Dean Faulkner Visiting Professor – Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom

Geriatrics hosted its annual Dean Faulkner Visiting Professor on Friday, March 12, 2021. The lecture is in honor of James Morrison Faulkner, MD, who became the Dean of BUSM in 1947. During his eight years as Dean, he championed the role of the Home Medical Service – one of the forerunners of our current Home Care Program in the medical school curriculum. The Dean Faulkner Visiting Professorship in Geriatric Medicine was established by the Class of 1954.

This year’s Dean Faulkner Visiting Professor was Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom, Professor and Chief of Geriatrics in the Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Her research focuses on promoting a healthy lifestyle in older adults, with an emphasis on tai chi for falls prevention. She is Director of Integrating Special Populations for the Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Center, focusing on inclusion of older adults in research. She co-directs OHSU’s Healthy Aging Alliance. 

Dr. Eckstrom presented virtually to the Geriatric faculty on “Promoting Healthy Aging- Lessons from Around the World.” The talk focused on common themes from the Blue Zone Countries (Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California) that have been known to live the longest and are the healthiest. Dr. Eckstrom identified proven strategies for promoting healthy aging and ways to incorporate them into daily patient care.  She also presented at the Department of Medicine’s Medical Grand Rounds on Fall Prevention Strategies to Promote an Age Friendly Health System.

We enjoyed having Dr. Eckstrom as our visiting professor and the lessons she shared with us!

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