Steven Huege, M.D., MSEd, Appointed The Swank Foundation Endowed Chair in Memory Care and Geriatrics

Steven Huege, M.D., MSEd, has been named The Swank Foundation Endowed Chair in Memory Care and Geriatrics at ChristianaCare. The chair is made possible by a $2.5 million gift from the Swank Foundation which is dedicated to transforming care for people with memory issues.

“Dr. Huege is a leader in geriatric psychiatry who has committed his career to expert, compassionate care for individuals with memory care disorders and advancing the field of geriatrics,” said Bradley Sandella, D.O., clinical director of medical subspecialties.

“His stewardship will strengthen the Swank Center for Memory Care and Geriatric Consultation in its support of the growing number of people who are coping with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders and those who love them.”

Huege will lead ChristianaCare’s Swank Center for Memory Care and Geriatric Consultation, a unique resource in Delaware and the region for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders, founded in 2011 with a $1.25 million grant from the Howard W. Swank, Alma K. Swank and Richard Kemper Swank Foundation.

At the Swank Memory Care Center, a team that includes geriatricians, nurses, social workers and others works with patients and families to provide support, education and guidance from diagnosis through treatment.

The need for expert memory care has never been greater. The number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to top 82 million in 2050 — an increase of 47% from 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means millions more Americans will likely need access to memory disorder treatment and resources in the coming decades.

Huege joins ChristianaCare from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, most recently as clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry. His administrative appointments included interim associate vice chair of continuing medical education.

At UC San Diego, Huege was also program director for the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program, director of wellness for graduate medical education, and chair of the Health Physician Well-being Committee. He served as a staff psychiatrist in the Department of Behavioral Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego, California.

Huege earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, completed his residency in psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and took his clinical fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in medical education from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. He is board certified in psychiatry with added qualifications in geriatric psychiatry.

His research has focused on long-term care for people with memory disorders and the education of medical professionals about memory care and geriatric mental health.

Among his many honors, in 2022 Huege was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and is its secretary/treasurer-elect.