UNC Geriatrics is the largest older adult-focused primary care practice in the Triangle. Undoubtedly, the past two years have been eventful for the clinic. And not just because of COVID-19.
In 2020, UNC Geriatrics received its fifth consecutive Carolina Care Excellence Award. Also, it is the only UNC Health primary care clinic to receive this award in 2020. And in 2021, UNC Geriatrics moved to the brand-new UNC Medical Office Building at Eastowne.
Highlighting Staff
When asked about the clinic’s success, UNC Geriatrics clinic’s Medical Director Dr. Meredith Gilliam highlighted the dedicated personnel. She says, “We have amazing clinical, administrative, and population health staff in our clinic. They work alongside our physicians and nurse practitioners on a team-based approach to caring for older adults in North Carolina.”
Among the staff, Dr. Gilliam pointed out social worker Bryan Godfrey’s recent accomplishments. In February, UNC Health Quality & Clinical Improvement recognized him as the 2022 Quality Innovation Champion of the Month. The reason for this recognition is a dotphrase Godfrey developed at UNC Geriatrics. About it, Dr Gilliam says, “the .bryan dotphrase has been indispensable.” Specifically, it improves the workflow for ordering home medical equipment, saves time for providers, and positively impacts UNC Geriatrics patients’ everyday lives. Furthermore, Godfrey recently presented at the January Triangle West Regional QI Meeting. There, he shared about the dotphrase’s impact and its clinical implementation.
In addition, the clinic recently hired a new social worker, Vanessa Talley, formerly of the UNC Cancer Hospital. Dr. Gilliam says that Talley, “will support our other population health staff (Bryan Godfrey, Enri Arroyo, Nina Raymo, Liz Potter, and Reji Vellaringatu) and the clinical staff. She will also assist us in expanding our Chronic Care Management (CCM) program and help provide support for patients with chronic medical conditions in-between their clinic visits.” With this newly expanded population health team, the pool of non-clinical staff now shares the tasks that were previously handled by one or two people.
Learn More
To learn more about this award-winning practice, visit the UNC Geriatrics clinic page.