By 2030, it is projected that one in four Vermonters will be over the age of 65. As the size of the over-65 population has grown over the years, the field of gerontology — the comprehensive study of aging and related problems — has exploded. To meet the need for the latest information in this field, the Center on Aging at the University of Vermont, in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, presented its first official event since launching in July 2008 — the 2009 Gerontology Symposium. More than 300 attendees participated in the day-long event at at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington on May 29, 2009.

Designed to provide both broad and specific information on aging issues, the Symposium focused on a theme — "Update Your Aging Toolbox: Nuts and Bolts, Best Practices and Innovations" — which was developed in response to requests by providers across the state who are serving more and more seniors as the population ages. In addition to care providers and aging-related community service organization staff members, the Symposium also attracted a new wave of registrants, such as first responders, probate judges, lawyers, housing authorities, and legal aid counselors.

Presentations on general gerontology, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, death and dying, polypharmacy, and elder abuse, among other topics, were featured at the event. After delivering the Symposium's welcome, William Pendlebury, M.D., professor of pathology and neurology and director of the Center on Aging, presented a session on dementia and delirium with co-presenter Suzanne Goetschius, R.N., director of nursing education and research at Fletcher Allen Health Care. Other presenting faculty from UVM included D. Brookes Cowen, Ph.D., senior lecturer in sociology, and Jacqueline Weinstock, Ph.D., associate professor of integrated and professional studies. Guest speakers included Patty Cotton, M.Ed., of the Brown Center for Innovative Learning at the University of New Hampshire; Ronald DeBellis, Pharm.D, professor and chair of pharmacy practice at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Christine Marek-Waszynski, R.N., M.S.N., G.N.P.-C., from the division of geriatric medicine and gerontology at Hartford Hospital in Conn.; Michael Verde, president of the Memory Bridge Initiative in Chicago, Ill.; and Kelly Niles-Yokum, Ph.D., director of the gerontology studies program for the Colleges of Worcester Consortium.

A second symposium will be offered September 11, 2009 at the Holiday Inn in Rutland.