Recently I called a major medical center to get a primary care doctor for my father who is almost 90. The Senior Health Clinic is not taking any new patients and there is such a long waiting list they are not adding any names at this time. What about a primary care Doc who specializes in gerontology? None.  As of 2018, the U.S. had 7,279 certified geriatricians. Our population is aging.  According to the American Geriatrics Society demand for geriatric doctors, is projected to increase 45 percent by 2025. I continued my request: how about someone at least experienced with...

This celebration evolved from ancient Aztec festivals that venerated gods like Mictēcacihuātl, the powerful lady of the dead. It has been added to and blended with many other traditions and cultures.  “Dia de los Muertos,” is celebrated across Mexico and beyond with parades, families honor their ancestors by creating altars with their favorite food and drink, lighting candles, playing music, and displaying their images — an invitation to these souls to return and linger briefly among the living. The recent Disney film "CoCo" is a beautiful introduction to this celebration.   It explores the belief that there are three deaths:  “first death”...

We should all take heart at the planned National Campaign to prevent 1 million heart attacks by 2022. The  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has started this ambitious effort titled  Million Hearts 2022 to revive what had long been a steady downturn in the cardiovascular death rate.  Heart disease and stroke are preventable, yet they remain leading causes of death, disability, and health care spending in the US. Many of these events are happening to adults ages 35-64— a startling number, over 800,000 in 2016.  Coordinated actions by public health and health care professionals, communities, and healthcare systems can and will keep...

Keeping healthy teeth and gums improves your looks and your life.  Healthy Teeth Healthy Brain "A new study from Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung City has determined that people who have had periodontitis for more than 10 years are 70% more likely than people without periodontitis to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The study team concluded by saying, “Our findings support the notion that infectious diseases associated with low-grade inflammation, such as chronic periodontitis, may play a substantial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. These findings highlight the need to prevent the progression of periodontal disease and promote health care...

The 4 Es are the essentials to a happy healthy living environment, And all or some of them have been missing from (what we will soon call something else) senior housing. Nursing Homes across the country are closing. According to the New York Times  : "The most recent quarterly survey from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care reported that nearly one nursing home bed in five now goes unused. Occupancy has reached 81.7 percent, the lowest level since the research organization began tracking this data in 2011, when it was nearly 87 percent." There are lots of reasons for this change but one...