Healthcare
The work of Wesley Woods is shaped by the needs of older adults. From our original focus on retirement communities, our scope has grown to embrace the full array of age-related health and quality of life issues. The Wesley Woods continuum of care approach is comprehensive, holistic and—above all—compassionate. We address aging in its physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions.
Wesley Woods is a Leader in Geriatric Medicine
In the past five years, 145,000 older adults have received treatment from Wesley Woods. Most are referred by their own health care providers who recognize that a case requires the special geriatric expertise for which Wesley Woods is well known.
Wesley Woods Geriatric Hospital
Our 100-bed inpatient hospital has no counterpart in the country that specializes exclusively in acute conditions related to aging.
Neurophychiatric and Psychiatric
Approximately half of Hospital admissions are for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia and other psychiatric disorders. No other hospital in Georgia equals our caseload for these conditions. Patients with cognitive impairments such as memory loss and behavior abnormalities are assessed and referred with a plan of care to a Wesley Woods outpatient program or other treatment site.
Medical Acute Care
Our 16-bed medical acute care unit treats patients with such conditions as pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, urinary tract infection and dehydration, among others.
Acute Rehabilitation
We provide intense rehab services for physically disabling events such as hip fracture, amputation and stroke.
ECT
The Wesley Woods Center is nationally known for landmark results in the use of advanced electro-convulsive therapy for depression, a significant health problem of older adults. Modern ECT is both humane and highly effective in many cases that are not helped by medication or other treatment options. ECT is administered on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.
Specialty Clinics and Programs
Recognizing that health problems in older adults have aspects that are different from the general population, we provide elderly-specific outpatient services in the following medical areas:
- Cardiology
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- Gastroendocrinology
- Geriatric Primary Care
- Neurology
- Palliative care
- Physical Therapy
- Podiatry
- Psychiatry
- Sleep Disorders
- Speech Therapy
- Wound Therapy
Wesley Woods is a Leader in Geriatric Research
In addition to the aforementioned topics, Wesley Woods is focusing on improving function and quality of life among cognitively impaired frail nursing home residents, urinary incontinence and nocturia, sleep disorders, fall and injury prevention, and androgen therapy in older men.
Center of Excellence for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases
Two of the most feared conditions that affect mainly the elderly, these illnesses are the subject of leading-edge treatment and research through the efforts of Wesley Woods. In 2005 the Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center was established, and potentially breakthrough work is underway in early identification and treatment of Alzheimer's. Clinical and research efforts on Parkinson's have led to an initiative to develop a Comprehensive Parkinson's Disease Center, building on existing programs that are regarded as among the best in the world for this disease.
Fuqua Center for Late-life Depression
The Fuqua Center provides assessment and treatment for elderly individuals suffering from depression and anxiety. Treatment resources include medication, individual and group therapy, ECT, community clinics serving retirement and assisted living facilities, and extensive professional and community education and research programs in older adult depression. Telemedicine services provide psychiatric treatment to patients and practitioners at a distance from the Center.
Among the research fields in which Wesley Woods is focused are: improving function and quality of life among cognitively impaired frail nursing home residents; urinary incontinence and nocturia; sleep disorders; fall and injury prevention; androgen therapy in older men.
Wesley Woods is a Leader in Long-term Care
Budd Terrace is our residential skilled nursing care facility with levels of service for patients with dementia as well as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients. Maintaining close ties to the medical and research facilities of Wesley Woods, Budd Terrace is an integral part of our forward thinking to advance health and quality of life for older adults, including the most frail, in a holistic way.
Across North Georgia, we operate nine comfortable residences that emphasize wellness, socialization, education and personal fulfillment for our residents. Several residences have levels of care that allow residents to "transition in place" as their needs change.
The economic state of our residents ranges from unit ownership at Wesley Mountain Village to an average monthly income at Branan Towers of barely more than $600. In five of our homes, more than half of residents live in HUD-subsidized units, and in three homes the subsidy rate is virtually 100 percent.