James T. Birch, MD, MSPH

Landon Center on Aging-Assistant Professor
Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine
Residency: Family Medicine, Howard University Hospital
Fellowship: Geriatric Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia

Dr. Birch is a native of the Kansas City area, being born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas.  After graduating from Wyandotte High School, he completed undergraduate work at the University of Kansas, Lawrence receiving a BA in Biology.  Following residency training, he completed a National Health Service Corps service obligation at Swope Parkway Comprehensive Health Center in Kansas City, MO.  He subsequently moved to the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area of southeast Virginia where his career spanned almost 16 years.  He was in private practice initially for several years then transitioned to becoming a hospitalist.  Dr. Birch completed the fellowship in Geriatric Medicine in 2006 at which time he also received the Master of Science in Public Health degree.  After providing a brief interval of service as a faculty member of the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics, he joined the KU Family Medicine faculty in July 2007.  Dr. Birch facilitates education of Family Medicine and Geriatric Medicine for KU residents and medical students.  He is currently the Associate Director of the Geriatric Medicine Clerkship (AMED 900) for third year medical students, a faculty mentor for the Major Society, and facilitates geriatric education for fellows, faculty scholars, and allied health care professionals through varying curricula at the Landon Center on Aging.

Publications

• Birch, J.T., Jr.; Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy; Long Term Links, Vol. 15, No. 1: Spring 2005.
• Birch, J.T., Jr., (Clinical Commentary): Who Should Receive Vertebroplasty? J Fam Prac, Volume 55, Issue 7; July 2006.
• Birch, J.T., Jr., Bhattacharya, S.; Emerging Trends in Diagnosis and Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, pp. 779-92; Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, Volume 37, Issue 4, Pages 779-792, December 2010.
• Birch, J.T., Jr., Leo, B., Swagerty, D.; Perioperative Care of the Older Adult, Chap. 21:pp. 283-97; Case-Based Geriatrics: A Global Approach, First Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Presentations

• 15th Annual Frail Elderly Conference, August 26-27, 2005, Columbia, MO, Tube Feeding in the Elderly.

Posters

• Use of Drug Interaction Software for Estimating Drug-Drug Interactions as a Cause of Hospital Readmission in the Elderly, North American Primary Care Research Group, Tucson, AZ, October 2006.
• Sub-internship Screening Project for Older Inpatients; a Kansas Reynolds Project for 4th Year Medical Students, S.K. Rigler, J. Birch, American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting, May 2010, Orlando, Florida. Abstract in JAGS, Vol 58, Issue Supplement; pg. S155.

Honors/Awards

• Black Man of Distinction 2010, Yates Organization, Kansas City, KS.