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To better serve the aging population of northern Manhattan and the Bronx and create a nexus for clinical research in geriatric medicine, Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital have launched a new division of geriatric medicine and aging at The Allen Pavilion located in upper Manhattan at 220th Street.

"As our aging population continues to increase, we must work together to create world-class programs in geriatrics. An immediate goal is to serve the clinical needs of our own patients. However, we must also promote research to improve our understanding and treatment of common conditions in the elderly and enhance our education of the next generation of physicians who will carry on this mission," says Dr. Lee Goldman, executive vice president of Columbia University Medical Center and dean of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

"This initiative will draw on our clinical and academic strengths to provide an unparalleled focus of care for the older patients we serve," says Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and chief executive officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Healthcare System.

"The new division will link experts from a wide spectrum of disciplines and turn the Hospital's Allen Pavilion into a model of care for older adults across the country," says Dr. Evelyn Granieri, co-director of the division of geriatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Pavilion and a member of the faculty at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center serve a unique patient population of older New Yorkers, a racially and culturally diverse group that reflects the demographics of the nation as a whole.

"That patient community stands to gain most from the new division," says Dr. David A. Brenner, chairman of the department of medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Chief of Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. "Bringing all our clinical subspecialties together under one roof, and drawing on the accumulated research – that kind of effort can only improve patient care."

Michael Fosina, vice president and executive director of NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Pavilion, agrees that focused and dedicated geriatric care is a good fit for the Allen Pavilion: "As there will be increasing numbers of older adults in the community, we welcome them and will be ready for the challenges that presents. The Geriatric Division will start to implement the vision at The Allen Pavilion of becoming the provider of choice for geriatric care in our community and to coordinate the care for older adults in and out of the hospital."

"The depth and breadth of academic excellence at Columbia and the high quality of the Hospital's clinical subspecialties – divisions such as cardiology, neurology, orthopedics and urology – has been long recognized," says Dr. Mathew Maurer, who is codirector of the new division of geriatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Pavilion and Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. "The new geriatrics division will draw on that interdisciplinary teamwork in an even broader collaboration to help care for older patients."

Experts say that by the time they reach their seventh decade, older Americans have an average of three chronic conditions and take an average of six prescription medications.

"Aging baby boomers, especially, are demanding a shift in focus toward disease prevention. One of our goals is to seek out new models of care that address that need," adds Dr. Maurer.

"This new division will help us recruit and retain the best talent in this area," says Dr. Joseph Tenenbaum, chief of medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Pavilion and the Edgar M. Leifer Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The majority of patients in hospitals are over the age of 65. One in every five Americans will be 65 years of age or older by 2030. At the same time, the number of geriatric specialists is on the decline.

Aging-focused research centers at Columbia include the Stroud Center for Studies of Quality of Life, the Columbia Center for the Active Life of Minority Elders, the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's and the Aging Brain, and the Clinical Cardiovascular Research Laboratory for the Elderly.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion is a 226-bed full-service community hospital serving upper Manhattan and the Bronx. It has 13,500 discharges and approximately 26,000 Emergency Department visits each year. All Allen Pavilion physicians are part of NewYork Presbyterian Hospital and members of the faculty of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Among its specialties, the Allen Pavilion offers patients the most advanced research in geriatric medicine and heart failure; progressive educational programs in diabetes management; stress management; maternal and fetal health; and vascular surgery – all in a warm, family-friendly environment.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – based in New York City – is the largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital in the country, with 2,397 beds. It provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory, and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, The Allen Pavilion, and The Westchester Division. One of the largest and most comprehensive health-care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education, and community service. It consistently ranks as one of the top hospitals in the country in U.S.News & World Report's guide to "America's Best Hospitals," in New York magazine's Best Doctors issue, in Solucient's top 15 major teaching hospitals, and in many other leading surveys. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the country's leading medical colleges: Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders in health care and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center researchers are leading the discovery of novel therapies and advances to address a wide range of health conditions.