Mindy Fain, Leader in Advancing Health Care for Older Adults

Mindy Fain, Leader in Advancing Health Care for Older Adults

By Jane EriksonUA College of Medicine - Tucson
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Dr. Mindy Fain
Dr. Mindy Fain
Dr. Fain discusses the care of an older patient in the ambulatory clinic with resident-physician Dr. Nathan Copeland.
Dr. Fain discusses the care of an older patient in the ambulatory clinic with resident-physician Dr. Nathan Copeland.

When Dr. Mindy Fain and her husband, infectious disease specialist Dr. Richard Mandel, moved to Tucson from Boston in 1984, Fain signed on for a year with a local HMO before accepting a UA Department of Medicine position with the Veterans Administration Hospital, now part of the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System.

Her job was to provide home-based primary care – house calls – to elders.

"I rapidly fell in love with geriatrics," Fain said.

In 1986, Fain joined the UA College of Medicine faculty. Today she is a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine in the UA Department of Medicine. She is co-director of the UA Center on Aging and the Arizona Geriatric Education Center. She also is the Arizona Health Sciences Center's executive director of practice innovation, working with the faculty of the colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health to develop new ways to provide high-quality care at lower costs. In addition, she was appointed to the Health Disparities Advisory Council, one of four councils formed by Dr. Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, UA senior vice president for health sciences, to advance areas of excellence in health sciences research.

Fain says her positions are "pretty seamless."

"The synergies between geriatrics and palliative care and the Center on Aging and the other programs are what make it so exciting."

A widely recognized leader in gerontology, Fain's many responsibilities with the UA College of Medicine attest to her achievements in advancing health care for older adults.

"Mindy Fain truly is one of our superstars," said Dr. Steve Goldschmid, associate vice president for clinical affairs at the Arizona Health Sciences Center, who previously served as dean of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. "Her creative vision, her clinical skills and her commitment to improving geriatric care at all levels are recognized by her colleagues here and across the country."

Earlier this year Fain was honored with the UA College of Medicine – Tucson's Anne and Alden Hart Endowed Chair in Medicine.

The endowed chair was made possible by a gift of real estate to the UA by Anne Hart in memory of her husband, who died in 1967, the year the UA College of Medicine admitted its first students. Alden Hart began working in the telephone industry in 1906 and worked his way up until 1940, when he became president of Kansas-based United Utilities. That company evolved into United Telecommunications and, in the 1980s, became Sprint. Alden Hart retired in 1958 and the couple moved to Tucson in 1959. Before her passing, Anne Hart made the gift, specifying that it be used to benefit the College of Medicine.

Fain said she is humbled and delighted by this most recent honor.

"It shows such wonderful support for the work I do. And it's not what I do, it's what we do – because I am fortunate to work with so many people who are so outstanding in their work. It also means a lot to me because my career has not been traditional."

She says she is especially is grateful to Dr. Jack Boyer, who was division chief in geriatrics when she arrived at the UA.

"He is one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met, and he’s been a mentor to me for 20 years," Fain said. "He's just as wise as you get, and I know I wouldn't be anywhere near able to do what I do now if it weren’t for Jack and his guidance."

Fain is working with an interdisciplinary team to establish a senior emergency room at the UA Medical Center – South Campus to provide care that is sensitive to the unique needs of older adults. Seniors would be cared for by physicians and staff who are specially trained to understand all aspects of common senior conditions and medical needs, and to provide the best possible care for elderly patients in an environment that optimizes their comfort and safety, and lowers their chance of readmission.

Fain also is principal investigator on a $1 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to train Arizona physicians who are not geriatricians to provide the best care for older adults. The UA Health Network has matched the grant with $300,000. It follows a $1.9 million Reynolds grant to the Arizona Center on Aging in 2006.

"So those are my hats," said Fain. "That's what I do. And I like it."

Reading Fain's story may lead one to wonder if she ever finds time to relax.

"I have dinner with my family, two to three times a week," she says. She and her husband have three grown children who left Tucson, then came back, along with two grandchildren. Fain's 100-year-old mother lives with Fain and her husband.

"I love my family and I love the work I do," Fain said. "I hike. I babysit my wonderful grandchildren. I take care of myself. I was up last night writing a chapter until midnight, and I was up at 5:30 this morning and walked three miles with my dear friend. And I'm happy."

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