Geriatrics
Doctors need to advocate more for their patients
My first patient of residency was Mr. John. He endured life-threatening injuries that left him without speech or the ability to move his limbs. Every day had obstacles, and I met most of his family over time. Mr. John was a family man who looked after others first before himself. A self-made man. He was a man who was physically strong and dedicated to every project and goal he set …
A hospice doctor’s advice on financial independence and living a regret-free life [PODCAST]
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“Unlike my dad, I grew up with very different feelings about my own longevity. I have always believed that I would live to a ripe old age. This belief has colored my approach to career and finances. In many ways, I was able …
The forgotten crisis: a shortage of geriatric doctors in the U.S.
The scarcity of geriatricians in the United States is a severe problem in the public health sphere due to the increased number of older adults and the lack of health care professionals who specialize in this demographic.
Approximately 7,000 geriatricians are practicing in the United States, and around half of them are full-time. Research shows that 30 percent of people 65 years old and older need care from …
Warehouses for the elderly?
Bringing in the mail recently, I was pleased to see a thick 5-by-7-inch booklet among the catalogs and bills. The anticipation of reading a few Reader’s Digest short stories and “Humor in Uniform” made the evening seem pleasurable. But when I opened the 244-page Reader’s Digest-sized booklet, I found the “Senior’s Blue Book for Greater Boston.” Here was page after page of assisted living communities, retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, …
Reduce your loneliness, improve your well-being, and take the first step
Just before the pandemic, I walked 96 miles (154.5 km) in seven days on the West Highland Way in Scotland, though I was hardly alone in this endeavor. About 250 people start the walk each day, including the amazing group of primary women that I walked with, indicative of both the attraction of the trail and the popularity of this form of physical activity.
All types of people were walking. There …
The nursing home staffing crisis will not be fixed through transparency
Staffing shortages and turnover rates have recently become a pertinent topic for hospitals. However, these personnel challenges have haunted certified nursing facilities since the 1970s. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the turnover rate for total nursing staff in nursing homes was about 128 percent. While increasing transparency on these atrociously high turnover rates has been a commonly proposed solution, it has only recently been …
Is home hospital care the way forward?
“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort,” says James Austen. So, instead of traveling and waiting for hours by standing in a queue, what if health care is provided to you at home? That’s why home hospital care (HHC) is a viable solution for physicians and patients. HHC is an innovative, technologically advanced, and effective care model in which certain patients receive hospital-level care at their homes …
Health care guest workers could make “home, sweet home” a reality for America’s seniors
“If you want to be happy in a million ways, for the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.” The late Perry Como’s observations reflect a bittersweet truth about an unattainable goal — not just during the holiday season, but each day of the year — for the 1.4 million Americans age 65 and over who reside in long-term care facilities. Older Americans who might prefer to age in place …
My grandfather’s death: What I’ve learned about life
My grandfather passed in the early hours of December 11 and was buried the next day. It all happened very quickly. The last time I saw him was eight years ago. And that was the final time because I couldn’t make it to his funeral. Hopefully, when I look back at this, I’ll always remember to cherish my time with family, no matter how busy medical school or residency gets.
My …
During COVID, older patients stopped going to the doctor. Here’s how to change that.
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year, Helen (not her real name) took all the right steps to protect herself. The 74-year-old self-isolated, wore a face mask, and practiced social distancing.
Helen stayed safe from the virus during this time, but she put her health at risk in another way: for nearly two years, she didn’t see her primary care physician. Nor did she go to the eye doctor to …
Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma
It’s been almost a year since nursing home workers began fighting on the front lines of COVID-19. They’ve witnessed and experienced extreme trauma. They’ve seen seniors they care for suffer in fear and loneliness during prolonged and repeated lockdowns. They’ve seen residents fall catastrophically ill and too many of them die.
More than 17,000 seniors are dead from COVID-19 in Canada; Read more…
The value of intergenerational relationships
With the rapid growth of modern medicine and awareness in lifestyle and environmental influences, individuals can live longer and healthier lives. Approximately 15.2 percent of the U.S. population consists of individuals 65 years and older. To make the added years of life expectancy fulfilling, older adults need to stay socially connected and involved. One key method is through the development of meaningful …
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Empathy is a crucial component when working with older adults
An excerpt from Tough Decisions In Care Of Elderly Loved Ones (A guide for caregivers).
Empathy is more than just loving an elderly loved one. It is more than simply making the decision we may feel is best for our loved one. Empathy is different …
Our seniors deserve better. It’s time we all paid more attention.
Most Canadians are familiar with nursing homes or long-term care facilities that provide 24-hour care to seniors who are no longer able to care for themselves independently – but we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them. Given our rapidly aging population, and the likelihood that someone we love, or maybe even ourselves, will be living there one day, maybe we should.
What might surprise …
Why I love caring for geriatric patients
As I enter the exam room, I hear, “Don’t get old honey!”
As a physician caring for a large population of geriatric patients in Florida, I hear this approximately five times a day. To this statement, I always reply, “There’s no alternative, though!” I also try not to get offended by repeatedly being called “honey.” Although I am waiting to someday state; “it’s Doctor Honey.” Usually, my level is offense is …
A quick CT scan for the frail and elderly
First, you have to call up your daughter to pick you up and take you to the lab. It’s hard for the nurse to find your vein. The pain from his fishing around in your arm is not nearly as bad as the pain you always have in your hip, and back, and shoulders, but it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and you cry a little bit. The …
Avoiding late-stage dementia with advance directives for stopping eating and drinking
On October 1, 2019, Nevada began allowing individuals to avoid living in late-stage dementia. The new statute recognizes the legitimacy of an advance directive that instructs health care providers to stop hand feeding food and fluid by mouth. Individuals have already been completing such directives in New York and Washington. The Nevada law is the first that explicitly authorizes such instructions.
Growing …
The questions surgeons need to ask their seniors before surgery
The decision seemed straightforward. Bob McHenry’s heart was failing, and doctors recommended two high-risk surgeries to restore blood flow. Without the procedures, McHenry, 82, would die.
The surgeon at a Boston teaching hospital ticked off the possible complications. Karen McHenry, the patient’s daughter, remembers feeling there was no choice but to say “go ahead.”
It’s a scene she’s replayed in her mind hundreds of times since, with regret.
On the operating table, Bob …
The suffocation of social isolation
Literature surrounding the effects of social isolation and loneliness for older adults is no longer lacking. Studies and articles outlining the dreadful consequences of these epidemics have even pierced large media outlets like Time magazine, where they emphasize how one in three older adults are lonely.
While any attention brought to the fact that the age group containing people age of 85 and up is …
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Past Week
Past 6 Months
Recent Posts
-
The AI innovation-access gap in medicine
-
Leadership buy-in is the key to preventing burnout [PODCAST]
-
A daughter’s reflection on life, death, and pancreatic cancer
-
What to do if your lab results are borderline
-
Direct primary care limitations for complex patients
-
Understanding the unseen role of back-to-school diagnostics [PODCAST]
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