Dr. Kimberly C. Tarver has been named Division Director of Geriatrics. Dr. Tarver obtained her BS in Chemistry from Millsaps College and then completed medical school, internal medicine residency, and geriatrics fellowship at UMMC. She also completed additional training at The Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, California. Since 2019, she has served as the Director of Clinical Services for the MIND Center.

Dr. Tarver has served the department, institution, and community in numerous ways since joining faculty in 1998. She serves as an attending physician in the MIND clinic and on the geriatric medicine inpatient service and also provides telemedicine consultative services with the TeleMIND Center. She has spoken to training programs, physician groups, and community gatherings about varying geriatric topics, including dementia, suicide prevention in the elderly, and cognitive assessments.

She is currently serving as a caregiver leader and speaker for Caregiver University, an ongoing training program launched in 2020 by the MIND Center to aid family caregivers of loved ones with dementia. Dr. Tarver also serves as the Geriatrics expert for the UMMC lead team for Project ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in nursing homes in our region.

During the COVID pandemic, Dr. Tarver served as a departmental leader in the initial COVID-19 response and was instrumental in the areas of documentation, patient flow, and telehealth logistics.

Dr. Tarver follows in the footsteps of Dr. Mark Meeks, a leader in the department who has served as Division Director of Geriatrics for 28 years. A Professor of Medicine, Dr. Meeks has been essential to the growth of the Division of Geriatrics. Under his leadership, the division has grown in number and outreach and has created a fellowship program that has seen around 16 graduates. Dr. Meeks is highly revered within the medical center and beyond its walls into the surrounding community and state. He is described by patients and colleagues as a kind, generous, and respectful physician, leader, and friend. We thank Dr. Meeks for his commendable service to the institution and wish him well in retirement.