In September, our Executive Director, Dr. Cathy Bodine, led a plenary at the Rocky Mountain Geriatrics Conference. Returning for the 19th time, this year’s theme was “Building Resilience in Aging: Perspectives for Patients, Care Partners, and Communities.” Professionals across health care disciplines and geriatric fields were invited to learn about innovative research and interventions to build resiliency amongst patients, care partners, and clinicians and to address the complex needs of older adults with aging related conditions.

Dr. Bodine’s session was titled “Technology Based Solutions for Patients and Care Partners.” As Dr. Bodine discussed, there are currently over a billion people around the world living with a disability, and this number will double in less than 30 years. This demand for disability technology will fuel innovation. Dr. Bodine discussed how the Coleman Institute’s Technology Translational Research and Development awards are funding innovations to fill the gaps in disability-related technology. Additionally, she is leading a team for CU Denver’s Grand Challenge to address the grand challenge of aging. This work is helping CU Denver become a global destination for disability and aging innovation.

After a successful conference, participants left the Rocky Mountain Geriatrics Conference with practical tools to provide and optimize safe, effective, and patient-centered care. They learned how to operationalize and integrate best practices and emerging research findings into health systems and about system-level and policy factors related to resilience in aging.

Information about the 20th Annual Rocky Mountain Geriatrics Conference in 2024 will be released later this spring.