Better Health While Aging

110 – Coronavirus Updates & Suggestions (6.11.20 Edition)

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In This Episode:

Dr. K shares an update on the coronavirus (COVID19) situation and more recommendations to help older adults and people concerned about aging parents.

To watch the video version, click here.

This episode covers:

• The coronavirus situation today
• Key points on what Dr. K has learned about COVID so far (and what we’re still trying to figure out)
• Updates on testing & reducing COVID transmission
• If you’re wondering “Is it safe to…?”
• COVID & Older Adults: the tradeoffs we’re facing
• Nursing homes and COVID
• Dr. K’s recommendations for this summer

Better Health While Aging

109 – Interview: Nursing Homes & Other Long-Term Care During COVID Times

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In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Dr. Karl Steinberg, an expert in nursing home care and the President-Elect of the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. He has been a nursing home and hospice medical director in the San Diego area since 1995, and is currently the chief medical officer for Mariner Health Central, a 20-facility California nursing home management company. They discuss:

• The varied course of COVID illness among nursing home residents
• What older adults and families should know, to address COVID and advance care planning
• Steps that nursing homes are now taking, to reduce COVID risk and manage cases
• What we know about how COVID has affected other forms of long-term care, such as assisted-living
• How we might be able to keep nursing home residents engaged socially and physically, during COVID times
• Whether some facilities may eventually divide residents into those who prioritize isolation and those who are willing to tolerate slightly increased risks in order to benefit from more socialization and activities
• What safer “re-opening” might look like, in nursing homes
• Why it’s essential to get information from your county and state public health department

Better Health While Aging

108 – Live QA: Aging Health in COVID Times

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In This Episode:

Dr. K and her guest experts Dr. Nicole Didyk and Richard Caro, PhD, answer BHWA reader questions about aging health in COVID times.

To watch the video version, click here.

Questions and issues they addressed during this call included:

• The trade-off between safety and other benefits that older adults value
• How to think through making an activity or situation “safer” rather than ask “is it safe?”
• How to maintain physical and mental wellbeing while confined to the home, or to a locked-down facility
• When it’s likely to be “safe” to resume routine health appointments, including eye and dental visits
• How the pandemic situation might affect recovery from hospital delirium
• What we know so far about the course of COVID in older adults who develop symptoms
• What palliative care at home for COVID might look like
• The challenges that nursing homes are currently facing

Better Health While Aging

107 – Interview: A Guide to Better Medical Care for Families of Aging Adults

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00:00 / 1:10:34

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Click above for subtitles and click the magnifying glass for a searchable transcript.

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with geriatrician Muriel Gillick MD, Professor at Harvard Medical School, about her latest book, The Caregiver’s Encylopedia: A Compassionate Guide to Caring for Older Adults. They discuss:

• Why it’s so important for family members to be informed and proactive
• Why Dr. Gillick recommends starting by understanding your relative’s overall health state
• How to recognize frailty, and why it’s essential to be aware of it
• Whether frailty can be reversed by exercise, and the pro and cons of pushing an older parent to exercise
• The importance of “goals of care”, and what to do when trade-offs become necessary
• How to ask an older person about what matters most to them
• How to let the doctors know what an older person wants from their healthcare
• How to get older adults — and healthcare professionals — to value the involvement of the family member
• The importance of someone in the family being able to advocate for better care

Better Health While Aging

106 – Coronavirus Updates & Suggestions (3.27.20 Edition)

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In This Episode:

Dr. K shares an update on the coronavirus (COVID19) situation and more recommendations to help older adults and people concerned about aging parents.

To watch the video version, click here.

Better Health While Aging

105 – Coronavirus Updates & Suggestions (3.20.20 Edition)

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In This Episode:

Dr. K shares an update on the coronavirus (COVID19) situation and more recommendations to help older adults and people concerned about aging parents.

To watch the video version, click here.

Better Health While Aging

104 – Coronavirus Special: Planning to Help Aging Parents (Plus Q&A)

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In This Episode:

Dr. K shares the coronavirus (COVID19) information and recommendations she presented on 3/12/20 to members of the Helping Older Parents Membership, plus answers to their questions about preparing themselves and protecting their aging parents. She covers:

• What’s most important to know about the coronavirus situation right now
• The current effort to “flatten the curve” and what that might mean in terms of how long precautions are necessary
• Issues that are likely to come for frail older adults
• How to think through care and housing options, and contingency planning
• The importance of reviewing what matters most to your older parent
• Why now is an important time to review advance care planning and preferences regarding critical care
• What to know about POLST and similar advance care planning documents
• Answers to member questions

Better Health While Aging

103 – Interview: Better Sex in Later Life

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00:00 / 1:05:53

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In This Episode:

Dr. K talks about sex in later life with geriatrician Dr. Nicole Didyk, founder of the blog and YouTube channel The Wrinkle. They discuss:

• How Dr. Didyk learned more about this important topic by connecting with Nathalie Wilton, a social worker and sex therapist who focuses on older adults
• Why it’s so common for health providers — and older adults — to have low “sexual literacy”, when it comes to aging and sexuality
• How aging often affects sex and sexuality
• Common concerns that patients have brought up in her clinical practice
• What can be done if there is a mismatch in interest between two partners
• The role of solo sex, toys, and activities other than intercourse
• How being a hands-on caregiver to your partner can affect sex
• Special issues that come up when one partner develops a dementia, such as Alzheimer’s
• Tips on how to maintain and improve sexuality in later life

Better Health While Aging

102 – Interview: The Importance of Grandparents & Intergenerational Connections

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In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Kerry Byrne, PhD, a researcher and expert in aging and family caregiving, and the founder of TheLongDistanceGrandparent.com. They discuss the importance of intergenerational connections and of grandparents in particular. They cover:

• Why intergenerational connections are so important to society, and how they reduce ageism
• What we know about the grandparent-grandchild relationship
• How Kerry’s experience living abroad led to her particular interest in “long distance” grandparents
• Why grandparents are especially important, when it comes to countering ageism
• How grandparents can more easily stay connected to grandchildren, especially if they live far away
• Tips on fostering more intergenerational connections, whether that’s with family or others

Better Health While Aging

101 – Interview: Avoiding Holiday Pitfalls with Aging Parents

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00:00 / 1:06:37

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In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Linda Fodrini-Johnson, MA MFT CMC, a past president of the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers (now the Aging Life Care Association) and a featured expert providing guidance in Dr. K’s Helping Older Parents Membership Program.

To help families have the best holidays possible, they discuss practical approaches to help families avoid common conflicts that come up during the holidays. They also discuss adapting the holidays for aging parents with dementia. Their talk includes:

• What are geriatric care managers (also now known as aging life care professionals)
• Why adult children should avoid telling their aging parents what they “should” do, and what to do instead
• How to handle common causes of sibling conflict related to aging parents
• How to learn more about what aging parents want for their future
• What you can do if YOU are the older parent and your adult children are concerned
• How to adapt the holidays so they work better for aging parents with dementia
• What to do if an aging parent is showing signs of memory problems but hasn’t been diagnosed