The Department of Medicine’s Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics has been officially separated into two divisions, the Division of Geriatrics and the Division of General Internal Medicine, effective March 1, 2022.
“We have recognized the need to have distinct nationally recognized programs to provide the highest quality and most comprehensive patient-centered care. The Geriatrics program in Northwestern Medicine has a very strong national reputation, and has enjoyed that for many years. With the growth of the program in the critical domains of clinical activity, research and training, it is clear that Geriatrics deserves full Divisional status,” said Douglas Vaughan, MD, chair and the Irving S. Cutter Professor of Medicine and director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute.
Lee Lindquist, ’00 MD, ’05 MPH, MBA, ’03 GME, the George M. Eisenberg Research Professor of Geriatric Medicine and current section chief of Geriatric Medicine in the Department of Medicine, will lead as chief of the Division of Geriatrics.
Lindquist’s patient-centered research focuses on helping older adults age-in-place when they develop Alzheimer’s disease through home and community-based resources and supporting caregivers. She also provides clinical care for older adults in her geriatrics clinic is also the medical director of the Clare at Watertower in Chicago, a continuing care retirement community that encompasses independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care and long-term care.
“With the recent creation of both the NIH-funded Northwestern Pepper Center and the Potocsnak Longevity Institute, innovative geriatrics research and training has a solid home at Northwestern. I am extremely proud of our strong all-female faculty team of geriatricians, they are truly an amazing group of physicians,” Lindquist said.
Jeffrey A. Linder,’97 MD, MPH, the Michael A. Gertz Professor of Medicine, who has served as chief of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine, will continue his leadership as chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine.
A general internist and primary care clinician-investigator, Linder has expertise in electronic health records and clinical decision support, using behavioral science and social psychology to understand and change behavior, and appropriate care of ambulatory respiratory infections. Linder’s overarching goal is to improve primary care in the U.S., especially for older adults. He also co-leads Northwestern’s Claude D. Pepper Older Americans’ Independence Center along with Lindquist and Michael Wolf, PhD, ’02 MPH, the James R. Webster, Jr., Professor of Medicine and Associate Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine.
“Even before I came back to Northwestern five years ago, Dr. Lindquist and I discussed an independent Division of Geriatrics as a goal. Geriatrics has grown under Dr. Lindquist’s leadership, and it is time! I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Lindquist and all our Geriatrics colleagues to strengthen care for older adults at Northwestern and beyond,” Linder said.
