Guided Care Program - a Form of Geriatrics

Chad Boult M.D., M.Ph., M.B.A/professor & director, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health "How often do you see your children?" Doctor Chad Boult loves spending time with older patients � finding out what�s really going on in their lives. Chad Boult M.D., M.Ph., M.B.A/professor & director, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health: "I took a fellowship in geriatrics and realized how enormously helpful we can be to these people and how much they appreciate it and then you realize that it is very rewarding and it can make for a very satisfying career". Unfortunately there are too few doctors like Chad Boult. Less than 90 percent of medical students take a course in geriatrics. Chad Boult M.D., M.Ph., M.B.A/professor & director, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health: "Geriatrics is not just medical care for older adults. It�s special. In each case there�s a unique aspect of care for the older person with challenges not faced by younger people typically. So it requires specialized services and systems." Kathleen Trevor Grieves working with patient To help bridge the gap between older patients and their doctors, Boult developed the guided care program. It relies on specially trained nurses to work with geriatric patients and their doctors. Kathleen Trevor Grieves, R.N., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: "I love working with the geriatric population for several different reasons, and one is because of the needs that they have that are not found else where." With nearly 8,000 boomers turning 60 every day, there�s a looming crisis on the horizon in the area of geriatric care. Lisa Yagoda/AARP Health and Supportive Services: "We need to look at how we meet the needs of the aging population differently than we looked at it before. here needs to be a paradigm shift in how the system delivers care and services to older adults." The guided care program might be the first step in changing the way our current health care system works for older Americans.