The research forum of the faculty and staff of the division is vulnerable patients.  These include victims of elder mistreatment, elder victims of disaster and frail hospitalized elders.

Elder mistreatment

In 1997, in response to the high numbers of mistreated elders sent to the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), Dr. Carmel Dyer along with Adult Protective Services and HCHD staff, founded the Texas Elder Abstract Mistreatment facility or TEAM.  TEAM was the first state APS-hospital district-medical school collaboration in the US.  The TEAM approach has been used in the care of vulnerable elders.  TEAM researchers have received a number of federal grants including an NIH planning grant under the Roadmap Initiative. CREST, is the Consortium for Research in Elder Mistreatment of Texas.

Elderly Victims of Disaster

In 2005, there were a high number of older Katrina survivors evacuated to Houston.  Dr. Dyer, Ms. Beth Cloyd of the Harris County Hospital District, and Nancy Wilson of Care for Elders, in conjunction with other aging services providers; developed a tool that was used to triage vulnerable seniors out of the Astrodome shelter to more appropriate housing.  This term called Seniors Without Families Triage or SWIFT, was designed to quickly assess the special needs of elderly evacuees.  The AMA & AARP sponsored the SWIFT Team members to develop a best practices guide. 

• Dr. Dyer's testimony after Hurricane Katrina

Frailty in Hospitalized Elders

Faculty and staff have become the study of a number of topics that impact frail hospitalized patients.  These include, the benefits of nursing run hospital programs for the elderly, the outcomes of ACE unit stays, and pain control in the elderly.

 

Dr. Dyer's Publications List