The Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine health care practitioners provide comprehensive interdisciplinary geriatrics and palliative clinical services to adults both in the hospital and community, and have a strong commitment to high-quality compassionate care, promoting wellness and improving the quality of life for their patients. An overview of these Division clinical services is described below:
Geriatric Medicine
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Inpatient Care
The Division provides care to older patients through two significant inpatient care services at New-York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center: 1) an Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit which delivers state-of-the art inpatient medical services by highly trained staff with expertise in aging, using an inter-professional team approach; and 2) a Geriatrics Consultation Service, which provides expert consultation throughout the hospital and continuity of care for hospitalized geriatric patients of the Irving Sherwood Wright Center on Aging.
Outpatient Care
A freestanding outpatient practice, the Irving Sherwood Wright Center on Aging, the centerpiece of the Division's outpatient clinical activities, provides interdisciplinary outpatient geriatric primary medical care. Members of the care team include internists, geriatricians, a gero-psychiatrist, a geriatrics social worker and geriatrics nurse practitioners. Through its EGL House Call Program, the Division provides primary care medical services to homebound older adults, who for reasons of chronic disease or mobility impairment cannot travel to the Wright Center.
Palliative Medicine
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Inpatient Care
The Inpatient Palliative Care Consultation Service consists of an interdisciplinary team which provides supportive care to adult inpatients and their families in the areas of symptom management and medical treatment for those with advanced chronic illness and at the end of life. The Palliative Care Consultation Team also provides patients and families with information needed to make informed and difficult care choices, and offers psychosocial, emotional and spiritual support.
Outpatient Care
The Outpatient Palliative Care Consultation Team (physician, nurse practitioner, social worker) offers a collaborative approach in outpatient settings with oncology and other disciplines to provide patients with relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of serious illness. The specialized multidisciplinary team provides an extra layer of support to the patient’s primary physician, patients and families. The team’s goal is to alleviate physical, emotional and spiritual suffering with services available to patients receiving active treatment and to patients no longer candidates for therapy.
Through the Bereavement program, individual and family counseling and other support services (e.g., support groups, comprehensive assessment and referrals) are provided to those coping with the loss of a loved one.