William Hall

William J. Hall, M.D., is a physician, professor and geriatric specialist from Rochester, N.Y.  He was elected to the AARP Board of Directors in 2006. 

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Life Perspectives

"I came from a family where nobody had ever finished high school. My father did janitorial work and my mother was a domestic person working in various people's homes. 

"As it got closer to the time of high school, my mother would quiz her employers (who were, I guess, somewhat affluent) about the best place to get a good high school education in Chicago. The Chicago schools were in turmoil around that time. 

"She insisted I go to a Jesuit high school. I resisted to the last minute because it wasn't cool. It wasn't where my good friends were going. 

"But as usual, my mother was right. Once I got there, I was exposed to a whole new world. And the things that were not cool before suddenly became cool, like reading and participating in organized sports. Somewhere in the back of my mind was always that I was going to go to medical school. 

"I was lucky enough to get in. I'm glad I don't have to apply to medical school now, because I'd be doing something else. The talent has improved so much. I went to the University of Michigan, which was a wonderful experience. After that, I ended up at Yale, where I met my wife, Karen. 

"That was the time of the universal draft for physicians. After my second year, I had to do military service. Through the Navy, I was reassigned as a civilian to the American Embassy in Tokyo, then to a research facility in Hiroshima, Japan, the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission. This was the agency that had been set up to follow the population that had been irradiated. By the time I got there in the mid-'70s, it was already the third generation.           

"This was one of those transformational experiences.  It gave me exposure to tragedy, to more stories about people and to a whole new culture. I just fell in love with the whole idea of caring for patients. 

"I wound up at a large community hospital [in Rochester, New York] as chief of medicine, in a part of town where there was a rapidly aging population. The biggest problem I had as head of this medical service was getting older, frail people out of the hospital. We couldn't place them in nursing homes at that time in New York state. It was my job to empty those beds so that the hospital could expand in other areas like coronary angioplasty or that sort of thing.

"That was my first exposure to geriatrics from a professional standpoint. I must say I didn't think this was a very interesting task at first. But as I got more involved, it was kind of like the experience in Japan. I just got completely engaged with the problems of frail older people. 

"Right about that time, there was a movement in American medicine to develop the geriatrics specialty. I certified in geriatrics and then came back to the university to run our program in geriatrics. So that's what I do now.

"I guess I've seen thousands and thousands of patients. And I may have helped some. But I've learned so much from each of them, not only how to be a better physician, but also the importance that all of us have to feel that we've made a difference in the world. The idea is to preserve your health so that you can give back in a unique way that only somebody who has aged can give back."

Education

M.D., University of Michigan; A.B., classical languages, Holy Cross College

Expertise

Geriatrics; fitness training for older adults; long-term care; fiction writing

Experience

Currently director of the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he formerly was vice chair of the department of medicine and chief of general medicine and geriatrics. Before that, he was chief of medicine, Rochester General Hospital. Instrumental in establishing a replication of the On Lok PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), which was signed into legislation in 1997, making this Medicare/Medicaid program available to all 50 states.

Volunteer Experience

Boards: As a member of AARP's board, currently serves on the Governance and Compensation Committee and is a trustee on the AARP Insurance Trust. Formerly served on Governance Committee and as chair of the AARP Insurance Trust. He was recently appointed to MedPAC, a national commission tasked with obtaining good value for the Medicare program’s expenditures. Board member, Lifespan/ElderSource global aging program; American College of Physicians; American Society of Internal Medicine.

Other: Medical director for the AARP Triumph Classic . Has testified on numerous health issues before Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Institutes of Health. President, American College of Physicians. Volunteer physician, local free clinics.

Honors

Kaiser Award for Exceptional Service from the Rochester Academy of Medicine; Jahnigan Award for outstanding education contributions from the American Geriatrics Society; Master Physician designation from the American College of Physicians; special commendation, Monroe County Legislature; Rochester Chamber of Commerce Civic Award 2000 Gold Medal Award.

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