Geriatric Medicine
Our providers at Hackensack Meridian Health are board-certified and address the unique needs of older adults. From primary care to hospital care to community outreach, we offer a complete range of focused, proactive services to support the medical, behavioral, social and emotional needs of aging adults.
Our goal is to foster healthy aging, improve each person’s ability to function, maximize independence in a safe environment and improve their quality of life by addressing each individual's cognitive, emotional, physical and social needs.
Our geriatricians are physicians with specialized training in preventing, diagnosing and treating the conditions that affect seniors and older adults. Here are just some of the reasons to trust us with your care:
What is Geriatric Medicine?
Geriatric medicine focuses on preventing and treating conditions and diseases that are common in older adults and can help seniors manage transitions in their family, work and living environments. Geriatricians are doctors who are board-certified in family medicine or internal medicine who have also undergone further training in geriatric medicine. They specialize in preventing and treating conditions that affect older adults, including: Alzheimer's disease and dementia Balance issues- Cancer
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Fall injuries
- Frailty
- Hearing and vision loss.
- Heart disease
- Incontinence
- Insomnia
- Obesity
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Respiratory diseases
- Shingles
Comprehensive Healthcare for Seniors and Older Adults in New Jersey
Our team of elder care experts provides comprehensive, proactive, personalized senior care services to older patients and their families in New Jersey. Our highly trained geriatricians work with a team of providers to help coordinate all the person’s care, streamline medications and prioritize treatments.
In addition to providing primary care services for older adults, our Hackensack Meridian Health specialists are also qualified to provide comprehensive care for a variety of medical, social, emotional and safety issues related to aging, including:
- Lifestyle management, such as exercise and diet plans, to prevent age-related disease
- Medication management and assessment for high-risk medication use
- Preventing delirium, falls and loss of function during a hospitalization
- Managing multiple medical problems simultaneously
- Identifying home support needs such as social services, occupational and physical therapy, and nutritional counseling
- Memory screening and evaluation along with management for Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia
- Assessment of physical and mental conditions related to aging such as unsteady gait, incontinence, osteoporosis, pain management and depression
- Coordinating care with other service providers, such as skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities, hospice providers, case managers and other physicians
- Specialized trauma and emergency care needs
- End-of-life and advanced care planning
- Hospice care
- Palliative medicine
- Caregiver support and education
- Referrals to specialized medical, social, emotional, case management and community services
Patient Resources
Our wellness and preventive services, such as diet and exercise counseling, fall prevention education and age-appropriate screening tests and vaccinations, help you maintain your health, independence and quality of life.
We provide complete primary care for seniors and older adults, including screening, diagnostic, treatment, monitoring and referral services. Our specialists help you manage your health and coordinate your care with other medical specialists.
We provide consultations for patients regarding clinical issues, chronic disease in older adults, geriatric syndromes and polypharmacy and collaborate with other medical specialists to make sure you receive the highest quality, personalized care possible.
We provide a full range of services to help you manage transitions between different healthcare settings — such as from the hospital to home, or from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility and from a rehab facility to home. Transition services include:
- Care coordination. We work closely with all your physicians to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to coordinating all your care.
- Cognitive and memory care. Our experts evaluate your cognitive functioning and develop a care plan to meet your needs.
- Medication review and management. Our specialists regularly review your medications and update your health records. We also offer expert medication management services designed to help you stay safe and healthy by preventing duplicate prescriptions and reducing the risk of harmful drug interactions.
- Palliative care. Our geriatric medicine specialists have advanced training in palliative care and offer supportive therapies to help you manage pain and other symptoms related to illness, injury or medical treatment.
- Physical function assessment and treatment. Our experts assess your physical function and recommend effective treatments. We also provide referrals for specialty care if needed.
- Treatment of multiple chronic illnesses. Our geriatric medicine specialists have the expertise to treat multiple chronic health conditions in seniors and older adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Hackensack Meridian Health’s Division of Geriatrics offers several specialized programs to meet the needs of seniors and older adults, including:
The Geriatric Emergency and Trauma Care Center
A collaboration between Emergency Medical Services and the Division of Geriatrics, this program offers a combination of high-quality medical and geriatric care management to older adults who require emergency treatment.
Geri-Trauma Co-management Program
We offer geriatric consultation to all adults age 60 and above admitted to acute trauma care. The consultation includes fall risk and high risk medication assessments, management of multiple medical conditions, delirium management and advance care planning.
Geri-Ortho Consultation Program
We offer geriatric assessments to all patients 65 years and older that are admitted for hip fracture care.
Geri-Oncology Collaboration Program
We offer geriatric assessments to older adults undergoing cancer treatments for pre-treatment optimizations of function and multiple medical conditions.
The Center for Memory Loss and Brain Health
Located within Hackensack University Medical Center, our team of experts provide screening, diagnosis and comprehensive care. We also offer access to clinical trials that may lead to better treatment, such as the recently FDA-approved medication Aduhelm (aducanumab) and many others.
The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP)
This program promotes patient satisfaction and safety, while preventing functional decline, falls and delirium in older patients who are hospitalized.
The Acute Care of Elders Program (ACE)
Part of Hackensack University Medical Center, this unit provides personalized care by specially trained nursing staff, video-monitored patient rooms, daily multidisciplinary rounds and a comfortable, restful setting.
Patient safety and quality improvement programs
We have a variety of programs aimed at improving the care and safety for elderly patients and older adults, such as delirium prevention and screening and fast-track protocols for hip fracture and frailty.