Geriatrics

Who, What, Why: Amy Wu and the Brain Exercise Initiative

The fourth-year is the founder and president of Penn’s chapter of the Brain Exercise Initiative, a service club that connects student volunteers with senior citizens to help combat social isolation and cognitive decline.

Liana F. Wait

Family and friends are the invisible workforce in long-term care

Family and friends continue to provide substantial amounts of care in nursing homes, amounting to an invisible workforce, providing more than an extra “shift” of care every week in nursing homes and two “shifts” in assisted living facilities, a new study finds.

From Penn LDI

Older adults’ access to primary care during the pandemic

Older patients who accessed primary care via telemedicine had lower hospitalization rates, but racial disparities in outcomes of in-person primary care persist, with Black older adults more likely to be hospitalized after a telemedicine visit.

From Penn LDI

Nursing home staffing during the pandemic

While the pandemic hit nursing homes especially hard, one area it did not suffer is in staffing. A new study finds that staffing levels in nursing homes did not decrease during the pandemic.

From Penn LDI



In the News


HealthDay

Dementia may not be as common among Parkinson’s patients as thought

A study by Daniel Weintraub of the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that dementia is not inevitable with Parkinson’s and is actually less common than presumed.

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The New York Times

A blood test accurately diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the time, study finds

Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine comments on a study which found that a blood test could correctly identify patients with Alzheimer’s.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Redefining how we age

Lisa Walke of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses how to rebalance work, education, and family life with today’s longer life expectancies.

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The New York Times

Apparently healthy, but diagnosed with Alzheimer’s?

Jason Karlawish of the Perelman School of Medicine says that amyloid is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s in the same way that smoking is a risk factor for cancer.

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KFF Health News

Who will care for older adults? We’ve plenty of know-how but too few specialists

Lisa Walke of the Perelman School of Medicine says that artificial intelligence represents a great frontier for developing products to help older adults live independently at home.

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CNN

Have this talk with your parents now to reduce heartache later

A 2017 study of 800,000 Americans by the Perelman School of Medicine found that only 29% had completed a living will detailing their care wishes and only 33% had designated a health care power of attorney.

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