Health Care

Aging at Home

Aging at Home

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed for a Forbes Health article about "aging in place," something that deserves more attention than it usually gets. The writers included a lot of great statistics, and I was able to share some of the insight I've gained...

Tapering Off Sedatives

Tapering Off Sedatives

Some recent studies show that nearly one out of eight adults in the US is prescribed a sedative (benzodiazepine). These are medications like Valium (Diazepam), Ativan (Lorazepam), Xanax (Alprazolam) and Klonopin (Clonazepam). All of them are addictive, and all of them...

Holidays & Aging

Holidays & Aging

Our family has gotten together every other year for over twenty years — until COVID.   Luckily, there was a recent wedding that brought us all together; I hadn’t seen some of my older relatives in five years. Even as a geriatrician, I haven’t really thought about my...

Politicians & Dementia?

Politicians & Dementia?

When it comes to mudslinging politicians, there’s been a lot of recent talk about who has dementia and who’s too old to be in office. Aside from the usual politicking, our current crop of elder statesmen has prompted a lot of buzz about who should be ineligible to...

Divorce Later in Life

Divorce Later in Life

Divorce is never easy. As a geriatrician, I obviously can’t discuss every single factor that leads to it later in life. What I can discuss, however, are the issues that I’ve personally seen in patients that cause challenges for them, their marriages, and their...