At UT Southwestern Medical Center, our geriatrics program combines attentive and compassionate care with state-of-the-art medical resources to create one of the nation’s leading health care programs for older adults.
Our geriatricians are specially trained to prevent and manage older adults’ unique and, oftentimes, multiple health concerns. They provide both primary care services and comprehensive geriatric assessments for patients and their families, developing care plans that address the special health care needs of older adults. Our geriatric specialists focus on the complete individual, including social and psychological issues as well as medical conditions.
UT Southwestern offers several programs for our older patients.
Our physicians provide long-term primary care for patients 65 years of age and older.
We evaluate older adults with complex medical and social conditions, including mobility issues, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, rehabilitation needs, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and psychological disorders. We also analyze the patient’s current medications to determine whether they are clinically warranted and interact safely.
This complete and coordinated evaluation occurs in one clinical setting and is performed by a team that includes a geriatrician, a geriatric nurse practitioner, and a social worker who specializes in geriatrics. Each team member assesses the patient separately, and then the group confers to create the best plan for future care.
We provide primary medical care to homebound individuals 70 years of age and older. Care is provided in the older adult’s home where medical staff can best integrate the efforts of family members and community resources such as traditional home-based health care.