The SCOOTER Store Invests in Ethics Training for Future Doctors

June 16, 2010 - PRLog -- NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - The SCOOTER Store is supporting the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, believing that teaching ethics and humanitarian values to future doctors and health professionals will encourage compassionate care for the nation's elderly.

"The long-term goal of The SCOOTER Store is to create an opportunity for every American senior to live their entire life safely and confidently at home," said Mike Pfister, Executive Vice President of External Relations and Government Affairs at The SCOOTER Store. "This goal reflects our desire for seniors and people with disabilities to receive compassionate, ethical healthcare that preserves their dignity and independence and enables them to avoid expensive institutional care settings."

In 2008, there were fewer than 8,000 board-certified geriatricians in the United States. According to Alliance for Aging Research, the country will need approximately 36,000 geriatricians by 2030, when there are expected to be 72 million Americans who are 65 and older.

"By investing in the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics and providing ongoing support to the Community Service Learning program, we are helping prepare future physicians and healthcare professionals to answer their calling and address an urgent and growing need for empathetic geriatric care," said Pfister.

Ruth Berggren, M.D., heads the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics and has drawn around her a faculty that emphasizes medical ethics, community service learning and study of the humanities. According to Dr. Berggren, "Community Service Learning bridges ethics education and humanitarian values and is a major priority for us. The need for competent, caring healthcare providers for our aging population is growing out of proportion to the number being educated. Therefore, we need to offer students opportunities to enhance their effectiveness in meeting the unique healthcare needs of elderly patients."

"The SCOOTER Store's support will allow our CSL program to offer greater opportunities for student involvement in geriatric medicine and foster an environment that promotes heightened commitment to excellent healthcare for the growing aging population," Dr. Berggren added.

About the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the UT Health Science Center The Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics strives to be a leading center educating medical students and health professionals in ethics and professionalism, while nurturing empathy and humanitarian values. The Center focuses on four key areas: literature and art, medical ethics and professionalism, community service learning and global health. Students engaged in service learning provide community service in response to community-identified concerns and learn about the context in which service is provided, the connection between their service and their academic coursework, and their roles as citizens and professionals.

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About The SCOOTER Store

Since 1991, The SCOOTER Store has helped provide freedom and independence to more than 300,000 people with limited mobility. The SCOOTER Store offers a full line of durable medical equipment, including power wheelchairs and scooters, lifts, ramps and accessories in 47 states. The SCOOTER Store has worked with more than 100,000 physicians, providing expertise and quality service to their patients, and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.