ReachMD

Dr. Alva S. Baker, a certified geriatrician, began caring for frail elderly patients in the long term care setting in 1972. He served as the medical director for Episcopal Ministries to the Aging (EMA) from 1980 until his retirement in June of 2009 as vice president for Health and Wellness Services for EMA. He concurrently served as the executive director of the Copper Ridge Institute, wherein his focus of research and teaching has been on the care of persons with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

He is a member of the faculty of the division of geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also serves on the gerontology faculty at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, where he directs the Center for the Study of Aging. Dr. Baker is associate medical director of Carroll Hospice, and is an emeritus member of the medical staff of Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster in the department of internal medicine. 

He is a member of local, state and national medical societies. He serves on the professional advisory committee of Carroll Home Care/Carroll Hospice, and on the executive committee of the Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County. 

He has taught extensively about medical direction issues and continuous quality improvement to medical directors and staff at all levels in residential care facilities throughout the long term care continuum. He is a certified medical director and a member of the American Medical Directors Association, for which he served as president in 2007-2008.