Bill Thomas

Biography

Dr. William H. Thomas is an international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare. He currently serves as president of The Center for Growing and Becoming, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing constructive, holistic approaches to aging and the care of our elders. He is the founder of The Eden Alternative, a global non-profit organization that is committed to improving the care received by people who live in institutions everywhere. Most recently, Dr. Thomas developed the Green House, a radically new approach to long-term care. In 2005, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced a five year ten million dollar grant that will result in the creation of Green House projects in all fifty states.

Dr. Thomas graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1986, and he was selected by the Mead Johnson Foundation as one of the top Family Medicine residents in the country during his three-year residency at the University of Rochester. He earned board certification in Family Medicine in 1992 and added a certificate in Geriatrics in 1994. Dr. Thomas also maintains a part-time appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor in Family Medicine for Upstate Medical Center. He holds the position of Professor of Aging Studies at UMBC`s Erickson School of Aging in Baltimore, MD.

Named as an AARP Visiting Scholar in 2005, Dr. Thomas travels the country addressing academics, healthcare professionals, and researchers. His lectures confront issues related to aging and longevity as well as the wise use of prescription drugs.

The innovative quality of Dr. Thomas` work and ideas has been recognized by a number of distinguished awards. He is the recipient of a three-year fellowship from the global nonprofit organization Ashoka, which searches the world for individuals with unprecedented ideas for community change. He won the America`s Award, established by Norman Vincent Peale and sometimes called "The Nobel Prize for Goodness" in 1997. Dr. Thomas has also been honored by the Giraffe Project, which gives awards to people who "stick their neck out" to advance the common good. Most recently, he has been honored with the Heinz Award for the Human Condition

Dr. Thomas has published a half a dozen books, the most recent of which is What Are Old People For? How Elders Will Save the World. The book, which American Medical Writers Association named it the "Book of the Year" in 2005, explores the virtues concealed within the necessity of aging. Learning from Hannah and Life Worth Living explore the concept of the Eden Alternative and its impact on long-term care. Dr. Thomas is currently working on a book about the relationship between aging, health and healing.

In conjunction with his books and research projects and advocacy, Dr. Thomas has been interviewed by a broad range of television, radio and print media including CNN, 48 Hours, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Fast Company, The New York Times, Washington Post and Newsweek Magazine, Time Magazine, The CBS Early Show, and was chosen by US News World Report Magazine as one of "America`s best leaders".

Dr. Thomas lives with his wife and five children on a 250-acre working farm that employs draft horses and solar and wind power. They maintain a small country inn and retreat center, which is used to teach others about the concepts and practices to which they have devoted their professional lives.

Publications

What Are Old People For?:
How Elders Will Save the World

We live in a society that opposes aging, despite the evidence that each of us is, in fact, aging. This anti-aging bias has prevented us from thinking about old age in a way that feels good or that will create a good elderhood.

Removing our ageist blinders, Dr. Thomas provides a motivational and visionary blueprint for old age as a healing force in society.