.O. ’05, director, Inpatient Geriatrics at Maine General Medical Center, provided a plenary presentation and Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D., of the UNE COM Division of Geriatric Medicine, moderated the Closing Attendee Forum. Victoria Stacey Thieme, D.O., of UNE COM, and Thomas Wickham (UNE COM ’20), presented a workshop titled, “Cannabis Therapy and Hospice: Study of the Mark Bushey Compassion Program.” 10 UNE COM students and graduates also attended the conference. Jessica Harnisch Boyd (UNE COM’19), who conducted a Round Table discussion on her research "Caring for older adults in rural Maine: Barriers, Challenges, Solutions."

The Maine Geriatrics Conference Planning Committee included representatives from each organization across the state with a focus on aging, including the Maine Primary Care Association. The UNE COM Division of Geriatric Medicine is the convener for this conference and works closely with the Maine Gerontological Society.

To learn more about the University of New England’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, visit www.une.edu/com

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions