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MPGMG News Releases
Dr. Debra Saliba Named Director of Anna and Harry Borun Center for Gerontological Research Dr. Debra Saliba, associate professor of geriatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, has been named as the new director of the Borun Center for Gerontological Research. Saliba, who is also a researcher at the VA and RAND Corp., is an expert in long term care of the elderly. Her research has focused on questions with immediate relevance to quality of life for frail and vulnerable older adults. Her achievements include the creation of a scholarly program to study and improve the quality of long-term care, with an emphasis on nursing homes, and developing tools to identify elders at increased risk for health decline. Saliba spoke of her goals for the Center: "It is an honor to be selected to lead the UCLA Borun Center. Older adults and the families who care for them face significant hurdles in accessing high quality, compassionate long-term care. The Borun Center is uniquely situated to bring together interdisciplinary teams to address these challenges at the individual, systemic and policy level. I look forward to moving the Center toward a fresh emphasis on developing useful tools for understanding and meeting the needs of frail older adults and those trying to care for them. I want to thank the Borun Foundation for its support of this important and timely work." Saliba received her MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she also did her residency in internal medicine. She completed fellowships in health services research and geriatric medicine at UCLA where she also received a master’s degree in public health. Saliba is currently a research physician with the VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centerand the long-term care strategic planning lead for the Center of Excellence for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior at VA Health Services Research and Development (“VA HSR&D”). In addition to her post as associate professor in the UCLA/VA Multicampus Program in Geriatrics, she is also a natural scientist with the RAND Corp. Saliba was selected after a national search because of her strong track record in applied research to improve the quality of life of frail older persons. She has developed methods to identify inappropriate transfers from nursing homes to hospitals; researched disaster response and resident safety; developed quality measures for vulnerable adults in long-term care; and examined the relationship between nursing home structure and quality. She is principal investigator on the MDS 3.0 national project for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a related national consortium of nursing home researchers funded by VA HSR&D to revise how nursing homes evaluate and report on the health status of their residents. This research has already shown that incorporating the voices of residents and families into assessments is feasible and improves the quality of assessments as the basis for care planning. Saliba’s work with vulnerable populations has also led to the development of a 13-item survey (VES-13) for identifying elders at risk for health decline. The VES-13 has been widely adopted by providers and researchers to rapidly screen and identify at-risk elders with special care needs. Her research on quality of care and vulnerable populations has earned her awards from the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, VA Health Services Research & Development, and the American Geriatrics Society. Saliba has published articles in many peer reviewed publications and has contributed to the development of educational materials for providers and consumers. She has also served as an expert on national advisory panels addressing quality of care for older adults across care settings, and is chair of the Clinical Practice Committee of the American Geriatrics Society. The Anna and Harry Borun Foundation established the UCLA Borun Center for Gerontological Research in 1989 as a center for research and education to improve quality of life in nursing homes.
UCLA Chief of Geriatrics Receives Recognition for Leadership in Geriatrics Education Dr. David B. Reuben (Westside resident), chief, division of geriatrics at the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences and Medical Center, is being honored for his leadership and contributions in the field of geriatrics education and improving the health of older people. Dr. Reuben will receive the Dennis H. Jahnigan Memorial Award from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) during the AGS 2000 Annual Meeting May 17-21 in Nashville, Tennessee. This award is given to an individual with a nationally recognized, distinguished career in geriatrics education. Reuben, who is also director of the UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology (MPGMG) and professor of medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine, is being recognized in part for his work as lead author of "Geriatrics at Your Fingertips," a professional reference guide used in providing care to older persons in health care settings, now in its second edition. In addition to his academic and research activities, Dr. Reuben maintains a clinical primary care practice of frail older persons and attends on inpatient, geriatric psychiatry, and nursing home units at UCLA. He has won seven awards for excellence in teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels. He is director (with co-director, John Schnelle, Ph.D.) of the NIA-UCLA Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society is a nationwide association of geriatrics healthcare professionals. UCLA's division of geriatrics provides continuing medical education opportunities for health professionals; conducts medical and non-medical interventional research activities with the goal of promoting the health and independence of older persons; and provides inpatient, nursing home, hospice and community-based clinical care for older patients in the Los Angeles area. For the last eight years, UCLA's geriatrics program has ranked the best in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. |
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Last Updated: February 7, 2008 |
