The Awards committee functions to promote members of the section on Geriatrics that have provided extraordinary service to geriatric patients, to students as well as to the section. The specific Section awards extend to outstanding service and/or excellence in: clinical service, clinical education of students, academic preparation of students, volunteers in action, advocacy of older adults and the outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant in Geriatrics.

The purpose of the Cultural Diversity Committee is to encourage the Section on Geriatrics to consider issues of diversity in its publications, educational offerings, position statements, financial donations, and leadership. The committee meets biannually, at CSM and Annual Conference, to discuss projects and issues on diversity.

--An educational program increasing awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences, which may be barriers to effective patient/personnel/student interactions is presented each year at CSM.

--Each year the Cultural Diversity Committee places an ad in the Diversity 2000 and Beyond program booklet, which highlights the following year's CSM program.

--A six-monograph home study series on Cultural Diversity was published in 2003, covering the Hispanic, African American, Asian, Native American cultures, different religious cultures and sexual orientation.

We are supporting APTA's Cultural Competence Committee in reviewing and revising APTA documents, such as Guide to Professional Conduct, and A Normative Model of Physical Therapist Professional Education, to include cultural competence language.

The Committee is reviewing Section policy to include sexual orientation in Cultural Diversity.

The Committee continues to assist the Section in recruiting minority members onto committees or Board positions and other leadership roles.

The Finance committee advises the Board of Directors on matters pertaining to the Section’s financial needs, growth, and stability based on periodic review of income, expenditure and investments. The two specified functions of the Finance Committee are to present a balanced budget to the Board of Directors and the Membership and to annually review the Investment Policy and recommend changes to the Treasurer. These two functions generally require reviewing the budget during October and a conference call at the end of the month. Additional conference calls may be required if the Finance Committee is required to do additional tasks by the Board of Directors.

The purpose of the Geriatric Specialty Council (GSC) is to develop and maintain the process for certification and re-certification of Geriatric Specialists in Physical Therapy. The three-person committee reports regularly to the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists. The committee coordinates item writing and test development in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the Specialization Academy of Content Experts (SACE), and the Committee of Content Experts (CCE). The committee participates, and at times invites other section members to participate, in standard setting of the examination and key validation of specific items. The GSC reviews all re-certification portfolios, validates that complete information is contained in the Professional Development Portfolios, and makes recommendations to the ABPTS. The committee collaborates with the section and ABPTS to increase awareness of the certification by publishing information in GeriNotes, hosting an annual breakfast at Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), and other marketing projects.

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy consists of an Editor in Chief and 10 to 16 others that the Editor has invited to be board members. All have expertise relevant to geriatric physical therapy but not all are physical therapists. Neither are all members of the American Physical Therapy Association.

The Board is responsible for the content of the Journal. This responsibility is carried out primarily by assisting with the peer-review of submitted articles. However, board members contribute also by soliciting and submitting articles and by providing feedback on Journal content and procedures.

The Membership Committee exists to recruit new members and retain current membership. Committee members formulate and implement strategies designed to inform members and prospective members of the benefits of the Section on Geriatrics. The committee develops and promotes activities designed to demonstrate the advantages of section membership. Other duties include assisting with booth activities at the CSM and National Meetings, conducting exiting member surveys, as well as welcoming and encouraging all members to contribute and be involved in Section activities. Committee member participation is flexible, depending on members time and availability.

This active committee is responsible for finding the best candidates for the elections that are held once a year. The members serve a three-year term and take on more responsibility each year until in the last of the three years the committee member is the chair of the Nominating committee. The committee meets at both Combined Sections and Annual meetings. The chair represents the committee at the Section Board meetings, however the committee stays separate from the board to maintain their independence in finding the best candidates. They attend Member Meetings and talk to the membership to encourage leaders to run for office. The job entails phone and e-mail meetings with the other committee members and communication to the membership at large and to specific candidates.

Committee Purpose: To promote advance practice activities to PT and PTAs including but not limited to assisting those therapists/therapists assistants pursuing geriatric certification, advanced clinical proficiency recognition, pursuing or developing clinical residency programs, and/or pursuing any other advance education related to the aging adult.

The Practice Committee oversees four subcommittees:

• Subcommittee on Geriatrics Specialization and Advanced Proficiency for Physical Therapists Assistants (Lead: Amie M. Flores, PT, DPT, GCS). 
  
  
  
  • The role of this sub-committee is to promote Board certification in Geriatrics among physical therapists and Advanced Proficiency in Geriatrics among PTA’s including the development of resource materials, promotion of the process, and collaboration with APTA and ABPTS staff as well as the Geriatric Specialty Council as needed.
  
  
  
  



• Subcommittee on Residency/Fellowships (Lead: Tamara Gravano, PT, DPT, GCS).
  
  
  
  • The role of this sub-committee is to promote the development of new residency and fellowship programs in the area of geriatric physical therapy, oversight of the Section’s grant funding for new programs, provision of resource materials, assistance with program development, assistance with curricular resources, and collaboration with the Home Study Course Editor (for development of curricular resources) as well as ABPTRFE.
  
  
  
  


• Subcommittee on PTNow Portal (Co-Leads: Ken Miller, PT, DPT and Joe Libera, PT, DPT, MPH, GCS). 
  
  
  
  • The role of this sub-committee will is to represent the Section on Geriatrics for the PTNow web-portal which will include all Section produced and/or endorsed material on both the clinician and consumer portals.  The sub-committee consist of members who are “project managers/leads” (2) as well as experts in required areas as needed (e.g., research, scientific writing, web-design, IT, etc.).
  
  
  
  



• Subcommittee on Evidence-Based Documents and Clinical Practice Guidelines (Lead: Greg Hartley, PT, DPT, GCS). 
  
  
  
  • The role of this sub-committee is to produce, review, and disseminate evidence-based documents and clinical practice guidelines as directed by the BOD.  The sub-committee collaborates with the APTA Practice Department in the process, but content is determined by the subcommittee/Section leadership.  The sub-committee consists of members who will serve as “project managers” (2) as well as individuals who have been trained in GRADE methodology (or another similar methodology) and who meet the requirements of the necessary tasks.
  
  
  
  
  

The PR Committee works to get free press for PTs working with older adults, and to get media attention for issues faced by aging adults, including the role of PTs. The PR Committee also has a marketing role: to plan/coordinate (with the help of the Section Office) the Section’s marketing efforts related to its products and courses.

The Regional Course Committee is in charge of developing and coordinating geriatric-based continuing education programs that would be appealing to our membership. Our goals are to provide educational opportunities for members who are unable to attend APTA conferences and to provide that education at affordable prices. We strive to locate these courses in locations other than the current year’s CSM and Annual Confernce sites, in order to reach members who may be too far away to attend these events.

The committee assists the chair with brainstorming topics, finding speakers, and finding locations for the courses. Committee members may also serve as on-site coordinators and leaders of Town Hall style meetings during these courses.

The Reimbursement and Legislation Committee is concerned with monitoring federal legislation as it relates to reimbursement for physical therapy services. The Committee Chair is the Federal Affairs Liaison (FAL) who is appointed by the President of the Section on Geriatrics.


The Committee Chair is responsible for facilitating the R&L Committee, which consists of volunteer members. Members assist the Chair by staying current on reimbursement issues relative to his/her region or state. Particular issues of interest for the 2004 year include: the therapy cap, Medicare direct access, Medicare reform, Medicaid reform, PPS reform, and CPT code development. The committee communicates through email, phone calls, and at APTA conferences.

The Research Committee evaluates and addresses the research needs of the Section. Some of these activities include review of abstracts for CSM, recognition of research activities through presentation of research awards, and focusing on research objectives for the Section such as educating Section members about evidenced-based practice. The committee communicates through email, phones calls and at APTA conferences.

The Website Committee oversees the ongoing development, revisions, additions, links, and processes supported by the Section’s website www.geriatricspt.org. In 2011, the Section on Geriatrics web site was redesigned to be more effective for section members and consumers.