For this issue’s Partner and Community Spotlight, we spoke with Dr. Andrew Collins, a resident geriatric fellow at the Deaconess Primary Care for Seniors at North Park.
Dr. Collins graduated from the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2018 and recently finished his fellowship at Deaconess.
Dr. Collins states that his interest in geriatrics arose during his childhood. He says that he always had a love and respect for older adults, most likely due to his proximity to his grandparents. His grandparents lived across the street from him, and he began to aid in caring for his grandfather at a young age. Dr. Collins cites this occurrence as the catalyst for his decision to specialize in geriatrics – he wanted to help others with similar experiences to learn about the resources that are available to them in order to provide better care.
During his residency, Dr. Collins first heard about the GWEP’s inception. He was then asked to work with the GWEP on a couple projects, including a research project concerning referrals. He also participated in the GWEP’s Interprofessional Geriatrics Assessment Clinic (IGAC), a role he has continued to assume throughout his time as a Fellow.
Dr. Collins specializes in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. He states that approximately 50% of people over 80 years of age develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, a staggering number when compared to the amount of geriatrics specialists in the country, which is estimated to be around 7,600. This low number of geriatricians means that more education in geriatrics is necessary to make sure every patient receives quality care. Such education must be implemented across a variety of healthcare professions, such as in interprofessional clinics similar to the GWEP’s IGAC.
When asked what innovations he has seen during his interactions with the GWEP, Dr. Collins pointed to the blending of SWIRCA & More and Deaconess to help patients, particularly introducing patients to the local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) in order to learn about local resources available to the patients. AAAs are agencies that aid older adults to live independently using a variety of resources available to them, such as Meals on Wheels, cleaning services, and other such tools. Dr. Collins also mentioned the innovations he will used in his future practice, including how to be a better educator to healthcare providers, continuing his research into community health resources, and how to interact and refer patients to their local AAA.
