The
Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry was established
in October 1994. Its mission is to conduct research in
geriatric psychiatric disorders, to train clinicians and
investigators, and to provide specialized psychiatric
care to older adults.
Research
The
research arm of the Cornell Institute is the Intervention
Research Center for Geriatric Mood Disorders (IRC). The
IRC is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health
(PI: George S. Alexopoulos, M.D.). The IRC coordinates
a large number of studies seeking to clarify the mechanisms
of late-life mood disorders (depression and mania), to characterize
the course of these disorders, and to identify effective
pharmacological and psychosocial treatments.
Training
The
Cornell Institute offers training in Geriatric Psychiatry
to medical students, psychiatry residents and graduate students
of fields related to geriatric mood disorders. The Institute
has two fellowship training programs. The Clinical Fellowship
Program in Geriatric Psychiatry, operating since 1980, designed
to train psychiatrists in specialized clinical care to older
adults. The Research Fellowship Program has been funded
by the National Institute of Mental Health since 1990 to
provide research training to junior investigators in the
conduct of studies in geriatric mood disorders.
Clinical
Care
The
Cornell Institute is responsible for all geriatric clinical
services of the Department of Psychiatry. At the Westchester
Division in White Plains, the geriatric clinical services
consist of two acute geriatric psychiatry inpatient units,
a Partial Hospital Program, the Psychiatry Outpatient Practice
for Older Adults, and a nursing home consultation program.
In Manhattan, the Institute offers geriatric psychiatry services
as an integral part of the group practice of the Weill-Cornell
primary care physicians. These services are located at the
Cornell Internal Medicine Associates (CIMA, 505 E. 70th
& York Ave, NY, NY 10021; 212-746-2917), and The Irving
Sherwood Wright Center on Aging (1484-1486 First Ave, NY,
NY 10021; 212-746-7001)
