MUSC receives $2M to meet increasing needs of elderly patients

 
Contact:
Maggie Diebolt
843.792.5021
dieboltm@musc.edu

Nov. 25, 2008

MUSC receives $2M to meet increasing needs of elderly patients

CHARLESTON -- When current first year medical students finish residency training, South Carolina citizens aged 65 and older, presently numbered at over 500,000, will have increased by more than half. The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is one of 10 academic health centers selected to receive a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation's Aging and Quality of Life program to train medical students, residents and practicing physicians in geriatrics. MUSC will receive $2M to develop a quality-focused program called Aging Q³, which will be an educational and practice-based program to improve geriatrics competency for resident physicians. The three Qs represent quality education, quality care and quality of life.

"The wave of aging baby boomers will engulf South Carolina in the next decade" said Bill Moran, M.D., lead physician for the program, "and the training of physicians takes seven or more years. Our Internal Medicine physicians are very well trained in managing chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes, but they need more training in the management of syndromes that are prevalent as people age, such as falls, poly-pharmacy and dementia. This program will focus on training physicians to provide high quality care for these and other areas in Aging."

The Aging and Quality of Life program was conceived by the Foundation in response to a growing consensus that physicians lack adequate training to meet the increasing needs of the frail elderly patient. Such patients typically suffer from multiple, interactive physical and psychosocial conditions—both acute and chronic—that compromise their capacity to function in daily life and lessen their independence.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.


About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 11,000 employees, including 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.6 billion. MUSC operates a 750-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children's Hospital and a leading Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu or www.muschealth.com.

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