Geriatrics Medicine
Overview
The Department of Geriatrics was established in the 1980s and is the earliest geriatrics department founded among municipal hospitals in Wuxi. After more than 30 years of development, it has been accredited as the National Elderly-Care Civilized Unit, Excellent Geriatric Nutrition Ward of Jiangsu Province, Key Clinical Specialty of Wuxi, and the chairman unit of Wuxi Geriatric Medical Specialty Alliance.
The department consists of inpatient wards, general geriatric outpatient clinics and veteran cadre outpatient clinics, with 56 inpatient beds. It has a medical team of 45 members in total, including 4 chief physicians, 3 associate chief physicians, 6 attending physicians, 1 resident physician and 28 professional geriatric nursing staff.
Treatment Scope
It mainly diagnoses and treats various systemic diseases in elderly patients, including acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute decompensation of chronic cardiac insufficiency, elderly hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hepatic insufficiency, renal insufficiency, dizziness, headache, chest tightness, chest pain, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, acid regurgitation and heartburn. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is routinely provided in outpatient services to evaluate patients' cognitive function and activities of daily living, as well as their risks of falls, sarcopenia, frailty and malnutrition. The elderly palliative care outpatient clinic offers consultation and supportive treatment for patients in end-stage diseases.
Technical advantages
The department routinely carries out core geriatric technologies such as comprehensive geriatric assessment and multidisciplinary team management. It specializes in the comprehensive clinical diagnosis, treatment and management of common, frequently-occurring and critical elderly illnesses, including geriatric syndromes (frailty, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, delirium, pain, constipation, incontinence and malnutrition), multiple comorbid chronic diseases, sarcopenia, cognitive dysfunction, osteoporosis, senile diabetes and senile hypertension. Elderly palliative care helps improve the quality of life of end-stage elderly patients, safeguard their dignity in life and reduce the care burden on their families.
Research achievements
The department undertakes teaching tasks including Physical Diagnostics and Doctor-Patient Communication for the School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, as well as General Practice for the School of Medicine, Nantong University. It has undertaken 5 municipal-level scientific research projects and published more than 10 high-quality academic papers. The team won the Group Special Prize in the 2023 Wuxi Elderly Competency Assessment and Health Management Skills Competition, and the Group First Prize together with individual Special Prize and Second Prize for physicians in the 2024 Wuxi Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Competition. Its physicians were awarded the Group Third Prize and individual Third Prize in the 2023 Jiangsu Elderly Competency Assessment and Health Management Skills Competition. The Puren Geriatric Health Lecture Hall was granted the First Prize for Excellent Cases of Elderly Health Services in Jiangsu Province in 2023.