January - March 2019

I had the good fortune of recently interviewing Dr. Ardeshir Hashmi, Director of Geriatric Medicine, at The Cleveland Clinic. I asked him about their innovative practice for conducting the Successful Aging Visit. He explained the visit begins by the doctor, who is a geriatrician, (a specialist in the care and treatment of older adults) asking the patient “What matters most to you?” Recently, Dr. Hashmi saw an 87-year-old patient. The patient wanted to continue working his part time job. He also wanted to resume taking his great-grandchild to school. This is something he stopped doing due to his health problems. For this visit, the patient must bring in all medication bottles. He had been taking 14 medications for quite a while. This year, he was experiencing dizziness and had fallen. He didn’t feel as “sharp” mentally, as he had before. Dr. Hashmi and the geriatric pharmacist reviewed the medications. They laid out a treatment plan to carefully reduce the dosage of the medications. Eventually, six drugs were discontinued. The result was steadiness, improved physical functioning and mental sharpness. The Successful Aging Visit did its job! When the medications were first prescribed, they were appropriate. What isn’t taken into account is that 52 different physiological changes take place in the body after the age of 80. So, the dose that worked well for him in the past, is too much for him at age 87. On February 1, 2019, from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m., Serving Our Seniors is hosting Dr. Hashmi to explain “The Successful Aging Visit” at the Sandusky Library, via Skype. Tina Elmlinger and I will facilitate the dialogue between doctor and audience. Seating is limited to 50 and registration is required. Email your name and phone number to Mail@ServingOurSeniors.org to attend. Cleveland Clinic’s NEW Successful Aging Visit By Sue Daugherty Dr. Lynn Ritter, Alzheimer’s Association of Northwest Ohio, will present findings of the latest Alzheimer’s research, as well as real-life stories of patients who adopted healthy lifestyle choices that are positively impacting their brain health. Her talk will focus on four areas of lifestyle habits that are associated with healthy aging: cognitive activity, physical health and exercise, diet and nutrition and social engagement. Simple suggestions for changes to improve your health and potentially delay the onset of cognitive decline will be discussed. A healthy diet consisting of lots of vegetables, exercising regularly, socializing with friends, keeping abreast of current events, and seeing your physician on a regular basis are all examples of a healthy lifestyle that she recommends. Join us for Dr. Ritter’s presentation and come prepared with any questions you may have on January 15, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. at the Erie County Office Building, 3rd Floor, 247 Columbus Avenue, Sandusky. Please call 419-624-1856 to register. Aging and Brain Health Progress in Treating Alzheimer’s Disease Dr. Ardeshir Hashmi Dr. Lynn Ritter Like us on www.servingourseniors.org 7