Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West, Jr., today announced that VA is expanding its network of geriatric centers of excellence with new centers in New York and Tennessee.
“The centers, called Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs), will combine academic and research medicine with state-of-the-art clinical care in an environment designed to foster collaboration among different disciplines of health providers,” VA Acting Under Secretary for Health Dr. Thomas L. Garthwaite said. “As a learning laboratory with a patient orientation, GRECCs contribute to improved application of research findings to the care of the elderly.”
The two centers announced today will both have various functions divided among medical centers in their network. In New York, GRECC functions will be located at the Bronx VA Medical Center and the two-division Manhattan/Brooklyn integrated facility known as the New York Harbor VA. The Tennessee GRECC functions will be located at the Nashville VA Medical Center (VAMC) and the Alvin C. York VAMC at Murfreesboro.
The Nashville/Alvin C. York GRECC will focus on preventive health care and utilization of medications by the elderly, while the Bronx/New York Harbor VA GRECC will focus on end-of-life care for the elderly.
The GRECC program has steadily expanded since it originally was established in 1975, with today’s announcement bringing to 20 the number of such comprehensive centers around the country.
Examples of accomplishments include clinical care aimed at improving health outcomes for the frail elderly through such models as geriatric evaluation and management, palliative (symptom-easing) care in advanced dementia and the training of physicians and other health care providers.
In health services research, GRECC-affiliated scientists have published studies exploring the way care is delivered as well as findings in both basic biomedical research and studies involving veteran patients.
Research projects from existing GRECCs already have been credited with furthering basic knowledge of the aging process and advancing the quality of care for the elderly patient population through improved understanding of issues ranging from prevention of falls in the elderly to the changing roles of nursing homes.
In serving America’s aging veteran population, VA faces a demand for geriatric care that the rest of American society will confront in 15 to 20 years. About 36 percent of the total veteran population is 65 years old, compared with 13 percent of the total U.S. population.
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