Dr. Arun S. Rao is a fellowship trained geriatrician with extensive experience and a deep passion for caring for older adults. Originally from New Jersey, he obtained his undergraduate degree from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He then returned to New Jersey for his medical school education at Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and The Medical Center of Princeton. Dr. Rao then returned to The University of Michigan Medical Center to complete a 2-year academic and clinical fellowship in geriatric medicine, with a research focus on infections in long-term care facilities.
After his training, Dr. Rao joined the faculty in the Division of Geriatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City where he practiced geriatrics in a variety of clinical venues- ambulatory care, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and as an Attending Physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital. While at Cornell, Dr. Rao also practiced and directed a House Call practice focused on homebound frail older adults. During his tenure at Cornell, Dr. Rao was also actively involved in the education and teaching of medical students, residents, geriatric medicine fellows, and a variety of students in other disciplines. He also pursued research in ethnicity, aging, and end-of-life care, successfully publishing several articles and presenting at national society meetings on this topic.
Following this, Dr. Rao held the position of Chief of the Division of Geriatrics at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ where he was part of the geriatrics ambulatory care practice, inpatient consultation team, and local skilled nursing and long-term care facility practices. He also continued teaching medical students and residents along with the overseeing the growing Division’s providers and vision.
Dr. Rao was then able to pursue an opportunity as the Medical Director of LIFE St. Mary, a PACE site (Program for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly) affiliated with Trinity Health and St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, PA. Subsequently, he served as the Medical Director of Seabrook Village, an Erickson Living continuing-care retirement community in Tinton Falls, NJ.
Currently, in his role as the Medical Director of Care Coordination at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Dr. Rao is able to utilize his extensive clinical, academic, and administrative experience to help the teams oversee hospital quality metrics such as lengths of stay, discharge planning, inpatient mortality, and readmissions. His deep understanding of the varying venues of care along with the medical and psychosocial issues facing older adults and their caregivers give him a unique strength and perspective to help teams optimally manage the care of our community older adults.