Natalie A. Sanders, DO, FACP

Dr. Sanders is an Assistant Professor with the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Utah. She has primary and consultative patient care responsibilities, performs clinical research, and educates students and residents of all levels across several health care disciplines. Dr. Sanders completed her undergraduate medical education at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, CA. She subsequently graduated from the Internal Medicine Residency program from the University of Utah and was selected as a Chief Medical Resident. After practicing for three years as a General Internist with this same institution, Dr. Sanders formalized her training in a Geriatrics Fellowship.

Upon completing her fellowship, Dr. Sanders worked as the geriatrician team member of the University of Utah Faint and Fall Clinic. The first clinic of its kind, this multidisciplinary clinic focused on providing expedited, standardized, evidenced based evaluation and treatment to patients with these conditions. Three years after its opening, Dr. Sanders became the Medical Director of the clinic and expanded assessments to include formal frailty evaluations. In 2017, Dr. Sanders narrowed her practice to focus on caring for geriatric patients. Her current clinical practice is at the University of Utah Geriatrics Clinic where she follows a panel of geriatric primary care patients and continues to provide consultative care with a specific focus on faint, fall, and frailty syndromes. In addition to her outpatient practice, she is a physician team member of the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP). HELP is an international evidence based delirium prevention program, of which the University of Utah is a Center of Excellence. This program plays a key role in assisting the University of Utah to become nationally credited as an Age Friendly Health System. Dr. Sanders is recognized as an expert in faint, fall, and frailty syndromes as well as delirium prevention at her institution.

In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Sanders supervises medical students, residents, and geriatric fellows. She serves as the Associate Director for the ACGME approved Geriatric Fellowship. In this role, she mentors future geriatricians and works diligently to ensure the program is providing exceptional training in geriatrics.

Dr. Sanders’ research highlights different aspects of the geriatric syndromes of faint, fall, frailty and delirium and complements her clinical expertise. She is interested in the role decreased baroreceptor function seen with aging has in precipitating falls and how the information gained from a frailty assessment may predict patient outcomes and prognosis. In an effort to assure patient centered care, part of her work involves partnering with cardiovascular and surgical specialties to care for complex patients who are being considered for advanced medical or surgical interventions. As a physician team member of HELP, she also concentrates some of her research efforts on delirium prevention and improving this program at the University of Utah. Dr. Sanders’ passion and expertise in these areas enables her to effectively collaborate across departments within the University of Utah and the community at large to further understanding of these important geriatric syndromes.