NewsviewPACE ASSOCIATION GIVESSTATES GRANTS

The National PACEAssociation will award approxi-mately $600,000 in grants under itsAccelerating State Access to PACE(ASAP) program to nine states—Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas,Louisiana, Michigan, Rhode Island,Texas, Vermont, Washington—andthe District of Columbia. The grantswill be used to support a state staffposition and provide technical assis-tance and training to state staff sothey can increase their capacity toadministrator PACE programs.ASAP is made possible by a grantfrom the New York-based John A.Hartford Foundation.

PACE, which stands forProgram of All-inclusive Care for theElderly, provides seniors who havelong-term care needs with access tothe full range of preventive, primary,acute, and long-term care servicesthat their family might need, with afocus on enabling enrollees to live inthe community as long as possible.

For details, contact the associa-tion at 801 N. Fairfax, Suite 309,Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 535-1522, www.npacea.org.

HARTFORD INSTITUTE/NOLFHONOR FOUR NURSINGSPECIALTY GROUPS

The Hartford Institute forGeriatric Nursing, in collaborationwith the Nursing OrganizationLiaison Forum (NOLF) of theAmerican Nurses Association, chose

the American Psychiatric NursesAssociation, Association ofRehabilitation Nurses, AmericanSociety of Pain Management Nurses,and Association of PerioperativeNurses as the 2001 Hartford/NOLFAward recipients.

All four associations were cho-sen for their endeavors to create ageriatric presence in their organiza-tions’ activities. Some of their effortsinclude holding geriatric workshopsat annual conferences, showcasinggeriatric best practice information intheir journals and newsletters, estab-lishing geriatric links on their web-sites, and establishing formalgeriatric special interest groups topromote long-term interest withintheir association.

Visit www.nyu.edu/education/nurs-ing for details.

PROMOTING GERIATRICNURSING A SNAPP

SNAPP—Specialty NursingActivities Partnership Program, one ofthe John A. Hartford FoundationInstitute for Geriatric Nursing’s pro-grams—is a national initiative to bringbest practice information to nongeri-atric nurses who care for older adults.

Jessica Scholder, SNAPP pro-ject coordinator, helps specialtynursing associations establish geri-atric focus/special interest groups, or-ganize geriatric workshops andkeynote speakers for national con-ferences, and disseminate best prac-tices in geriatric nursing. One of themost popular resources is the

Hartford Institutes Try This series ofassessment tools.

In addition to offering technicalassistance, SNAPP offers theConference Educational ResourceCenter booth to create a geriatricpresence at nursing conferences.

For details on SNAPP or TryThis, contact Scholder at (212) 998-9001 or jessica.scholder@nyu.edu.

ELAN AND WYETHDISCONTINUE ALZHEIMER DRUG TESTING

Elan Corp. and Wyeth-AyerstLaboratories have announced thatthey will not resume further dosingof AN-1792, an experimental im-munotherapeutic therapy under de-velopment for the treatment of mildto moderate Alzheimer disease.

In early January,Wyeth and Elansuspended all clinical dosing with AN-1792 in the exploratory Phase 2Astudy immediately after learning thatfour patients in France reportedly ex-perienced clinical signs consistent withinflammation in the central nervoussystem. Since the companies halteddosing, 11 additional patients were re-ported with symptoms associated withCNS inflammation.

NCCN REVISES BREASTCANCER TREATMENTGUIDELINES

The National ComprehensiveCancer Network (NCCN) presentedthe 2002 Breast Cancer PracticeGuidelines at their 7th annual con-ference in March. The NCCN

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Practice Guidelines in Oncology, therecognized standard for clinical pol-icy, are continuously monitored andupdated with the most current infor-mation regarding cancer care.

The breast cancer guidelineshave been revised twice in the pastyear: in December 2001 and inJanuary 2002.The 2002 changes, basedon review and discussion of recentlypublished evidence, include elabora-tion on the role of sentinel nodebiopsy and updates in systemic thera-pies, including the role of hormonaltherapy with the aromatase inhibitorsin postmenopausal women and LH-RH agonists in premenopausalwomen for metastatic disease.

The update includes the ATAC(Arimidex and Tamoxifen alone or incombination) trial results, whichdemonstrate that Arimidex (anastro-zole) provides superior disease-freesurvival and a favorable toxicity pro-file compared with tamoxifen as ad-juvant therapy for hormonereceptor-positive breast cancer inpostmenopausal women.

Physicians interested in theNCCN Practice Guidelines may viewthem on-line at www.nccn.org or re-quest a CD-ROM by sending a letterto NCCN, 50 Huntingdon Pike, Suite200, Rockledge, PA 10946, faxing aletter of request to (215) 728-3877, orvisiting www.nccn.org.

CMS PROPOSE ANOTHERMEDICARE-ENDORSEDDISCOUNT CARD

The Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services (CMS) released asecond Medicare-endorsed drug dis-

count card with creative changes. TheNational Association of Chain DrugStores (NACDS) remains concernedthat CMS may be putting the regula-tory card before the horse by propos-ing a program it has no authority toestablish.

The association favors takingthis idea to Congress, where seniors,pharmacies, doctors, and drug compa-nies can engage in a reasoned debatewith lawmakers, resulting in a work-able solution that the president cansign into law, said CEO Craig Fuller.For details, visit www.nacds.org.

LILLY OFFERS FLAT-RATE DRUG CARD

The Haelan Group has teamedup with Eli Lilly and Company toprovide relief to seniors and otherson Medicaid. Eli Lilly is offering se-niors a month’s prescription for a flat$12 fee. As part of the assistancepackage, One Care Street, a leadingpopulation health management sys-tem from The Haelan Group, will beincluded as part of the package: pa-tients can build a personalized healthprofile along with complete nutri-tional guidance, exercise recommen-dations, alternative treatments andmedicines, and step-by-step healthaction guides. Not only do Medicaidrecipients get a break from costlyprescriptions, but the wellness ap-proach helps lessen their need forprescriptions and achieve a morehealthy state.

LillyAnswers will provide eligi-ble Medicare beneficiaries access toLilly’s portfolio of retail products forchronic illnesses, such as osteoporo-

sis, diabetes, depression, and schizo-phrenia, which afflict nearly 18 mil-lion or one of every two seniors.These products include Evista for os-teoporosis, Humulin and Humalogfor diabetes, Prozac for depression,and Zyprexa for schizophrenia.

Medicare seniors and disabledpeople who meet eligibility require-ments can apply for a card by calling(877) RX-LILLY to request an appli-cation. For details, call CarolineMarch-Long at (434) 295-5938 or goto cdlong@ntelos.net.

CONGRATULATIONSPenn State has had several rea-

sons to celebrate recently. The Schoolof Nursing is one of five that will re-ceive $1.3 million in funding during thenext 5 years from The John A.Hartford Foundation to create Centersof Geriatric Nursing Excellence. Thecenters are part of an initiative to buildacademic geriatric nursing capacity.Last year, the school’s program formaster’s prepared nurses in gerontol-ogy was ranked first in the U.S. News &World Report survey of graduateschools. Finally, faculty members LoisEvans and Neville Strumpf receivedthe 4th Annual Doris SchwartzGerontological Research Award fromthe Gerontological Society ofAmerica.

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