The University of Michigan is home to the world’s largest concentrations of a rare subspecialty: geriatric psychiatrists. These physicians are trained as specialists at the intersection of mood, memory and physical function in later life and are the premier experts who help understand how individuals can live and function well as they age. Michigan Medicine is the leader and best in this field, with faculty who are the nation’s finest in clinical care, education, and research.
The changes of later life can have a profound impact on individuals and their families. Coping with illness, changes in lifestyle and loss of loved ones presents unique challenges. It is important to recognize and treat mood problems, difficulties with thinking and substance problems within the geriatric population. A specialized Geropsychiatry Clinic located within the U-M Geriatrics Center provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the unique mental health needs of the aging population. Appropriate treatments within this group can help facilitate a healthy adjustment to the changes of later life, and significantly improve quality of life for patients and their families.
Unfortunately, our health care systems are not adequately prepared to face the rising need for elder care associated with the imminent “silver tsunami” — the phenomenon when adults over the age of 65 double to 72.1 million people. Health care resources that improve our ability to manage and treat mental illnesses in this population in an efficient and collaborative manner are critical given that the number of older adults with mental illness is expected to double to 15 million by the year 2030. There are far too few geriatric psychiatrists to meet these needs, which makes it even more important to develop innovative strategies to train other providers and expand our network of care.
You can help! Your gift is very important and will support our work and help us continually improve our patient care, expand our reach, and develop new innovations to train other providers.
Geriatric Psychiatry Gift Fund
Our mission is to transform aging through innovative multidisciplinary mental health and dementia education, advocacy, clinical care and research to maximize the quality of life for patients, families and their communities. Contributions to this fund will help support this mission by supporting pilot projects, education and training in new approaches, and community outreach.
For more information about making a gift to the Geriatric Psychiatry Program at the UM Department of Psychiatry, please contact Courtney Metzger - [email protected] | (734) 763-1409.