Michael Wasserman

I'm a Geriatrician. My mission in life is to serve older adults and be there for my wife, children and grandchildren. In 2001, against the advice of everyone I knew, I co-founded Senior Care of Colorado, which became the largest privately owned primary care geriatrics practice in the country, demonstrating that high quality primary care could be delivered to seniors cost effectively. I was a tireless advocate for vulnerable older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, with multiple publications and television appearances. I served as a member of the National Academies “A Framework for Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus” Committee, and on the infrastructure workgroup of the National Advisory Committee for Seniors and Disasters. I am Editor-in-Chief of Springer’s textbook, Geriatric Medicine: A Person-Centered Evidence-Based Approach. My book, “The Business of Geriatrics,” published in 2016, details how to succeed in Geriatrics in today’s healthcare marketplace. I helped to conceptualize and develop GeriMed’s Clinical Glidepaths in conjunction with Drs. Flaherty and Morley of St. Louis University’s Geriatric Division. In 1989, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, I was the lead author of "Fever, White Blood Cells and Differential Count in Diagnosing Bacterial Infection in the Elderly,” the findings of which are part of the McGeer Criteria, used widely in nursing homes to evaluate residents for infections. We sold Senior Care of Colorado to IPC, The Hospitalist Company in 2010. One of my great passions is educating others on how the "Geriatrics Approach to Care" can function effectively in today's healthcare environment. After attempting retirement, I pursued my passion for improving older adult's quality of care by directing the Nursing Home arm of California's QIN-QIO. I then became CMO and then CEO overseeing the largest nursing home chain in California. This allowed me to see the nursing home industry from all perspectives, an experience which led me to devote my time to protecting vulnerable older adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. I've had the unique opportunity to view our healthcare system from almost every angle! I began my career with Kaiser-Permanente in SoCal where I opened Kaiser's first Geriatric Consult clinic and started the San Fernando Valley Continuing Care Department. I'm passionate that exercise is critical to our health and wellbeing as we age, having completed 16 Ironman triathlons after turning 50. I'm focused on my physical durability as I approach 70 and sharing that journey with others.