> Possible reasons motivating the change in mission statement are the growth of social security, the development of a federal health program for older people, and the growing numbers of not only older and elderly persons (65-85) but also the very elderly (85+). Indeed, according to Lammers (1983), these forces have shifted and re-shaped the policy in a number of organizations serving the elderly.
The change in the mission of the AGS necessitated a refocusing and expansion of its objectives. These new objectives, Barondess (1996) reports, are to:
(1) Promote and encourage the clinical practices of geriatrics and support practioners providing such care;
(2) Increase the number of health care professionals knowledgeable about geriatrics and committed to the clinical care of older people;
(3) Promote effective, high quality research that addresses health care problems of older people and expands knowledge of the aging process;
(4) Conduct education programs for health care professionals to promote better understanding of the aging process and its unique clinical challenges;
(5) Provide public education and information that addresses the health care concerns and needs of older people, their families, and their caregivers;
(6) Engage in public policy efforts focused on the improvement and study of health care for older people; and
(7) Develop and maintain productive and collaborative relationships with other organizations concerned with the health care of older persons.
The great bulk of the AGS membership is composed of physicians. Accordingly, it is they who derive most of the advantages of membership in the society.
In a telephone conversation the author had with Carol Goodwin, the deputy director of communications for the American Geriatric Society, Goodwin stated that there are currently about 6,000 members of the AGS, most of whom are physicians (94%), although member categories do in...