Spotlight: Health Law

Professor Joan Foley was recently featured in the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Spring 2024 Newsletter – Spotlight on Sections: Aging and the Law. Professor Foley served as Chair of the Section and moderated the Section’s “Preparing for the Demands of an Aging Population” program at the 2024 AALS Annual Meeting. The interview also featured current Section Chair Tara Sklar, Faculty Director of the Health Law & Policy Program at the University of Arizona Law. The interview highlighted Section programming, issues facing our aging population, and the latest developments in the field of aging and the law.

The interview brought attention to Touro University’s interdisciplinary Aging: Health, Law, and Policy course. Joan Foley states in the interview, “There’s a trend to offer interdisciplinary courses and programs on aging law and policy. As the older segment of our nation’s population increases, there’s a greater need for professionals trained in specialized skills and knowledge to assist older adults and their families. Courses at the intersection of elder law, health law, and policy can explore caring for an older population and supporting healthy aging. At Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, I created and co-teach a course ’Aging: Health, Law, and Policy,’ designed as a university-wide course based at the law school. The course topics include gerontology; the legal and public health frameworks involved in financing and delivering care for the US aging population; housing options for older adults; and improving health outcomes for older adults.”

Professor Foley goes on to describe in the interview that “[t]he course fosters interprofessional collaboration with faculty drawn from the law school and schools of business, social work, and health sciences. Interprofessional courses on aging law are important for many reasons, including fostering students’ professional identity formation. The American Bar Association standards for legal education now require law schools to provide students with substantial opportunities for development of a professional identity. That is new ABA Standard 303(b)(3). Interprofessional courses and co-curricular opportunities on aging and the law can help aid law schools in meeting this accreditation requirement.”

Faculty members from Touro University graduate schools teach one module per week for 13 weeks in this online course. Foley adds, “Launching the Aging: Health, Law, and Policy course and teaching in the course has been extremely gratifying. The course reflects an innovative, multidisciplinary effort of faculty across Touro University. This online, asynchronous course on caring for an aging population and supporting healthy aging launched at maximum student enrollment in fall 2023. We are excited to offer this course again in spring 2025.”