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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
“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 …
“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 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 …
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 …
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…
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
Reuters recently published an article on skilled nursing facilities and post-hospital stays. They discussed the often-lengthy time between hospital discharge and the patient being seen by a physician or “an advanced care practitioner.”
Older, more infirm and cognitively impaired patients tend to be seen later than other patients. The later you are seen, the more likely it is that you will be sent back to the acute care …
I’ve known Pat McCann (identifying information changed) for many years. He carries a diagnosis of COPD and has a preventative and a rescue inhaler, but he has never really had any serious flare-ups.
He fell and broke his hip. Then he went to skilled rehab, one of a half dozen near Cityside Hospital. His stay turned longer than expected because he fell, luckily didn’t break anything, but had to go back …
I left a full-time academic position five years ago because I was literally, “check-all-the-boxes,” burned out. In looking back during that time prior to my decision to leave, I recall months of feeling overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, depressed, and in a sense grieved for the loss of what I envisioned my career path to be until retirement. It was not until one of my favorite patients, Mr. Young, who knew me …
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