Newswise — STRATFORD – With nearly 10,000 Americans turning 65 each day, the growth of the elderly population continues to race beyond the training of health care professionals with geriatric expertise. A generous pledge of $1 million from the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation to the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging (NJISA) at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM) will help address this shortage by creating an Endowed Chair in Geriatrics and providing a perpetual funding source for geriatric research, clinical care and education programs. The gift will be combined with two RowanSOM endowments already established by the Foundation, resulting in a fund of more than $2 million.
RowanSOM will celebrate this historic endowment with a special event launching the medical school’s new Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology and the investiture of Dr. Anita Chopra as the department’s endowed chairperson at 10 a.m. on Sept. 30 in the Stratford campus Academic Center.
With the launch of the new department, RowanSOM joins about a dozen other medical schools in America that have established a distinct academic department dedicated to geriatrics and gerontology. Dr. Chopra is the director of the NJISA and will be just the second endowed chair in the medical school’s 37-year history.
The Rohrer Foundation’s commitment comes at a critical time as RowanSOM works to address the impact that the rapidly aging American population will have on the health care system, including the critical shortage of professionals trained in the complex health care needs of older adults. By 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older, including more than 1.1 million who call New Jersey home. A decade later 14 million Americans will be at least 85 years old.
The new Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology will encompass two divisions – Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Behavioral Health. The Department will be the “academic home” for the more than 50 faculty and staff who currently are engaged in the clinical, research, educational and community service mission and activities of the NJISA.
Rowan University President Dr. Ali Houshmand and Linda Rohrer, trustee of the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation and the chair of the Rowan Board of Trustees, will give featured remarks during the ceremony and present Dr. Chopra with the medallion that signifies her selection as the Endowed Chair in Geriatrics.
“This is a monumental moment in the history of our school and our university,” said Dr. Thomas Cavalieri, the RowanSOM Dean. “The new Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology increases the visibility of geriatrics university-wide and among the academic community at large. It will also help us to expand our potential research, educational and clinical collaborations and affiliations with other institutions.”
Journalists interested in speaking with Dr. Cavalieri or Dr. Chopra, should contact Jerry Carey, Rowan University Media and Public Relations, at 856-566-6171 or at [email protected].
About Rowan UniversityRowan University is a state-designated public research institution with campuses in Glassboro, Camden and Stratford, N.J., that offers bachelor’s through doctoral programs to nearly 15,000 students. With its Camden-based Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and the Stratford-based School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan is only the second university in the nation to grant both M.D. and D.O. medical degrees. Rowan also is collaborating with Rutgers-Camden to create degree programs related to the growth of medical services needed in the future. Recently designated as the State’s newest comprehensive public research institution, Rowan plans to increase sponsored research to $100 million per year.
RSS