Advocacy and Education Workgroup

Co-Chairs: Aaron Troy, MD, MPH and Linda Hart, DNP, FACC
Council Liaison: Krystal Elzy

About the Work Group

The Geriatric Cardiology Advocacy & Education Work Group is dedicated to advancing cardiovascular health for older adults through policy advocacy, educational initiatives, and patient-caregiver engagement. This group plays a role in shaping national and local policy, developing clinician and patient-facing education, and elevating the voices of older adults and caregivers within the ACC community.

Our work supports Geriatric Cardiology Section members, fellows-in-training, early career professionals, patients, and caregivers by translating evidence into practical education and by advocating for policies that improve access to and quality of cardiovascular care for older adults, from the local level to the national stage, and from individual health systems to ACC society-wide efforts.

What We Do

Members of this group collaborate on initiatives such as:

  • Policy Advocacy: Advocating for legislation and regulatory action that improves cardiovascular care for older adults, and serving as a liaison between the Cross-Section Advocacy Workgroup, HeartPAC, and the Geriatric Cardiology Member Section
  • Educational Program Development: Leading national geriatric cardiology educational initiatives such as SAGE (Strategies and Advances for Geriatric Cardiology Excellence), a comprehensive online geriatric cardiology curriculum, as well as webinars, multimedia content, and publications
  • Patient & Caregiver Engagement: Developing patient-facing resources and programs, including partnering with CardioSmart on refreshing and optimizing education content on heart disease in older adults
  • Models of Care: Working to define and disseminate evidence-based models of geriatric cardiology care delivery nationwide

Why Get Involved

By joining this work group, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Build advocacy skills through direct engagement with legislative priorities and mentorship opportunities, including at ACC's Legislative Conference and onsite events like ACC.26
  • Contribute to national educational curricula and patient resources with lasting impact on the field of geriatric cardiology
  • Network and collaborate with leading experts in geriatric cardiology, policy, and patient education
  • Gain visibility and leadership experience through authorship, panel participation, and collaboration across the member section

Who Should Join

This group is ideal for cardiologists, fellows-in-training, cardiovascular team members, and trainees at any career stage who are interested in improving cardiovascular outcomes for older adults through policy advocacy, education, and patient engagement.

How to Get Involved

Interested in learning more or getting involved?
📩  For more information or to join the work group, please contact: kelzy@acc.org

FITs and Early Career Professionals Work Group

Palliative Care Work Group

Mission
To promote delivery of timely, high quality primary and specialty palliative care by supporting training for cardiovascular clinicians, education for persons with heart disease, and research to inform care decisions.

Educational Resources

Palliative Care for the Cardiovascular Clinician
A series of 20+ hours of CE modules developed by the Palliative Care Workgroup to provide clinicians caring for patients with serious cardiovascular disease with primary palliative skills in symptom management, high-risk procedures and device therapies, and serious illness conversation skills.  Available for free for ACC members and non-members.

Pinnacle Advance Care Planning Toolkit
A toolkit developed for cardiovascular clinicians to understand, document, and integrate advance care planning into their routine practice.

CardiaCast Palliative Care in Patients with Heart Disease
A series of four podcasts developed in collaboration with the Cardiovascular Team Section.

From Prognosis to Priorities: Insights on Outpatient Palliative Cardiology, A Webinar
An engaging discussion on how outpatient palliative cardiology supports vulnerable patients by alleviating distressing symptoms and planning for what lies ahead, a presentation of the Work Group's Outpatient Palliative Cardiology Collaborative.

Recent Workgroup Publications

Other Resources

Resources for Patient Education

Research and Publications Workgroup