New UCLA chair to focus on geriatric clinical care, research

Paunie Samreth
Published: Tuesday, October 7, 2003

The “golden years” just got brighter for aging Americans with the University of California’s creation of six endowed chairs in geriatric medicine, the study of medical care for senior patients.

The chairs have been awarded to the five UC medical school campuses, including UCLA, and UC Berkeley. Their mission will be to help meet the special needs of older patients.

The chair for the David Geffen School of Medicine has not yet been appointed, but a committee has been created to appoint a chairperson.

“They’re looking for a physician who will lead the education program and academic program,” said Dr. David Reuben, professor of medicine and chief of division of geriatrics.

The UCLA chair will focus on education, research and clinical care, with hopes of findings or methods spreading to other health professional schools, Reuben said.

Geriatric clinical care is somewhat new for the medical center, but the division of geriatrics anticipates greater demand for services with California having the largest elderly population in the nation.

An estimated 3.3 million Californians are 65 years or older– a figure likely to be a problem for the health care industry.

“In terms of health care delivery, there are a lot of complicated illnesses we have to be smarter and better organized about, making sure things are done correctly without errors,” Reuben said.

To combat some of the problems associated with caring for older patients, including communication problems, the chair will focus heavily on educating the school of medicine’s graduate and post graduate students in geriatrics care.

“A goal is to have every graduate of the medical school to have a set of core competency in geriatrics so they can provide high quality care for older people,” Reuben said.

“We want each resident to feel very comfortable caring for older people,” he added.

The geriatric center was recently moved from the Westwood campus to the Santa Monica center because of the city’s older community members, and the center provided a smaller, more intimate office.

“We think that kind of environment is very good for older people,” Reuben said.

Some common problems associated with the aging process include arthritis and Alzheimer’s, a progressive, degenerative brain disease characterized by confusion, forgetfulness and personality or behavioral changes.

Patients often feel that their doctors do not understand them, that their problems are part of the aging process and nothing could be done to help them, Reuben said.

“That’s just not true,” he said.

Training for geriatricians typically lasts one to three years after medical school, with further education required throughout their career.

But some older adults are not sure about seeing a geriatrician for their medical problems.

“If I have a broken leg, I want to see an orthopedic; if I have a heart problem, I want to see a cardiologist,” said 73-year-old retired school teacher Claudine Casey.

Many express the same sentiment.

“I want to see, not a specialist in geriatrics, but (someone for) the problem I have,” said Wolfgang Nehring, a 64-year-old professor of German, adding that a specialist trained in geriatrics care would be even better.

The UCLA chair is almost entirely funded with a $1.5 million contribution from the Archstone Foundation, located in Long Beach, Calif.

“It’s something we could do to hopefully build a lasting impact on health care within the state,” said vice president Mary Ellen Courtright.

The foundation focuses on supporting programs that prevent illnesses and disability in older patients, with special emphasis on education and service for the elderly.