Alva Baker, III, MD, HMDC, CMDR, began caring for frail elderly patients in the long-term care setting in 1972. He served as the Medical Director for Episcopal Ministries to the Aging (EMA) from 1980 until his retirement in June of 2009 as Vice President for Health and Wellness Services for EMA. He concurrently served as the Executive Director of The Copper Ridge Institute, wherein his focus of research and teaching has been on the care of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. He serves on the faculty of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also serves on the Gerontology faculty at McDaniel College. He is a member of local, state and national medical societies. He has served on the Professional Advisory Committee of Carroll Home Care/Carroll Hospice, as an Associate Medical Director for Carroll Hospice, and on the Board of Directors of the Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hospice and Palliative Network of Maryland. Dr. Baker is an Emeritus member of the Medical Staff of Carroll Hospital Center, and he is currently a member of the Medical Staff of Meritus Medical Center. He has taught extensively about medical direction issues and continuous quality improvement to medical directors and staff at all levels in residential care facilities throughout the long term care continuum. He is a Certified Medical Director, Retired, and a member of the AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, for which he served as President in 2007-2008. Board certified in Geriatrics and in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, he presently serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the Hospice of Washington County, in Hagerstown.