Welcome to SGIM Hartford Foundation Collaborative Centers

The SGIM-Hartford Foundation Collaborative Centers for Research and Education in the Care of Older Adults is a program to develop and promote a collaboration of academic programs in General Internal Medicine (GIM) and Geriatrics in three important domains: education, research, and division culture.

The education domain of the program is sectioned into three tiers. The first tier involves GIM faculty, designated as Geriatrics “champions” and are mentored by Geriatrics faculty so that they will learn to integrate the care of older patients into clinical teaching. At the second tier, GIM faculty will complete coursework for a certificate in medical education with a focus on Geriatrics. Faculty in the third tier will achieve a Master's degree in Medical Education with an area of concentration in Geriatrics. These individuals will become the star medical educators who will integrate geriatrics into program development and education research.

The research domain will prepare general internists for careers as physician investigators dedicated to advancing the health care of older patients. Individuals involved in the research domain will go through the Clinical Research Training Program which teaches the trainees the skills necessary to design and conduct high quality clinical research.

The third domain, the two divisions explore the cultural differences of general medicine and geriatrics through a series of joint educational activities and roundtable discussions. Since both specialties take care of older adults yet have different approaches, the program aims to better ascertain generalists' educational needs for providing the best care for older patients. At the same time, the program facilitates geriatricians as consultants to the internists in the care of these patients.

This joint program is funded by a grant from the Society for General Internal Medicine and the Hartford Foundation with additional support provided by the Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine.