Who Will Care for America’s Aging Boomers?
Aug 2, 2010
Carl Cohen, MD, Awarded $3.68 Million to Train Geriatric Specialists at SUNY Downstate
By the year 2030, the number of Americans older than 65 is expected to nearly double.
Experts predict a looming health crisis unless more professionals are trained to care
for the elderly.
Toward this end, Carl I. Cohen, MD, distinguished service professor and director of
geriatric psychiatry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, provides training in geriatric
care to physicians, dentists, and mental health professionals in Brooklyn through
the Geriatric Fellowship Program. Since 2003, his work has been funded by a grant
from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which just renewed the
grant at $3.68 million for five years.
Caring for the elderly is very different from treating younger patients. Some conditions
common among the elderly, such as dementia, delirium, and falls, are rarely seen by
physicians who treat only younger or middle-aged adults. Knowing how to distinguish
between disease states and the normal effects of aging requires specialized knowledge
and experience.
“One important difference between treating older and younger adults is that the elderly
often have trouble making health decisions for themselves,” explains Dr. Cohen, whose
patients are, for the most part, elderly people of color with mental health challenges.
“Maintaining an older person’s functional ability, independence, and quality of life
is a main concern of health providers who specialize in geriatric care.”
The training program employs an interdisciplinary approach. Fellows are exposed to
a variety of community settings and disciplines, such as psychiatry, dentistry, neurology,
and end-of-life care. They receive instruction in information technology, administration,
pedagogical methods, and cross-cultural issues, and may take courses in Downstate’s
School of Public Health and obtain an MPH or doctoral degree.
The grant renewal is the largest award Dr. Cohen’s fellowship program has received.
Mohammed Nurhussein, MD, chief of geriatric medicine, and Julius Berger, DDS, professor
emeritus of surgery, serve as co-directors.
### About SUNY Downstate Medical Center SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the
United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside.
A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY
Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School
of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, University
Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate
Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.
SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty
of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated
from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.