Table of Contents
Making a Difference in the Lives of the Elderly
Photo by Janet Johnson
Michèle J. Saunders, D.M.D., second from left, back row, and the Honorable Roy Huffington, Ph.D., second from right, back row, received
awards Sept. 12 at the Selenia E. and Joseph C. Valley Sr. Conference, sponsored by The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston’s Center on Aging. From left, back row, are Sharon K. Ostwald, Ph.D., holder of the Isla Carroll Turner Chair in Gerontological Nursing and director of the Center on Aging; Saunders, 2003 recipient of the Joseph C. Valley Sr. Gerontological Professional of the Year Award; Patricia L. Starck, D.S.N., the John P. McGovern
Distinguished Professor and dean of
School of Nursing; Huffington, recipient
of the Selenia E. and Joseph C. Valley Sr.
Community Advocate Award; and Torrian
Valley, grandson of Joseph and Selenia
Valley. On the front row are Michele
Valley, Torrian’s wife, with their children
Evan, left, and Austin.
This is the first time in the17-year
history of the Valley Conference that a
dentist has been named as Gerontological
Professional of the Year. Saunders is
professor and director of the Division of
Geriatrics/Gerontology in the Department
of Medicine at the UT Health Science
Center at San Antonio and is associate
director of the Geriatric Research,
Education and Clinical Center of the South
Texas Veterans Health Care System. She
directs a $3.7 million research study of
oral health among San Antonio’s elderly
population.