Thirty-five years ago, we created a Center of Excellence in Geriatrics in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry. It became one of only two sites in the United States designated by the John A. Hartford Foundation as a Center of Excellence in both Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Psychiatry. Based in part at the Benedum Geriatrics Center, the Center works closely with the University’s ADRC (Alzheimer’s Center). It is also an integral part of our Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH), the first in the nation to be based on geriatric outcome measures and certified as a level 3 PCMH by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. As a local, regional, and national resource, the Center provides state-of-the-art primary and consultative mental health care, focusing primarily on dementia, depression, anxiety, and bipolar disease. It also sponsors a multitude of quality improvement and educational initiatives, as well as fellowships in both geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry. In addition, it serves as the base for one of the nation’s largest portfolios of NIH-funded research in geriatric mental health.

Dr Shachi Tyagi co-directs the Continence Research Center and leads the dedicated geriatric continence clinic. She provides consults to older adults experiencing lower urinary tract symptoms using her expertise in geriatrics and continence to provide specialized therapies to address these widespread and troublesome symptoms in the older population.

The Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) was established in 2000 to serve the Veterans located in VISN 4. VISN 4 has 9 VA campuses, 45 outpatient clinics, 1 mobile clinic, and 17 vet centers covering Pennsylvania and Delaware and parts of Ohio, West Virginia, New York, and New Jersey. Dr. Steven M. Handler, MD, PhD, CMD, who is an Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine, is the GRECC Director and Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at VAPHS. The research foci of the VAPHS GRECC includes neurological diseases of aging, drug safety, translational research, and biomedical informatics. GRECC educational program focus on providing interdisciplinary geriatric education for trainees in medical and allied health disciplines. Ongoing educational projects address pain in the elderly and telehealth modalities in dementia and cardiac rehabilitation. Clinical demonstration projects focus on providing geriatric consultation and dementia support to rural patients via telehealth and home-based cardiac rehabilitation.