CEO Blog

The dissemination of GSA members’ scientific research has been a guiding principle of our Society since its founding 75 years ago. While much of the research community is focused on COVID-19 right now, the important work of GSA members continues across the broad continuum of research endeavors. GSA’s role in disseminating research findings also includes making sure that accurate information about aging is shared with the general public.

One of the chief ways our Society has achieved this is through GSA’s Journalists in Aging Fellows Program, now celebrating its 10th year. This program educates journalists across all media platforms about aging issues and helps them connect with the leading researchers in the GSA membership to share findings with diverse audiences nationwide. Thus, these journalists are a vital link between aging researchers and the general public.

Recently, we received some wonderful news that two journalists received awards for work they produced as participants in the fellowship program.

It’s inspiring to see the show of support that New Yorkers are demonstrating for health care and other essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re taking time each night at 7 p.m. to applaud and cheer those on the front lines.

Here at GSA, we want to embrace that spirit and give recognition to people who are making a positive difference in the lives of people as we age. The events surrounding the pandemic have brought to the forefront the need for more professionals that provide care for and services to the aging population. Thus, there has never been a more timely reason for Careers in Aging Week, which GSA has organized annually for nearly two decades.

Among the many ways GSA members are navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic is the almost overnight transition from a typical classroom environment to a virtual distance teaching format. Many GSA members are educators and the Society has mobilized to support their ongoing success.

For those in need of an uplifting story, the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) was signed into law this week after receiving bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. As a continuing advocate for OAA reauthorization, GSA applauded this news in a press release issued shortly after the signing.

This news is very timely. OAA-supported programs are provided to more than 11 million older adults and their caregivers annually. These programs are designed to prevent abuse and neglect, reduce social isolation, support caregivers, offer employment and community service opportunities, promote nutrition (through Meals on Wheels, as an example), and improve transportation options.

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to disrupt all of our lives for months to come, with projections indicating the most difficult days are still ahead of us. We will manage through this extraordinary challenge the only way possible, by working together, doing our individual part to support the collective wellbeing of our families, communities, and institutions. We will be aided by the application of science, the tool that all of us apply daily to solve problems and to make sense of the unknown.

Here are three resources to help GSA members around the world as they navigate this pandemic.