IN 1981, The Journal accelerated growth of the concept of high-quality care for the elderly by publishing a far-reaching article, "The Teaching Nursing Home."1 Academic nursing home programs existed in the early 1970s, but they were few. The goals of these pioneer programs were to develop an improved quality of care in nursing homes and a geriatric health care system that would enhance the quality of patient care, produce the first US geriatricians, and broaden and improve the training of physicians.2,3
In the ensuing years, through the impetus of demographic change, creative projects launched by the National Institute on Aging and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the federal government's Medicare and Medicaid programs, more teaching nursing homes have emerged. With the cooperation of affiliated acute-care hospitals and community service networks, these academic nursing homes have made promising progress toward their goals4 and serve as models for