INRCA, as a Scientific Institute, carries out research and assistance activities. These two closely related sectors characterize and make specific the services provided, which are mainly addressed to the elderly according to the institutional aims of the organization. The new needs of this segment of the population, which is becoming more and more relevant for population size and for the socio-health problems linked to aging, have led to reprogramming the activity of the Institute as a whole and therefore also of the Research Hospital Presidium "U. Sestilli ". A process of change has therefore begun, characterized by a strong push towards a specific direction: that of Geriatric Disability. In fact, the health of the elderly is defined in terms of functional capacity rather than in the list of diseases of which a person is a carrier. The model used in the organization of the "U. Sestilli "focuses on this relationship between (multiple) and disability pathologies, promoting the recovery of autonomy and social inclusion of patients through a multidisciplinary and multispecialistic approach. In trend with what is defined by the most accredited scientific theories, each patient's pathology is faced together with the others, seeking a balance that allows the person to maintain maximum self-sufficiency, even when a complete recovery is not possible. For this purpose, the tools and professional skills needed to develop a comprehensive treatment method are used, based on the patient's multidimensional evaluation (medical, functional, psychological and social) followed by an integrated multidisciplinary intervention (doctors, nurses, therapists, psychologists, social workers). The research activity is therefore aimed at studying the mechanisms of the interaction of the factors, which cause disability and loss of autonomy and to measure the effects of the intervention. "Disability" and "Comorbility" are therefore the cornerstones of the new model of the Hospital Research Presidium and the basis of the new departmental organization. Particular attention is given to the processes of quality improvement in its many aspects: from health in the strict sense to the organizational - management and structural, with the aim of responding in an increasingly scientific and appropriate to the needs of elderly users. The latter constitute the essential reference point for every project and initiative adopted or to be implemented and as such are the object of study and verification. Research and assistance activities always work together.
INRCA's mission finds its own references on the one hand in being a research institute and on the other hand in having a strong specialized connotation in the geriatric and gerontological sense. The recent development of health policies requires an evolution of IRCCS 'raison d'être, from the production of health services to the production of health and scientific knowledge.
The purpose is well defined as unique among the Italian public and private IRCCS, constituting a strength and commitment able to project the Institute in an international research field and to make it a national scientific reference.