Division of Geriatric Medicine

(The Department of Medicine also has information on the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the web link: http://medicine.med.unc.edu/div/aging/gm.htm )

Jan Busby-Whitehead, Division Chief

The Division of Geriatric Medicine was created in 2003 in the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of Medicine. Its mission is to bolster the teaching and delivery of best practice in geriatric care. The division is comprised of 12 geriatricians, a nurse practitioner, and an academic coordinator. In addition to its commitment to caring for older adults, the division’s faculty provides educational training for medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty in geriatrics. Division faculty also participate in clinical research on geriatric syndromes and end-of-life issues. Faculty clinicians provide both in-patient and out-patient care through specialized clinics within the Division. Division physicians include Jan Busby-Whitehead, Debra Bynum, Holly Jean Coward, Andrew Greganti, Laura Hanson, Axalla Hoole, Steve Kizer, and Gary Winzelberg. (Contact information for these physicians can be found at http://www.med.unc.edu/aging/about_people.htm)

Research within the Division is performed in collaboration with the Center for Aging and Health and other centers and UNC-CH schools. UNC-CH's designation as a Center of Geriatric Excellence by the John A. Hartford Foundation is an indicator of the university's growing strength in aging and age-related research. Through the fellowship in geriatric medicine, fellows have the option of obtaining an MPH from UNC-CH's School of Public Health, ranked # 1 in public university schools of public health. Most geriatric medicine fellows are participants in the K30 research program and have access to a vast majority of resources including the Acute Care of the Elderly Unit, the Geriatric Evaluation Clinic, the Lineberger Cancer Center and the Thurston Arthritis Center.

Division faculty members are principal investigators on educational grants totaling approximately $5 million. These grants include the Carolina Geriatric Education Center grant funded by the Bureau of Health Professions and the Geriatrics Practice and Teaching Program funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Last updated on 8/6/2007.