FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 3, 2010
Contact:
Tina Shelton
801 692-08972
sheltont@hawaii.edu
UH Mānoa medical professor wins national honor for addressing mental health needs of elderly
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry recognizes JABSOM’s Dr. Ike Ahmed with 2010 Diversity Award
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| Dr. Ike Ahmed |
Mental illness is an importantcontributing factor todisease and suffering among the elderly, yet older people are less likely to receive the mental health counseling and care that they require. Fortunately, in Hawai‘i, that need is recognized by both thedepartments of Psychiatry and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
In fact, JABSOM Psychiatry Professor Iqbal “Ike” Ahmed, MD, is receiving national recognition this week for his outstanding service and attention to the mental health-care needs of minority or underserved elderly populations. The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) will present its 2010 Diversity Award to Dr. Ahmed on March 5, 2010, during its annual meeting in Savannah, Georgia.
“As the Director of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology in our Psychiatry Department, Dr. Ahmed has been a leading clinician, scholar and professor for JABSOM students, residents, and colleagues,” said Dr. Naleen Andrade, chair of Psychiatry. “This national award is well deserved and we are thrilled for him. It recognizes the quality of his work and how JABSOM is striving to meet our mission for diversity.”
Dr. Ahmed, like most JABSOM faculty members, also treats patients in Hawai‘i. He is an attending psychiatrist in geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine consultation services at The Queen’s Medical Center, one of JABSOM’s partner academic training institutions.
“This award represents the recognition of work accomplished not just by me, but by a number of my colleagues and those who I’ve had the pleasure of training,” said Dr. Ahmed. “They have all collaborated with me in teaching and writing about the socio-cultural factors that impact the evaluation and treatment of our ethnic minority elderly."
JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges noted that Dr. Ahmed is a leader in the field of geriatric psychiatry, serving as editor and contributing author on the American Psychiatric Association's Ethnic Minority Elderly Curriculum in 2006. “Dr. Ahmed has chaired influential committees within AAGP and in the American Psychiatric Association that have moved the discipline toward greater awareness about the needs of our elders—who represent a significant and growing population in Hawai‘i,”said Dr. Hedges.
Founded in 1978, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (www.AAGPonline.org) is a national organization representing and serving its members and the field of geriatric psychiatry. AAGP's mission is to enhance the knowledge base and standard of practice in geriatric psychiatry through education and research and to advocate for meeting the mental health needs of older Americans.
The John A. Burns School of Medicine, UH Mānoa was established in 1965 and has trained more than 4,500 medical doctors through its MD or residency program. Half of Hawai‘i’s practicing physicians are graduates of the John A. Burns School of Medicine MD or the Hawai‘i Residency Program. For more information about JABSOM, please visit http://jabsom.hawaii.edu.
The University of Hawai`i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students matriculate in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu
