Aging Forward Podcast

Aging Forward through Exercise: Exploring optimal physical activity options for Older Adults

Episode 5 features Dr. Edward Laskowski who is a Professor of Physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mayo, previous director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, who discusses role of exercise in healthy aging- How to explore optimal physical activity options for older adults.
Learn about the many evidence-based health benefits to staying active and things we may not even know about, and strategies on how to incorporate this into our day-to-day routine.
Dr. Laskowski summarizes the changes in body physiology that impact exercise capacity/muscle function as we age, how conditioning can potentially halt or reverse that process and improve exercise capacity, identifying an exercise prescription by understanding guidelines and four critical components to maximizing our physical health.
Lastly, Dr. Laskowski helps us understand the big picture of preventive health- how to counsel people about the overall goal of exercise on preserving function, independence and health span? He shares several success stories and positive outcomes as well as tips on how to empower our loved ones, caregivers and inspire ourselves.
Host: Dr. Christina Chen, MD | Instagram @Grey.edelweiss | Twitter/X: @ChristinaChenMD
Guest: Dr. Edward Laskowski | Twitter/X: @Dr. EdSportsMed
Brought to you by the Division of Community Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care Mayo Clinic @MayoClinicCommunityMed

Is Dementia preventable? How do we recognize early cognitive impairment, what does it mean, and how do we optimize our brain health?

Dr. Ericka Tung is an internist and Geriatrician who has practiced at Mayo Clinic for over 20 years. She served as the Geriatric Fellowship program director for 8 years, where she has inspired the next generation of trainees and has a true talent for education, connecting people and empowering her patients. Over the years, has championed many efforts to improve care delivery for patients and families living with Dementia.
In this episode, Dr. Tung shares her expertise in optimizing cognitive health and strategies to prevent dementia. She answers commonly asked questions: Is Dementia preventable? What are the risk factors? How do we distinguish the difference between cognitive changes related to normal aging and pathologic features? What are the key components and domains of maintaining healthy brain function? What are some things we can be doing now to preserve brain health?
For providers- Dr. Tung shares learn tips on how to counsel and empower our patients and their care partners while living through the dementia journey. Identify creative ways to help individuals live well in the community.
Lastly, Dr. Tung discusses what is in the literature that supports a positive outlook for dementia prevention. Tune in to hear about heartwarming stories related to caring for the dementia community.
For those of you who are interested in a career in Geriatric Medicine, Dr. Tung also shares what she loves about her career and what you can look forward to as a Geriatrician.
Follow us at: Instagram: @Mayocliniccommunitymed Twitter/X: @MayoClinicCIMGP
Christina Chen IG: @Grey.edelweiss

Caring for Older Adults: Insights and Perspectives from Geriatric Fellows

It takes a certain person to dedicate extra time, heart, training and effort into understanding the changing needs of our patients. We are deeply proud of our three Geriatric fellows this year- Drs. Alisha Garel, Sara Medina-Bielski and Vanessa Crerar for all their hard work, compassion, and dedication towards caring for older adults. Episode 3 of Aging Forward Podcast explores their background, early origins/reasons why they chose their career in Geriatrics and how fellowship training has helped them evolve in their professional and personal growth.
There are approximately Geriatricians 7000 nationally, and we need ~30,000 by 2030 to meet the needs of the aging population and help our society and communities age well. We welcome you to listen to this episode to learn from three amazing physicians who found their calling in this field, why they love caring for older adults, how they have been a part of their patients’ journeys, rewarding aspects of this field, challenges and values they’ve discovered through caring for the aging population and what excites them about a future in Geriatric medicine.
Plus- hear about what “Aging Forward” means to them, what they have done to encourage their own patients to Age well and how they are personally pursuing this journey themselves. Don’t miss this insightful conversation!
Congratulations to Dr. Garel, Dr. Medina-Bielski and Dr. Crerar on graduating fellowship, being such great role models in all you do, and moving on to bigger goals down the road!
Podcast Brought to you by IG @mayocliniccommunitymed @Mayoclinic | Twitter @MayoClinicCIMGP
Host: Christina Chen MD IG @Grey.edelweiss | Twitter @ChristinaChenMD
 
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Why is everyone talking about Frailty? Causes, implications, outcomes, and what can we do about it?

Episode 2 welcomes Dr. Brandon Verdoorn, MD CMD, a Geriatrician at Mayo Clinic as our guest speaker to talk about the importance of understanding and recognizing frailty as a geriatric syndrome.
After decades of research, Frailty is much more than what traditionally is viewed as just a physical construct. There are many implications to be aware of. In this episode, we discuss: 
- How has the understanding of frailty changed and evolved over the years? What are the negative outcomes and risks associated that many of us may not be aware of?
- Is Frailty an inevitable part of aging?
- Why is this something all providers need to be aware of? Including those in subspecialty practice? Why does an Anesthesiologist need to know about Frailty?
- Can Frailty itself be a cause of death?
- How do we recognize and screen for this? Is there a way to foresee if someone is at higher risk?
- What is the most important thing we should be doing now to prevent/delay frailty?
- Potential treatments on the horizon
- Words of wisdom and advice on helping our patients, loved ones and ourselves age forward positive despite living with frailty
PLUS- Take away points and life hacks learned from caring for the older adult population.
Follow us at: 
Instagram: @Mayocliniccommunitymed @Grey.edelweiss
Twitter: @MayoclinicCIMGP
Aging Forward Podcast: Helping you, your patients and loved ones live well.

Introduction to Aging Forward Podcast: What’s in it for me?

Welcome to Aging Forward- A podcast providing thoughtful education on topics related healthy aging and geriatric medicine from experts in the field of community internal medicine, geriatrics and palliative care at Mayo Clinic. Whether you are a student/learner, someone who is already practicing in the healthcare field, a caregiver, or perhaps someone who is simply interested in learning more about the science of healthy aging and how to be proactive about improving health span - this podcast is for you.
In this introduction, we share the mission, purpose behind this channel, and what it means to Age Forward. 
Caring for an Aging America is going to be a very unique challenge as the population of older adults increase over the next few decades. We all need to be aware of the changing demographic because we will all be involved in caring for an older adult to some capacity- whether as a caregiver or a healthcare provider. 
This episode will give you an overview of future topics:
- Cognitive health and how to keep our brains healthy
- Understanding Geriatric syndromes- what are they? How can these be prevented?
- Introduction to Frailty: Recognizing this phenotype and understanding the consequences
- Polypharmacy and Deprescribing 
- Meeting Nutritional needs as we age
- For the caregiver: I can't keep my loved one out of the hospital, what do I do? Understanding care transitions
- Navigating challenging and complex healthcare visits
- Research Highlights: Interventions in Aging and senolytics
- Taking care of our bone health
- The scope of Geriatric care in the past, present and future
- Interested in Geriatrics as a career? Perspectives from Geriatric fellows
 
Welcome and thank you for Joining! Please subscribe and follow along!
Host: Dr. Christina Chen, MD, Department of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Mayo Clinic
Instagram: @mayocliniccommunitymed @grey.edelweiss