History and Overview
The Geriatric Psychiatry Residency Program has provided clinical training in Geriatric Psychiatry to graduates of General Psychiatry Residencies for over 25 years. The Program constitutes the clinical training arm of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, an entity that encompasses the clinical, educational and research activities of geriatrics within the Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Historically, the Geriatric Psychiatry service was established by Paul McHugh, M.D. in 1967. The Service was located at its present site, The New York Hospital- Cornell Medical Center, Westchester Division. The mission of the Geriatric Program was to develop clinical services to address the mental health needs of older adults. Soon, the Geriatric Service became a center of excellence within the Cornell Medical Center and the Geriatric Psychiatry community at a national and international level. The clinical and academic accomplishments of CornellÕs Geriatric Service made it an important treatment resource for geriatric psychiatry patients of the tri-state area and a referral service for patients from around the country.
The Residency Program in Geriatric Psychiatry of the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center was established in 1980. Its goal was to provide high quality training to a small number of highly qualified psychiatrists. Soon, the quality of the program and its trainees reached a level of excellence that permitted competitive funding by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Between 1983 and 1989, the program submitted three consecutive grants to NIMH and was awarded support on all three occasions. The competitive NIMH application process sharpened the focus of the program and further improved its quality. During the years 1989-1991, NIMH funding was not available, but the Department of Psychiatry supported the training of one geriatric psychiatry resident per year. In 1991, our program was competitively funded by the NIMH for another three years. In 1994, the NIMH discontinued the program supporting clinical training in Geriatric Psychiatry, as its mission had been to help establish training sites that would then support themselves through local resources. As of 1994, the Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University has supported the geriatric psychiatry residency. The program was accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in July 1994 and has had continuous accreditation since then. Over 35 physicians have graduated and pursued careers in the areas of academic research and clinical practice, providing care within diverse community settings with patient demographics ranging from poverty level to financial affluence.
Over the past twenty years, the geriatric psychiatry residency program has been enriched by many new developments that are now an integral part of the training program. Innovative scientific research and discovery by the faculty of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry has significantly influenced treatment techniques and established the Westchester Division as a premier center for both scholarly study and clinical care. By 1993, a significant number of NIMH funded clinical research projects were implemented by our geriatric faculty. In 1993, a grant awarded to George S. Alexopoulos, M.D. and his colleagues enabled them to establish a Developing Clinical Research Center focusing on studies of geriatric mood disorders. In 1998, a $5 million grant from NIMH led to the development of a mature Clinical Research Center, one of three such centers in the nation. In 2002, the NIMH awarded a multi-million dollar grant to Dr. Alexopoulos to establish the Cornell Advanced Center for Interventions and Services Research for Geriatric Mood Disorders (ACISR). This ACISR offers a unique opportunity for residents to receive training from some of the most prominent investigators in the country. Integration of training, clinical care and advancement of knowledge has been central to the mission of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Recent developments have enriched the clinical environment in which the Geriatric Psychiatry residency is implemented. At the end of 1997, The New York Hospital merged with The Presbyterian Hospital, creating the ŌNew York-Presbyterian Hospital.Ķ (NYPH). The NYPH is a 2,237 bed academic medical center providing state of the art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: New York-Weill Cornell Medical Center, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Babies and ChildrenÕs Hospital, The Allen Pavilion, and the Westchester Division. The new entity is one of the largest and most comprehensive health care institutions in the world and remains committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NYPH and its Network serve nearly twenty-five percent of the patients in the New York metropolitan area. The NYPH is affiliated with Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Payne Whitney Westchester is a freestanding 257-bed psychiatric hospital located in White Plains, New York, approximately 25 miles north of Manhattan. The Geriatric Service, directed by Dr. Alexopoulos, consists of two geriatric inpatient units and a specialized outpatient service for older adults . The Geriatric Psychiatry Residency Program includes rotations at the inpatient and outpatient services of Payne Whitney Westchester in White Plains as well as at Amsterdam Nursing Home, Housecalls and Consultation-Liaison services at Payne Whitney Manhattan in New York City. Each of these settings offers the residents an opportunity to develop the expert skills in the clinical care of the elderly.
We expect that our program is uniquely equipped to develop future leaders in geriatric psychiatry who will assume major clinical, teaching and administrative responsibilities in community-based and academic institutions. Major assets of our program are:
- Its experience in offering a prestigious postgraduate Geriatric Psychiatry Residency for over 25 years;
- A large full-time academic faculty of seven geriatric psychiatrists, all of whom are ABPN certified in Geriatric Psychiatry and experienced in teaching;
- An NIMH-funded geriatric research fellowship, now in its 11th year, that provides opportunities for clinical and research training interactions;
- The large number of patients served by the Geriatric Division and the New York Presbyterian Hospital;
- The broad research activities conducted by members of the Geriatric Division, including more than 10 current federally funded research projects and an NIMH Advanced Center for Interventions and Services Research for Geriatric Mood Disorders.
- The major teaching contributions by the faculty of the Division of Medicine, the Neurology service and the Neuropsychology service.
- The affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian HospitalÕs four-year adult psychiatry residency training program and tion with Weill Cornell Medical SchoolÕs program, enabling our geriatric psychiatry residents teaching opportunities to the adult psychiatry residents and the medical students rotating at many of the geriatric psychiatry residency rotation sites.
