The University of Arizona Arthritis Center
Living Healthy With Arthritis Lecture Series
Empowered Aging: Experts Tackle Bone and Joint Health
About the Lecture:
Join us for TED Talk-style presentations and a panel discussion by three leaders in the fields of orthopaedics and geriatric medicine. This unique panel includes the UA's chief of orthopaedic surgery, the chief of internal medicine/geriatrics and the leader of the Banner/UA fracture liaison program (please see biographies below).
As we age, protecting our bones, joints and muscles becomes crucial to overall health and well-being. This educational presentation will address the factors most critical to healthy aging, including effective strategies to maintain bone health and prevent falls and fractures, assessing risk for osteoporosis and frailty, and the treatment and care of fractures and related conditions.
With current CDC reports estimating that one in four older adults fall each year – costing the U.S. healthcare system $50 billion – prevention and education serve as the front line of defense. Caused by a fall in over 95 percent of cases, the CDC also estimates that more than 300,000 older adults suffer a hip fracture each year.
In this special event, our experts will address these issues and other common orthopaedic issues associated with aging. After the conclusion of these featured presentations, a panel discussion will commence, including interactive audience question and answer.
About the Presenters:
Mindy J. Fain, MD
Professor, Medicine
Associate Professor, Nursing
The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
Chief, Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine
Co-Director, Arizona Center on Aging
The Anne and Alden Hart Endowed Chair in Medicine
Dr. Fain is the Anne and Alden Hart Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, and co-Director of the Arizona Center on Aging. She received her bachelor's degree in Biology and Medical Degree, both from New York University. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Disease at the University Hospital of Cleveland. Dr. Fain served as medical director of Southern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System Home-based Primary Care from 1988-2012. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Fain is also the President of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine.
Active in the Arizona medical community, Dr. Fain is a member of the board and editor of the Journal of the Arizona Geriatrics Society. As co-director for two geriatric education grants, the Arizona Geriatric Workforce Education Program and the Arizona Reynolds Program, she contributes to the continuing education of medical colleagues and other health professionals throughout the state. In 2000, she was named Geriatrician of the Year by the Arizona Geriatrics Society. In 2003, Dr. Fain was named a Local Legend from Arizona, a national recognition by former U.S. Congressman Jim Kolbe and the American Medical Women’s Association and, in 2004, she was named the John A. Harford Geriatrics Leadership Scholar. She was appointed Chair of the Governor’s Aging and Long Term Care Healthcare Workforce Task Force in 2008 and was a member of the Senior and Aging Issue Advisory Council. She currently serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Geriatric Medicine Board and American Academy of Home Care Medicine Board, and is a member of the National Institute on Aging Behavior and Social Science of Aging Review panel.
John T. Ruth, MD
Professor and Chair
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
The University of Arizona College of Medicine–Tucson
Dr. Ruth is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson where he has been a faculty member since 1991. He is a native of Arizona, having attended undergraduate and medical school at the University of Arizona. He completed his internship and residency training at the Cleveland Clinic and his fellowship training at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Service Systems, also known as Baltimore Shock/Trauma. He is the former Head of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Banner– University Medical Center Tucson’s level I trauma center. Dr. Ruth continues to be an active member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service. He has been an invited speaker on the treatment of traumatic orthopaedic injuries at many professional meetings both locally and nationally. He has traveled to Honduras with Health Volunteers Overseas where he worked with local surgeons treating traumatic injuries and offering his expertise in the training of residents. In 2009, he was part of the Visiting Scholar program with the Orthopedic Trauma Association working at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany with injured servicemen coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Ruth is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and maintains a full-time practice in hip arthroplasty, orthopaedic trauma, and treatment of metastatic cancer to bone.
Marcia Woodburn, NP
Fracture Liaison Service Program Coordinator/Clinician
Banner - University Medicine
Ms. Woodburn graduated from the University of Michigan School of Nursing where she obtained both her MSN as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and BSN. As a Nurse Practitioner, she has worked in a variety of areas including Orthopedics, Emergency General Surgery, Vascular, and Gastroenterology. As a Registered Nurse, she has worked in Medical ICU, Transplant, and Neurology/Neurosurgery.
Ms. Woodburn is now specializing in treating the over 50 adult population in the Fracture Liaison Clinic at Banner - University Medical Center. In this role, she works to evaluate and treat patients older than 50 with low energy fractures, or anyone whose bone health is a concern, including screening and treating for osteoporosis. She is also involved with the Southern Arizona Falls Prevention Coalition, is an Ambassador for the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and has received her certificate of completion from the Center for Disease Control STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries) program. 
