Newsroom

To better address the acute medical needs of the growing number of adults aged 75 and older, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has created a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind program for physicians who have completed their residency training in emergency medicine.

"We are grateful for the vision and generosity of Jerry I. Speyer, Vice Chairman of our Board of Trustees, who made this unique and innovative fellowship possible," says Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

"This exciting new program presents an opportunity to leverage the collective knowledge of two medical disciplines. More than a course in geriatrics for emergency medicine physicians, it will be a true interdisciplinary collaboration," adds Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College.

"Every day, fully functional and independent older patients present at our Emergency Department with an acute injury or illness. If we succeed in rapidly and accurately diagnosing and treating their problems, they will return home and resume their independent lives. Failing to do so, however, may mean the permanent loss of their independence," says Dr. Neal Flomenbaum, Emergency Physician-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "As part of the new fellowship program, our emergency medicine physicians will work diligently to identify the factors or behavior patterns, such as elder abuse, that cause each older patient's illness or injury."

"Furthermore, the fellowship program will allow us to help reinvent the house call for the 21st century. For the first time, emergency medicine physicians will treat some patients where they live, alleviating the need for a difficult or impossible trip to the hospital," adds Dr. Flomenbaum. "Emergency medicine physicians are uniquely qualified to bring care to these patients for conditions that may be difficult to treat such as lacerations, wound care, and injuries."

Until now, additional training in geriatric medicine has been available only to physicians trained in internal medicine or family practice medicine.

The Fellowship will draw on the combined talents and strengths of the Hospital's renowned Emergency Medicine Department, led by Dr. Neal Flomenbaum, and its nationally recognized Geriatric Program, led by Drs. Mark Lachs and Ron Adelman. Dr. Lachs is Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. Dr. Adelman is Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Associate Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

As members of the faculty, the new geriatric emergency medicine fellows will teach at Weill Cornell Medical College, and, in partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian's own network of Hospitals and Emergency Departments, will share their expertise with medical centers throughout the New York City area.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College expect to name the first Fellowship in Geriatric Emergency Medicine sometime in February 2005.