Edgar Pierluissi, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF and the Medical Director of the Acute Care for Elders Unit at the San Francisco General Hospital.
Dr. Pierluissi has cared for vulnerable populations his entire career and is also committed to healthcare quality improvement. He merged these interests as the founding Medical Director of the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit at the San Francisco General Hospital. The SFGH adopted the ACE model of care to meet the needs of a growing older population in San Francisco. Since opening in February, 2007, the ACE unit provides comprehensive, patient-centered, culturally competent care 500 patients each year.
Dr. Pierluissi received his MD from Harvard Medical School and completed training in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a fellowship in Quality Improvement through the Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Fellowship. After training he worked for the County of San Mateo as a staff physician, as the medical director of the North County Health Center, and as VP for Quality Improvement. He joined the faculty of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics in 2006.
Clinical Activities
Dr. Pierluissi's clinical activities are based at the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). He works as part of an interprofessional ACE team delivering care to hospitalized older adults. He also attends on the Medicine service at the SFGH.
The goal of the ACE team is to provide the best care for hospitalized older adults by listening to patients to understand their health care goals, working with patients and other members of the ACE team to maintain physical and cognitive function, and engaging community resources to craft a plan for after-hospital care that meets patients’ needs. Each member of the ACE team meets with patients and, as a team, develops an individualized, patient-centered care plan.
The ACE approach results in a non-traditional hospitalization experience: we favor a nonpharmacologic approach to treating difficulty sleeping, confusion, or disruptive behaviors; patients dine together, are encouraged to get out of bed for their meals, and walk regularly. Special attention is paid to proper medication prescribing and enhancing nutrition. The ACE unit has hosted visitors from throughout country interested in this model of care.
