UNC's Center for Aging and Health helps older adults live well longer.
Caring | Teaching | Connecting
At the Center for Aging and Health
We provide the highest quality of clinical care to older patients; connect families and caregivers with community resources; and train the next generation of Geriatricians.
But we don’t stop there. Improving care for older adults means training different types of providers – including dentists, pharmacists, cardiologists, and oncologists – in best practices of geriatric medicine that are grounded in research, informed by patient priorities, and guided by compassion.
Whether you’re a medical resident applying to our Fellowship programs, a Triangle resident looking to become a patient, or a clinician taking our courses, the Center for Aging and Health can connect you to the right resources for aging well.
News | Impact | Outreach
Dr. Adrian Austin’s Delirium Research
“In my residency, I had a lot of critical care and geriatrics time. Many patients were delirious, and it complicated the management of just about everything. I started thinking about delirium and what we should be doing about it. Back then, people didn’t call it delirium. Patients were just ‘confused.’ Well, why is everybody confused?” Read more
Hillsborough is NC’s First Geriatric ED
As the state’s first geriatrics-certified hospital, UNC Medical Center’s Hillsborough Hospital continuously improves elder care. The hospital is the first in North Carolina to receive Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA). Read more
Making Hospitals Dementia-Friendly
The Duke Endowment funded UNC’s Center for Aging and Health to train four hospitals in best practices of “dementia-friendly” patient care. The Dementia-Friendly Hospital Initiative (DFHI) will transform the hospital experience for patients with dementia. Read more
Senior Mentor Program in New York Times
UNC’s Senior Mentor Program was recently featured in a New York Times story on medical school programs that combat ageism among medical students and present older adults as individuals with diverse, colorful stories. Read more
Notes for the Record
“As the clinic Social Worker, a big part of my job is to ensure that patients and caregivers are aware of community supports. There’s a lot of help available, if you know where to look. But perhaps the most important thing I do is listen to people and validate their struggles. Some problems don’t have easy solutions, but it always helps to know you’re not alone.”
— Bryan Godfrey, MSW, Geriatrics Clinic Social Worker
From Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead
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We’re the big picture doctors.
“Geriatricians take a holistic view of the patient. We provide complex comprehensive care that is focused on the functional activities of daily living. A patient’s chronological age is not important, their functional age is what matters. What can people do?” Read more
Mary and Thomas Hudson Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Director, Center for Aging and Health | Chief, Division of Geriatric Medicine