MD
Associate Professor
Medical Director, Geropsychiatry Inpatient Unit
Location:
UNC Hospitals – Chapel Hill
Education and Training:
BA, Religion, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Residency, Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fellowship, Geriatric Psychiatry, Duke University
Summary Statement:
Having completed her medical training and psychiatry residency at UNC-CH, Dr. Lunsford worked for the next 20 years in Raleigh as an outpatient adult psychiatrist. She had a solo practice that provided both psychotherapy and pharmacological management, while cultivating special interest in healthy aging, nutrition, and end-of-life care. In addition, she led small groups in mid-life spirituality and therapeutic writing. Later, her focus shifted to the needs of her elderly parents; in particular, her mother with dementia. Bearing witness to the unfolding of her mother’s illness sparked an interest in memory disorders that ultimately led Dr. Lunsford back to school: she completed a fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at Duke and subsequently became board-certified in September 2014. As a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at UNC, Dr. Lunsford is working on the Geriatric adult inpatient unit, forging coalitions and offering care to the older adults in the area. She also coordinates a Geriatric outpatient clinic at UNC and sees patients at The Cedars and Galloway Ridge, two continuing care retirement communities in Chapel Hill.
