01/02/12

DR. T. FRANKLIN WILLIAMS, a founding father of the field of geriatric medicine in the United States and a mentor and model for dozens of geriatricians, died at his home in Rochester, N.Y., on Nov. 25, the day before what would have been his 90th birthday. The cause was complications from pneumonia.

A professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Dr. Williams was the second director of the National Institute on Aging, serving from 1983 to 1991. He conducted research and taught over a 40-year career in Rochester. “Frank Williams was an outstanding geriatrician, researcher, and administrator who was inspired by the possibilities of advanced age,” Dr. Richard J. Hodes, current director of the National Institute on Aging said in a statement released by the University of Rochester. “He wanted to know how it was possible to achieve and maintain high functioning, good health, and a sharp mind well into late life. He achieved this ideal for himself and worked hard to achieve it for many others. He will be greatly missed.”

One of Dr. Williams’ early studies found that a significant percentage of people in nursing homes should have remained at home and in the community, said former AMDA President Paul Katz, CMD, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and vice president of medical services at Baycrest Geriatric Health Centre.

“If someone said ‘All old people lose kidney function,’ he would ask how we know that,” said Dr. Katz. “Where are the facts? Why can’t this person be cared for at home? He would push people to think beyond conventional wisdom. Without people like him, geriatrics would not be where it is today as a recognized specialty that is contributing significantly to improving the care of older adults. He had a major hand in building the credibility of the field because of his determination to apply scientific rigor to the field.”

In an essay he wrote in 1981, Dr. Williams described the goals of his work in geriatrics: “It is to rid ourselves, our society, and even our language, of the numerous negative terms, stereotypes and myths concerning aging... The children, friends and health-care providers of older people need to give their symptoms the same respect and attention as those of younger people.”

Dr. Williams said the potential for a new approach in geriatrics and gerontology “is not only to add years to our life but also to add life to our years. It is hard to think of a more promising or profitable investment.”

Dr. Williams achieved his goals, said Dr. Robert McCann, chief of medicine at Highland Hospital in Rochester and acting chief of the geriatrics division at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

“He was always ahead of his time,” Dr. McCann said. “He created one of the first geriatric assessment clinics in the country. He was a champion of interdisciplinary care long before it became today’s popular term. He always cared about people. He was always interested in what people were thinking and how he could help them become better providers of medicine.”

Dr. Williams, the author or coauthor of more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1976 and served for 3 years as a member of the Institute Council. He was a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American Association for Advancement of Science, the Gerontological Society of America, and the American Public Health Association.

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