General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

The Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine is an amalgam of three distinct areas of medical study and practice.

General Internal Medicine

For General Internal Medicine, we focus on general medical care provided to all adult patients of any age in a clinical or outpatient setting. In this case, our physicians are known as internists. Their internal medicine counterparts in inpatient care are known as hospitalists. For general internal medicine, our focus of care is comprehensive, preventive and collaborative with the patient at the center of all we do, the primary provider, our various specialists and other health-care professionals inside and outside of our department and across the community.

Geriatrics

For Geriatrics, we focus on the unique and ever-changing health-care and lifestyle interests of a group of aging individuals generally known as older adults, senior citizens and the elderly. Once, these folks may have been thought of as more sedate and in their declining years. Not anymore. Today, older adults are often healthier and live longer. Many Baby Boomers are at retirement age and Gen X-ers are rapidly approaching it. As a result, older adults remain active well into their golden years and represent a more vibrant group than ever before.

Still, living extended lifespans means addressing more health care issues that can arise. As we reach advanced ages, those issues can range from orthopedic to rheumatic to metabolic to cardiovascular and neurological — including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and general dementia. We strive to promote independence by moving discoveries and breakthroughs in our understanding of geriatric care from the lab to the community, integrating questions and observations of our patients into how we approach innovative solutions of the future.

Palliative Medicine

Palliative Medicine is a specialty focused on care for people with serious medical illnesses.  Palliative Care is for patients and their families and emphasizes the relief of suffering, treatment of symptoms, and whole-person support regardless of the age or stage of disease.  The overall goal of Palliative Medicine is to improve quality of life for people with serious illnesses such as cancer, end stage organ failure, degenerative neurocognitive disorders, severe trauma and critical illness.  Palliative care can help with serious illness by treating symptoms such as pain, nausea, or anxiety as patients undergo sometimes difficult medical treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy.