Geriatric Psychiatry Outreach (GO) Program

Kate Mills Snider Geriatric Psychiatry Outreach (GO) Program

The GO Program is a collaborative outreach service that brings mental health care to seniors who need it at home. GO Team members, under the directorship of Dr. Burton Reifler, are physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers and other health care professionals specializing in Geriatric Mental Health. In addition to clinical service, the GO Program assists patients and their families in accessing the many community resources available to our elderly population.

The GO Team is able to bring Mental Health Services to homebound elders thanks to a generous gift from the Snider Family in honor of Kate Mills Snider, after whom it is named. For eligibility and other information, Cathy Wilson, Program Coordinator, can be reached at 336-716-0690.

GO Program Faculty and Staff

Burton Reifler, MD Director, GO Program	Karen Beard Byrd RN, MSN, GNP-C Nurse Practitioner	Cathy Wilson, LCSW, MSW GO Program Coordinator

AAGP to Award $10,000 to Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Services Program

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) has created a new AAGP Deirdre Johnston Award for Excellence and Innovation in Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Services to encourage programs to provide and/or expand services for meeting the mental health needs of the frail elderly in their homes. The association will grant $10,000 to a program based on its excellence and/or innovation in providing mental health services to older adults in the community.

This annual award is made possible by a generous gift from Arnold H. Snider to the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation, which with the association oversees the award. This award is named in honor of geriatric psychiatrist Deirdre Johnston, MBChB, MRCPsych, in gratitude for the care she provided to Kate Mills Snider, Mr. Snider’s mother. Mr. Snider and his wife, Katherine, have endowed the Kate Mills Snider Geropsychiatry Outreach Program and Professorship Fund within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. View press release . 

 

Community Collaborators 

The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem

Senior Services, Inc.

Alzheimer’s Association

Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments, Area Agency on Aging

Forsyth County Dept. of Social Services, Adult Services Division

The Elder Law Clinic

Further Reading

A New Home-Based Mental Health Program for Older Adults: Description of the First 100 Cases (.pdf)