Distinguished Speaker: Jerry Gurwitz, M.D., Geriatrician and Researcher

Join the Sanford Center for Aging and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine as they welcome distinguished speaker, Dr. Jerry Gurwitz and his topic, We have met the aging, and they are us...

The evening’s festivities, Thursday, September 21, will begin at 4:30 p.m. with light refreshments before Dr. Gurwitz’s presentation at 5:30 p.m. The distinguished speaker is the final event in a series throughout 2023 commemorating Sanford Center’s 30 years of service in the community. Launched in 1993, Sanford Center for Aging is dedicated to the health and well-being of our region’s elders.

Jerry H. Gurwitz, M.D. is a 1983 graduate of UMass Chan Medical School and he completed his residency in internal medicine at UMass in 1986. He completed his fellowship training in geriatric medicine at Harvard. In 1996, he was appointed as the inaugural Dr. John Meyers Professor of Primary Care Medicine and the founding Executive Director of the Meyers Health Care Institute, a position he held for over 25 years. The Meyers Institute was a joint endeavor of a medical school, a multispecialty medical group, and a health plan, and was created to advance the health and healthcare of the residents of Central Massachusetts and beyond, through innovative research and educational initiatives and activities. In 2003, Dr. Gurwitz was appointed as the first Chief of a new Division of Geriatric Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School. Dr. Gurwitz’s research has focused on improving the safety of medication use in older adults, especially those residing in long-term care settings. He has authored numerous original articles, reviews, commentaries, and book chapters and is a respected teacher and public advocate for improving care of older adults. He is currently principal investigator of the NIH-funded AGING Initiative, a consortium of university-based centers of excellence in aging research and national health care organizations. The AGING Initiative focuses on improving the health of older adults with multimorbidity. Dr. Gurwitz has been active as a primary care physician in Central Massachusetts, and served on the Worcester Board of Health, including as its Vice Chair and Chair, during which time the Board addressed issues including the challenges of the pandemic, the opioid overdose epidemic, gun violence, and institutional racism.