The Department of Geriatrics of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Xiamen University was established in 1995. In the same year, the Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation was founded. It is the earliest independent geriatric specialty in the city. The department has won the Xiamen Science and Technology Progress Award six times and is a key discipline in Xiamen's planned medicine. Since its establishment, following a "six - in - one" development model integrating clinical practice, teaching, scientific research, preventive healthcare, rehabilitation, and medical care with elderly care, after 30 years of construction and development, it has been built into a geriatric medicine specialty with strong comprehensive strength and distinct specialty characteristics. Great achievements have been made in hardware facility construction, teaching, scientific research, international academic exchanges, and talent echelon cultivation.
This specialty integrates medical treatment, teaching, and research, with strong technical capabilities. There are currently more than 30 medical staff, including 7 chief physicians, 2 associate senior - level doctors, and 7 attending physicians. Among the doctors, 1 has a doctoral degree and 12 have master's degrees. Many of them have overseas study experience. After more than 30 years of in - depth development in the specialized field, the Department of Geriatrics has reached a leading position in the province. It has the largest patient group, is the only institution in the city with an Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation, and has achieved significant results in the field of geriatric research. As one of the first - batch national cooperative units for osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment technology, and the first - batch and the only qualified DXA quality - control certification unit for bone density measurement in the province, our department has reached an advanced level at home and abroad in the field of osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment. In recent years, as an important development branch of geriatric medicine, palliative care for the elderly, our department has become one of the first - batch and the only vice - director unit of the palliative care specialty alliance in Xiamen City, Fujian Province. In 2024, the Department of Geriatrics was awarded the title of Geriatric Nutrition Demonstration Ward, which was also the first of its kind established in Xiamen.
The geriatric ward is located on the 18th floor of Building 3 in the general hospital area on Hubin South Road. Currently, 44 beds are available, and more than 1,000 patients are discharged from the hospital each year. The geriatric ward has been renovated to be age - friendly. The ward area has high lighting, wide bed spacing, and anti - fall devices such as handrails in the toilet, washing area, and corridor. Many measures to care for elderly patients are provided, such as convenience service boxes. Anti - fall facilities for the elderly, such as crutches, wheelchairs, and walking aids, are also provided to create a comfortable ward environment for patients.
The geriatric outpatient department is on the 2nd floor of Building 7 in the headquarters area. The annual outpatient volume is more than 60,000 person - times, the annual number of osteoporosis examinations is more than 2,000 person - times, and the annual number of comprehensive geriatric assessments is more than 300 person - times. The outpatient department of the Department of Geriatrics has 4 consulting rooms, offering special - needs outpatient services, geriatric expert outpatient services, geriatric special - disease outpatient services, and general outpatient services to meet the medical needs of different groups and optimize the medical treatment process. Among them, the special - disease outpatient service is the focus and feature of the outpatient department construction. Currently, there are 5 special - disease outpatient clinics, including osteoporosis, arteriosclerosis, vertigo, senile dementia, and geriatric syndrome outpatient clinics. The consulting experts have rich clinical experience and can diagnose and treat various critically ill, difficult, and complicated cases in the Department of Geriatrics, quickly diagnosing and relieving patients' pain.
Our department has established an arteriosclerosis detection room, a video nystagmogram room, an examination room equipped with an advanced American research - type direct digital dual - energy X - ray bone densitometer (DXA), a psychological assessment room, a comprehensive geriatric assessment room, and an elderly activity center. A psychological assessment team and a comprehensive geriatric assessment team have been established. Through physical function assessment, cognitive function assessment, psychological and behavioral assessment, nutritional health assessment, environmental assessment, socioeconomic assessment, risk assessment and management, and various neurological function scale assessments of the elderly population, the content of comprehensive geriatric assessment has been further enriched, providing comprehensive information for patients and doctors. This is conducive to doctors, nurses, and family members formulating appropriate care plans to extend the lives of the elderly and improve their quality of life. The department's geriatric science popularization team conducts science popularization education in the department every week, provides science popularization guidance in the community every month, and conducts science popularization guidance on the management and care of geriatric chronic diseases in senior universities, elderly care institutions, and even in patients' homes irregularly.
The screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow - up management of geriatric chronic diseases are the areas that the Department of Geriatrics has been focusing on for a long time. In 2021, our department took the lead in screening the risk of osteoporotic fractures among residents in the province, establishing a complete screening system, hospital - community - based hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, fracture liaison groups, the improvement and mature application of the geriatric chronic disease follow - up system, carrying out a series of science popularization and education activities, and establishing the first osteoporosis screening database. This system has greatly increased the diagnosis rate of osteoporosis, reduced the fracture rate among the elderly, improved the quality of life of the elderly, and reduced government spending on osteoporotic fractures. Currently, our department treats the largest number of osteoporosis patients in the city each year, and its diagnosis and treatment technology has reached an advanced level in China.
The establishment of the Geriatric Nutrition Demonstration Ward was the first in the city. Malnutrition is a common geriatric syndrome among elderly patients, with a very high incidence rate among elderly in - patients. The nutritional status of elderly in - patients is closely related to clinical outcomes. Malnutrition can lead to prolonged hospital stays, increased postoperative complications, functional dependence, increased infections, and higher mortality rates. Our department has been committed to building a Geriatric Nutrition Demonstration Ward for a long time. We conduct rapid and simple screenings and nutritional assessments for elderly in - patients, standardize nutritional interventions for elderly patients with nutritional problems, regularly provide nutritional education to patients, and improve their awareness and attention to nutritional interventions. Nutritional treatment is an important part of clinical practice. The establishment of the Geriatric Nutrition Demonstration Ward has brought a better quality of life to more patients, further reducing the morbidity and mortality rates caused by nutritional problems.
The Department of Geriatrics of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Xiamen University is an excellent case of a health - promoting hospital. Our department regularly opens health education lecture halls and special health education lectures to the public, conducts regular free medical consultations in the hospital, community, and rural areas, establishes a senior health club and holds a series of activities, creates a WeChat group for communication between elderly patients and doctors, provides extended nursing services, and establishes a linkage mechanism with multiple nursing homes to provide a green channel for the integration of medical care and elderly care. Guided by meeting the health needs of the people, leveraging the professional position and advantages to promote health as the starting point, and supported by a sound long - term mechanism for health - promotion management, we focus on creating a healthy supportive environment and advocating a healthy lifestyle. All the medical staff in our department have been putting this into practice.
The teaching and research group of the Department of Geriatrics is an important force in the education of undergraduate students majoring in geriatric medicine. The teachers are all experts with senior professional titles. They are responsible for the teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students from the School of Medicine of Xiamen University and Fujian Medical University. All the teachers in the teaching and research group of the Department of Geriatrics patiently impart knowledge to standardized training doctors and interns, combining theory with practice, emphasizing the improvement of clinical skills, and regularly organizing large - scale discussions on difficult and complicated cases. In recent years, undergraduate elective courses such as "Geriatric Medicine" and "Cutting - Edge Disciplinary Knowledge" have been offered at Xiamen University, which have been highly praised and recognized by teachers and students.
In the nearly 30 years since its establishment, with the care and support of the hospital leaders and the selfless cooperation of relevant departments in the hospital, the Department of Geriatrics of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Xiamen University has achieved great success. The diagnosis rate of various difficult and complicated diseases, the rescue success rate of critically ill patients, and the clinical cure rate and improvement rate of common and frequently - occurring diseases have gradually increased. In particular, our department has rich clinical experience in the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of geriatric diseases. The professional nursing team of the Department of Geriatrics has many members who have further studied as senior nutritionists, senior caregivers, and caregiver assessors. They have a high level of nursing skills and technical operations for common and frequently - occurring geriatric diseases, providing efficient, convenient, fast, human - centered, high - quality, seamless, and whole - process nursing services.
The Department of Geriatrics serves the elderly population both inside and outside the island of Xiamen, and even in the southwestern Fujian region. It not only undertakes the prevention, healthcare, and diagnosis and treatment of diseases among the elderly, but also conducts community free medical consultations and health lectures on themes such as "International Osteoporosis Day" and "Chongyang Festival". It also conducts training and continuing education for medical and nursing staff in the field of geriatric diseases within the city, and has held many academic conferences and forums related to geriatric diseases, having a certain influence in Xiamen and the southwestern Fujian region and obtaining good social benefits. Against the backdrop of building an elderly - friendly society, the Department of Geriatrics will further improve its geriatric - specific service level, spread the concept of healthy aging, and safeguard the health of the elderly. The Department of Geriatrics will provide high - quality and excellent medical services with a high sense of responsibility and full enthusiasm. We welcome new and old patients to our hospital for medical treatment.
