Geriatric Services

Geriatricians are doctors who specialize in the care of older adults. Part of the UAB Medicine Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, our geriatricians partner with patients, their families, and other health care experts to optimize the health, function, and quality of life for those age 65 and older. We take a comprehensive approach to providing the highest quality of care for this growing population, especially those who meet one or more of the following criteria and therefore are most likely to benefit from the care of a geriatrician:

• Four or more medical problems
• Taking seven or more medications regularly
• Changes in ability to drive, handle finances, live alone, or manage medications
• Decline in memory
• New problems such as confusion, falls, incontinence, weight loss, or depression
• Age 85 or older

Conditions treated include:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Balance problems
• Confusion
• Dementia
• Depression
• Difficulty walking
• Dizziness
• Falls
• Heart failure and other heart disease
• Hip fracture
• Osteoporosis
• Urinary and bowel incontinence
• Weight loss

Services provided include:

• General and specialized geriatric care clinics
• Heart care for older adults
• Incontinence evaluation, testing, and treatment
• Bladder and bowel control strategies
• Anorectal manometry
• Bladder ultrasound
• Urodynamic testing
• Behavioral therapy
• Biofeedback
• Fluid, fiber, and dietary management
• Percutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation
• Pessaries
• Medication management
• Osteoporosis screening and education

Services provided at Callahan Eye Hospital include:

• Cataract removal
• Laser cataract surgery
• Ophthalmology services
• Detached retina repair

The UAB Medicine Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care delivers world-class care to older adults and patients with advanced or life-threatening illnesses, as well as survivorship care and dignified end-of-life care. Our team of physicians, nurses, and scientists worked together to build one of the best programs of its kind in the nation, combining the latest technology with research-based medicine to offer the highest standard of care.

Our faculty members collaborate with other medical specialties and groups both inside and outside UAB Medicine, and many of our providers are active in cutting-edge research focused on mobility, incontinence, Alzheimer’s disease, nutrition, and other related areas. Because we are a major center for research trials, patients may have access to promising new therapies before they are available at other hospitals.

Our Continence Clinic at The Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital was the first to be named a Center of Excellence by the National Association for Continence. UAB Hospital-Highlands houses our Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit, a 25-bed unit specializing in geriatric patients, along with our Geriatrics Clinic and Geriatric Heart Failure Clinic. The UAB Hospital-Highlands Emergency Department is the first accredited Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department in the southeast.

Outpatient supportive care and palliative services are offered at The Kirklin Clinic and the 1917 Clinic at Dewberry. Our program is affiliated with the Birmingham VA Medical Center, and our faculty members provide services and medical education to its general medicine ward and outpatient clinic. For patients who desire a higher level of personalized care, or “concierge medicine”, our Camellia Medical Group offers 24/7 access to your physician, quicker appointment times, home visits, and much more, for an annual fee.

Care Providers

Sameera Davuluri, MD Family Medicine Andrew Duxbury, MD Geriatric Medicine Kathleen Fix, MD Geriatric Medicine Kellie Flood, MD Hospice and Palliative Care Marianthe Grammas, MD Geriatric Medicine Caroline Harada, MD Geriatric Medicine Preston Harrison, MD Geriatric Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Care John Holcombe, Jr., MD Hospice and Palliative Care Erum Jadoon-Khamash, MD Geriatric Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Care Gorman Jones, III, MD Internal Medicine Alayne Markland, DO Geriatric Medicine Eddie Mathews, Jr., MD Hospital Medicine Ashley Nichols, MD Hospice and Palliative Care Gabrielle Rocque, MD Medical Oncology Rodney Tucker, MD, MMM Hospice and Palliative Care Samina Uddin, MD Geriatric Medicine Jennifer Courtney, MD Hospice and Palliative Care Lyle Walton, MD Geriatric Medicine, Hospital Medicine Tiffany Lewis, MD Internal Medicine Walter Baehr, III, MD Neurology

Resources

• Center for Palliative and Supportive Care
• Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging
• Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care
• National Institutes of Health

Related Specialties

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Cataract Extraction
• Dementia
• Heart Failure
• Incontinence
• Laser Cataract Surgery
• Ophthalmology Services
• Osteoporosis
• Retinal Detachment Repair