Get to Know Linda DeCherrie, MD

Board Director
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dr. DeCherrie is the clinical director of Mount Sinai at Home, the home-based service line at Mount Sinai Health System. The service line includes the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program (home-based primary and palliative care), Hospitalization at Home, Rehabilitation at Home, Mount Sinai Palliative Care at Home, Pediatric Visiting Doctors, and Complex Care. Dr. DeCherrie is a professor in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

She studied at the University of Chicago for both undergraduate and medical school and completed her internal medicine residency at Boston University. Dr. DeCherrie completed her fellowship in geriatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her interests include resident education in geriatrics and home care as well as systems and policy implications for home-based care of all types.


What attracted you to the field of home care medicine?

I had been interested in geriatrics initially particularly around ethical issues and end of life care. Home care medicine attracted me because of the strong emphasis on providing comprehensive care, working in an interdisciplinary team. I also loved patient stories and learning about their lives and in the home you can do that even more fully.

How has working in this field impacted your practice? What keeps you in the field?

I was fortunate as Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors was already established and working well when I started. I was personally attracted to being able to teach residents/students/fellows while practicing medicine –exposing them to care they usually have never seen before. What keeps me in the field is that it is the right thing to do for patients.

Why AAHCM? What drives your involvement?

Even though Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors is a large group, I find it helpful to learn from other practices. AAHCM offers excellent opportunities including Frontiers, the on-line forums and of course the education and networking at the Annual Meeting. With my interest in policy and advocacy, I understand that these efforts require a larger group than just my own practice to drive change.

How did you start? What advice can you offer to a person considering volunteering with AAHCM?

There are a variety of opportunities – follow your passion! I started on the education committee as I love training. With my strong interest in public policy, that lead me into that area. The AAHCM offers me an opportunity to work with others to shape the payment change we want for homecare medicine.

To learn more about getting involved with the AAHCM, please email us at [email protected].