Geriatric Education at the SFFMR

While two certified geriatricians and a geriatric nurse practitioner make up the core of the faculty teaching geriatrics, all faculty members participate in the care of elderly patients and the teaching of geriatrics. And, exemplifying the broad range of family medicine, the two faculty geriatricians continue to staff deliveries and otherwise participate in all facets of patient care at the residency.

Sioux Falls is the national headquarters of the nation's largest not-for-profit nursing home chain, the Good Samaritan Society. This lucky coincidence allows for resident physician training in the society's Sioux Falls nursing homes: Good Samaritan Center, Good Samaritan Luther Manor, and Good Samaritan Village. Faculty members are present for teaching in each of these homes one-half day per week. Other local nursing homes and assisted living facilities are also utilized as educational sites.

A close relationship with the South Dakota Department of Adult Services & Aging allows for involvement in adult neglect/abuse cases, making for some very interesting home visits. Adult Services & Aging social workers regularly complement the input of SFFMR full-time faculty.

Both sponsoring hospitals run state-of-the-art home care agencies and hospice programs, adding yet another facet to the geriatrics teaching program. A nurse from the Avera McKennan Home Care program is present each Friday at the end of noon conference to touch base and share concerns with resident and staff physicians regarding home care patients.

Last, but certainly not least, a resident's patient panel will include a variety of both "young-old" and "old-old" patients who are living independently in the community and seeking primary care at the Center for Family Medicine. These seniors have come to appreciate the thoughtful and personalized attention they receive from CFM medical, nursing, and office staff, and enjoy contributing to the education of the next generation of family physicians.

D. A. Brechtelsbauer MD, CAQ geriatrics, full time faculty physician
Fred Thanel MD, CAQ geriatrics, full time faculty physician
Cathy Miller FNP, certified geriatric nurse practitioner, full time faculty member.