In 1875, Boston University’s two-year-old School of Medicine launched its Home Medical Service, in which students attended particularly to homebound elderly. Thus began the University’s tradition of leadership in geriatrics and gerontology. Today the program serves some 600 frail and isolated older adults in the Boston area. Several other BU schools and colleges are also involved in the care of older adults and in the scientific study of the biological, psychological, and sociological phenomena associated with aging.

Louis Lowy (SED'49, SSW'51). Photo by BU Photo Services.

In addition to primary medical care and case management for homebound seniors, the School of Medicine’s geriatric section provides several clinical training programs whose participants serve some 2,000 seniors in local hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient clinics. The University-wide Gerontology Center helps working adults and students from a wide variety of disciplines pursue careers in elder care, with programs applicable to education, health, human services, and business. Several certificate programs and pre- and post-doctoral training programs draw on faculty and courses from seven BU schools and colleges.

The center was created in 1974 by the late Louis Lowy, a School of Social Work professor who wrote scores of books and articles dealing with provisions for the elderly, and F. Marott Sinex, a School of Medicine professor (now emeritus). It is now directed by Rebecca Silliman, a School of Public Health and School of Medicine professor and chief of the School of Medicine’s geriatrics section.

BU schools and departments that contribute to the Gerontology Center include the School of Medicine, the School of Social Work, the School of Public Health, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, the School of Management, and the economics, sociology, and psychology departments in the College of Arts and Sciences.

— David J. Craig