The South East Area Health Education Center is preparing to open a new geriatrics practice as part of its medical group practice known as University Physicians.

Dr. Mark Darrow, SEAHEC president/CEO, will be the first geriatrician in the practice. Darrow is one of the region’s few board-certified geriatricians. The specialty of geriatrics focuses on the delivery of health care to the general population over the age of 60.

“As we age, our medical needs change, our reactions to treatments vary and the possibilities of complications to all types of treatment are increased,” Darrow said. “With the aging of the U.S. population and the fact that the popularity of our area as a vacation destination and retirement community has increased, the demand for this medical specialty is clear.” 

Darrow said that University Physicians has delivered patient-
centered medical care for years via its Coastal Family Medicine Center, OB-GYN/women’s health, general surgery/minimally invasive surgery and reproductive endocrinology/infertility practices.

In addition to his role as president and CEO, geriatrician and internist, Darrow also serves as vice president for Graduate Medical Education at New Hanover Regional Medical Center; as adjunct professor of family medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Department of Family Medicine; and as clinical associate professor of internal medicine at UNC’s Department of Internal Medicine.

SEAHEC is a private, non-profit organization active in the Cape Fear region for more than 30 years.