VCU Psychiatry Launches Geriatric Program Amid Global Aging Crisis

Dr. Antonia Swink Leads the way on VCU Psychiatry's Geriatric Program

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030 one in six people will be age 60 or older. That segment of the global population is expected to further double by 2050. Sometimes called the graying of America here in the US, every community must work to adapt to the increased proportion of elderly members.  

To improve the lives of older people, their families, and communities, the UN Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030) highlights four areas of focus. One of those areas is integrative care. VCU Psychiatry is embracing that challenge with the Geriatric Psychiatry Program spearheaded by Assistant Professor Dr. Antonia Swink.  

Recently recruited to VCU, Dr. Swink was educated at Howard University and Hunter College before pursuing her MD at St. George’s University. She performed her residency at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and completed the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai.  

Dr. Swink first became interested in Geriatric Psychiatry because of the love and value she holds for society’s elders. She saw a population that was vulnerable and in need of people who were trained specifically in geriatric psychiatry to provide more specific and higher quality care. 

She finds her work highly rewarding because of its challenges. When patients come in, they have years of life and so much history behind them, and often multiple medications and comorbidities onboard. It’s a delicate balance of care that can include the patient’s family as well.  

She says that people in this age group are experiencing so many changes in their lives: medical conditions popping up, retirements, changes in finances, changes in the dynamics of their home, friends and family that may be passing away.  “It’s really important to understand that this group of individuals have reached this point in their lives where there are multiple different physiological schemes and changes that are taking place that impact both physical and mental health. There are a lot more complications involved there, and so what we are committed to in geriatric psychiatry is having a comprehensive approach.”   

This comprehensive approach includes providing a combined psychotherapy and psychopharmacological strategy with the aim of expanding to incorporate a kaleidoscope of care. Such care could include case management and collaboration with dieticians, speech therapists, and occupational therapists to help collect data and promote whole body health. There could also be great opportunities to screen for sleep disorders, provide newer drugs through infusion, and build on research around TMS and agitation in Alzheimer’s.

From a research standpoint, the program also hopes to help fill a need. According to Dr. Swink, “There’s a huge gap where a lot of research studies are missing or scant when it comes to, does this work for the geriatric patient, do these criteria even apply in this age group?” 

With the high levels of demand expected, the region is going to need a very comprehensive but efficient scope of services banding together to meet the needs of the community. Currently the Geriatric Psychiatry program offers students and residents valuable experience honing their skills to help grow the number of providers with specialized training in treating this population. 

The dream is to expand into something that mirrors VCU’s wonderful program and scope of services for children and adolescents with psychiatric symptoms.  Building into something like that would be spectacular for patients who in Swink’s experience are so grateful to be heard and listened to. Grateful that they’re cared about and not discarded. 

All this might sound ambitious but as Dr. Swink puts it, she feels lucky to be with a tremendous group of colleagues at VCU where, “If there is a passion, if there is a vision, let it be known and it will be supported.” 

Just as we have lengthened the human life span, we must also ensure that longer lives are better lives. The Geriatric Psychiatry Program is committed to providing specialized psychiatric care within a comprehensive and integrative model aimed toward better aging.  This approach contributes value to not just VCU Health System but also the larger community. As they serve patients, train future providers, and advance the field, Dr. Swink and her colleagues help make life better for an ever-growing segment of the population.