Donation Underscores ‘Critical’ Medical Need
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOfficials at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Evansville believe a $2 million donation will be the first step toward creating a "robust" geriatric research and education program. The gift from the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Foundation will create an endowed chair position to focus on geriatric medicine.
Medical school Director Steven Becker says "our ultimate vision is to be home to several faculty focused on the senior population. We envision these individuals will be practicing physicians in the Evansville area who dedicate a significant portion of their time to research and education. This gift from the Bronstein Foundation will lay the foundation we need to build upon in the years ahead."
The school says the need to focus on health care for the elderly is growing. Over the next 45 years, the number of Americans over the age of 65 is expected to double.
The Sol and Arlene Bronstein Chair in Geriatric Medicine, named for Evansville business leaders and philanthropists who paved the way for the creation of a foundation after their deaths, is part of the more than $2 billion "For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign." Funding for the position will be matched "annually in perpetuity" as a result of the campaign.
IU School of Medicine Dean Jay Hess calls the need to focus on geriatric medicine "critically important" to the region and the country and says "we know that many elderly patients face complex medical issues and frequently experience difficulty navigating the health care system. Thanks to the generosity of the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Foundation, we will develop more effective ways to care for them, and we’ll train others to do the same."
Officials broke ground in October on the multi-institutional medical campus in the city’s downtown, which is being led by Indiana University.