Episode 2.3. Geriatrics Assessment Clinic

Dr. Ramon Blanco and Social Worker, Dominique Danquah, are part of the Geriatrics Assessment Clinic in Oakton, VA. The Geriatrics Assessment clinic allows older adults to stay with their primary care physician, and get a consultation for managing more complex healthcare issues related to aging.

The clinic provides:

• Outpatient consultation services – patients remain with their current primary care provider
• Identifies resources for older adults and their families to preserve independence, improve quality of life, cope with the challenges of daily life, and health maintenance
• Core staff include a geriatrician, geropsychiatric physician (Dr. Tuna Burgot), Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, and office staff
• Common reasons for evaluation include: memory loss, changes in the ability to take care of oneself (functional changes), anxiety, depression, medication management, driving ability concerns, falls, incontinence, advance care planning, and concerns about managing in the home environment

More information on Dr. Blanco and Dominique Danquah:

Dr. Ramon Blanco is a primary care physician board certified in family medicine and he completed his Geriatric Fellowship at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. He practices with Inova Primary Care – Oakton. Dr. Blanco became interested in primary care because he believes in preventive medicine and being the first point of contact with regard to his patients’ health. His goal is to help his patients stay healthy and reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations, while creating relationships with his patients and their families.

Ms. Dominique Danquah is a Clinical Social Worker as well as a Certified Senior Advisor. She joins Inova Health Systems with over four years of clinical experience. She has a special interest in caring for the Geriatric population and believes it is important to promote and provide ways for them to have the best quality of life.

Previously, Ms. Danquah served as a Clinical Social Worker for a Geriatric House calls Program in Richmond Virginia where she evaluated and assessed patients to ensure they received social support and the appropriate community resources to cope with end of life decisions.

Ms. Danquah became interested in the Geriatric Population because it provided an opportunity for her to become an advocate and a voice for the elderly. Furthermore, it gave her the chance to work on an interdisciplinary team to evaluate the medical and social needs of patients.

Her goal is to support her patients and families through grief and loss; whether it be loss of a loved one or loss of independence for a patient. Additionally, her goal is to assess homebound patients holistically while preventing re-hospitalization.