The UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine has received $4.1 million in new grant funding to advance emergency care for older adults and individuals living with dementia.
These awards support the work of the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC) and further establish UNC as a national leader in geriatric emergency care and brain-healthy acute care delivery.
The primary investigators for the grants are Kevin Biese, MD, MAT, and Christina Shenvi, MD, PhD, MBA. Aaron Malsch, RN, MSN, GCNS-BC serves as the UNC GEDC director.
Two Grants Funding Innovative Research Efforts
One of the grants supports the BRAIN Initiative, a national effort to improve care for older adults with cognitive impairment across emergency and inpatient settings. This work is funded by and conducted in partnership with the West Health Institute and the Alzheimer’s Association. The research focuses on identifying high-performing health systems, evaluating the clinical, operational, and financial impact of dementia-capable care, and translating effective practices into scalable toolkits, education, and implementation resources. The BRAIN initiative focuses on early recognition of cognitive impairment, care modifications to reduce harm, caregiver support, communication and behavioral strategies, and improved coordination across care transitions, with the goal of embedding brain-healthy practices into routine acute-care workflows nationwide.
A second research grant, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, supports continued growth of the GEDC as a national hub for geriatric emergency care, including expansion to rural and safety-net hospitals. Through partnerships with the American College of Emergency Physicians Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program, the UNC GEDC is advancing geriatric emergency care as a national standard by setting direction, building capacity, and accelerating adoption of evidence-based, person-centered care for the rapidly growing older adult population.
About GEDC
The GEDC is a nationwide interdisciplinary partnership focused on improving care quality and patient outcomes for older adults in emergency settings. The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill plays a foundational leadership role in the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC), primarily as a lead institution for its implementation and educational efforts.