Richard W. Besdine, MD, has devoted his career to the development and advancement of geriatrics through university-based and public health care policy work for more than 25 years. He has trained more than 100 physicians for academic careers in geriatrics. His research interests include nursing home care, prevention, Medicare quality improvement, and interventions to promote independence in older persons.

Biography

Richard W. Besdine, MD, has devoted his career to development and advancement of geriatrics through university-based and public health care policy work for more than 25 years. He has trained more than 120 physicians for careers in geriatrics; most are academic faculty. Dr. Besdine is Professor of Medicine, Director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research at Brown University, Director of the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine, Chief of Geriatrics for Lifespan, and first Greer Professor of Geriatric Medicine. He is also Chief Medical Officer for Quality Partners of RI, the Quality Improvement Organization with the Medicare contract for the State of RI. Dr. Besdine also served as Interim Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences at Brown Medical School (2002-2005). He is past President of the American Geriatrics Society, and past chair of its Board of Directors.

Dr. Besdine has created innovative recruitment and training programs for future leaders in the field of geriatrics, and trained more than 115 faculty geriatricians while leader of the three fellowship programs he founded; he has been listed in all editions of Best Doctors in America for internal medicine and geriatrics. He has authored nearly 100 scholarly publications on aging, and edits widely in medicine. Before coming to Brown in 2000, he was Professor of Medicine, founding Director of the UConn Center on Aging and first Travelers Professor of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the U of CT Health Center (UCHC) School of Medicine. He was also Principal Investigator of a NIH Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, and oversaw studies of interventions to prolong vitality in older persons. Prior to coming to CT in 1986, he was on the Harvard Medical School faculty for 15 years. During that time, he co-founded Harvard's Division on Aging with John W. Rowe, M.D., and developed one of the first academic Geriatrics fellowship training programs.
Dr. Besdine spent 1995-97 in Federal service as HCFA (now CMS)'s Chief Medical Officer and Director of its Health Standards and Quality Bureau. His research interests include prevention, Medicare quality improvement and interventions to promote independence in older persons.

Institutions

RIH

Research Description

As director of the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, Dr. Besdine oversees a research portfolio of more than 35 currently funded projects; most are in health services and policy related to aging and chronic disease. Major areas are nursing home quality, end of life and hospice care, cancer control and quality of life for cancer survivors, and community-based care. His own research includes nursing home quality of care and its improvement and international collaborations on quality of care for hip fracture patients. He has also been PI on two applications for an Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (National Institutes of Health).

As director of the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine, he oversees eight faculty and four fellows; scholarly emphasis includes development and implementation of new curricula in geriatrics for medical students and residents, as well as projects in osteoporosis.

As chief medical officer of Quality Partners of RI (QPRI), the not-for-profit quality improvement organization holding the federal contract for quality monitoring and improvement for the Medicare program, he oversees multiple projects to improve quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries in RI. These include acute hospital, nursing home, home care, and physician office settings. QPRI is also the national resource center for the country for quality improvement in the nursing home.

Awards

1961 B.S. Cum Laude, Haverford College
1965 Levinson Prize for Cancer Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
1980 Fellow, Gerontological Society of America
1984 Innovation of the Year, American Association of Homes for the Aged, for development of the Harvard Geriatric Fellowship Program
1989 Fellow, American Geriatrics Society
1991 Milo D. Leavitt Award (Eminence in Geriatric Education), American Geriatrics Society
1992 Fellow, American College of Physicians
1992 The Best Doctors in America for Internal Medicine in Geriatrics (all editions)
1995 Joseph Freeman Award (Geriatrician of the Year), Gerontological Society of America
1997 President's Award, American Society on Aging
1998 Joan Quinn Leadership Award, Connecticut Community Care, Inc.
1998 Virginia Kettering Visiting Professor (Geriatrics), Kettering Medical Center
2001 Brown University Honorary Master of Arts Eundem (pro forma with Brown appointment)
1995-present Top Doctors in America (Geriatrics)
2002-present Top Doctors in Rhode Island, Rhode Island Monthly (Geriatrics)
2001 Secretary, American Geriatrics Society
2002-5 President Elect, President and Board chair, American Geriatrics Society
2006 Visiting Professor in Geriatrics and Gerontology, University of Padova, Italy (Sabbatical)
2006 PI,Comprehensive Programs to Strengthen Physicians' Training In Geriatrics, Donald W. Reynolds Foundation ($2M total costs), 7/1/06-6/30/10
2008 PI, John A. Hartford Foundation ($450,000 total costs), 7/1/08-6/30/11, Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and Training

Affiliations

American Federation for Aging Research (Board)
Quality Institute of RI (Board)
Gerontological Society of America
Association of Academic Geriatric Medicine Programs
American College of Physicians
American Geriatrics Society

Funded Research

1986-1989- Director and Principal Investigator, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Geriatric Education Center Grant ($650,000)
1987-1989- Co-Sponsor with Lawrence Raisz, M.D., Brookdale National Fellowship Award to Carol Pilbeam, M.D., Ph.D. ($105,000)
1988-1994- Principal Investigator, John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatric Faculty Recruitment Award ($485,000)
1988-1990- Principal Investigator, Charles A. Dana Foundation Geriatric Research and Research Training Award ($200,000)
1988-1997- Principal Investigator, Bureau of Health Professions (DHHS), Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Dentistry Fellowship Training Grant ($1,350,000)
1989-1990- Co-Sponsor with Lawrence Raisz, M.D., Brookdale National Fellowship Award to Carol Pilbeam, M.D., Ph.D. ($60,000)
1989-1991- Co-Sponsor with Lawrence Raisz. M.D., Pfizer/American Geriatrics Society Postdoctoral Fellowship Award to James Judge, M.D. ($60,000)
1989-1991- Principal Investigator, the University of Connecticut's Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Research Center Award, Conn. State Department on Aging ($194,000)
1989-1991- Director and Principal Investigator, Health Resources and Services Administration (DHHS), Geriatric Education Center Award ($439,000)
1990-2000- Director, Travelers Research Institute on Health Promotion and Aging(TRIHPA [$1 million endowment])
1990-2000- Principal Investigator, Alzheimer's disease Outreach Project, Howard and Bush Foundation ($150,000)
1991- Principal Investigator, Health Promotion Research Award, Travelers Foundation ($25,000)
1991- Principal Investigator, Financing Long Term Care, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ($131,000)
1992- Principal Investigator, Health Promotion Research Seed Grant, Travelers Foundation ($25,000)
1993- Principal Investigator, Financing Long Term Care, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ($104,000)
1993-1996- Co-Sponsor with Lawrence Raisz, M.D., Brookdale National Fellowship Award to Karen Prestwood, M.D. ($201,750)
1994- Principal Investigator, Travelers Research Institute on Health Promotion and Aging Pilot Grants Award ($50,000), Travelers Foundation
1994- Principal Investigator, Financing Long Term Care, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ($113,000)
1995-1998- Principal Investigator, Geriatrics in Generalist Residency Training, John A. Hartford Foundation (3 years, $500,000)
1996-1998- Co-Sponsor with Lawrence Raisz, M.D., Brookdale National Fellowship Award to Anne Kenny, M.D. ($127,500)
1996-1999- Co-Sponsor with Lawrence Raisz, M.D., Beeson Scholar Award to Karen Prestwood, M.D. ($450,000)
1996-2001- Principal Investigator, Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, National Institute on Aging (5 years, $1.15 million total year 1)
1997-1999- Co-Sponsor with Karen Prestwood, M.D., Pfizer/American Geriatrics Society Postdoctoral Fellowship Award to Sandra Bellantonio, M.D. ($80,000)
1998-2001- Co-Mentor with Lawrence Raisz, M.D., Beeson Scholar Award to Anne Kenny, M.D. ($450,000)
1998-2000- Co-Sponsor with Karen Prestwood, M.D., John A. Hartford Foundation Research Fellowship Award to Rohini Winston, M.D. ($50,000)
1998-2000- Senior Advisor for HCFA contract award of Healthy Aging Project; PI, L. Rubenstein, M.D.; grantee, RAND ($3.4 million)

Brown Medical School

2000-2003- Senior Advisor for Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) contract award of Healthy Aging Project; PI, L. Rubenstein, M.D.; grantee, RAND ($3.4 million)

2006-2010- Principal Investigator, Reynolds Foundation Comprehensive Programs to Strengthen Physicians' Training in Geriatrics ($2M)

Teaching Experience

Harvard Medical School

1972-1980 Attending Physician, Infectious Disease Consultation Service, Beth Israel Hospital
1972-1986 Attending Physician, Medical Service, Beth Israel Hospital
1972-1986 Attending Physician, Didactic and Clinical Sessions, Introduction to Clinical Medicine; Beth Israel Hospital and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged
1972-1980 Lectures on pneumococcal infections and pneumonia for Infectious Disease Fellows; Beth Israel Hospital and Children's Hospital Infectious Disease Fellowship Training Program
1972-1980 Lectures on pneumococcal infections and pneumonia, Infectious Disease Course for 4th Year Students
1977-1986 Course Developer and Director, Clinical Geriatric Medicine (501M.1)
1978-1986 Attending Physician, Beth Israel Hospital; Didactic sessions in Geriatrics for core clerkship in Medicine, Course developer
1979-1986 Organized seminars in Geriatrics for 1st year students, Course developer
1980-1986 Attending Physician, Program Director and Developer, Beth Israel Hospital Geriatric Interdisciplinary Consultation Service; mandatory geriatrics experiences for all internal medicine residents
1983-1986 Attending Physician, Program Director and Developer, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged and Beth Israel Hospital; Geriatric Rotation for all medical residents from Cambridge Hospital
1985-1986 Attending Physician, Geriatric Assessment Unit, West Roxbury VA Medical
Center, Boston, MA

University of Connecticut Health Center

1986- - Attending Medical Staff, Department of Medicine, John Dempsey Hospital
1986- - Lecturer, School of Medicine: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Medicine, Epidemiology, three year-1 and year-2 electives; School of Dental Medicine: The Special Needs Patient (Entire class)
- Primary Care Clerkship seminars
1987- - Attending Geriatrician and Program Developer, Interdisciplinary Geriatric Consult Service, John Dempsey Hospital
1989- - Attending Physician and Curriculum Developer, Mandatory Geriatric Rotations for Internal Medicine Residency Programs, Newington DVAMC
1991 - Attending Physician and Program Developer, In-patient Geriatrics Service, John Dempsey Hospital
1992 - Program Developer, Ambulatory Geriatrics Practice, John Dempsey Hospital
- Program Developer, Medical and Dental Student Geriatrics Interest Group
1993 - Chair, Long Range Planning Committee, Department of Medicine, Graduate Medical Education
- Program Developer, 3rd year medical student ambulatory geriatrics block
1994 - Curriculum Developer, Mandatory Geriatrics block for all Internal Medicine Interns
- Curriculum Revision Committee (Clinical)
- Curriculum Developer, Year 2 Human Development and Health, Block on Aging

Brown Medical School

2000- *- Attending Geriatrician, RI and The Miriam Geriatrics Consultation service
*- Faculty, mandatory resident Geriatrics block, Internal Medicine program, Lifespan (RI and The Miriam Hospitals)
2001-3 - Program Director, Geriatrics Fellowship, Brown Medical School
2003- *- Lectures to 1st year medical students in Physiology (on aging)

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