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If medications are necessary, this M focuses on using age-friendly medications that do not affect a person’s care goals, their mobility, and their mentation. Many older adults are on 5 or more prescription medications. This can be difficult to manage, expensive, and increases the risk of harmful side effects or drug interactions. It is important for providers to be aware of polypharmacy, or more medications than are clinically necessary, for their older patients.

Learning Objectives/Outcomes:

1. Describe how the specialty of Consultation-Liaison (CL) Psychiatry deals with the interplay of psychiatric and medical issues;
2. Describe the range of work done by a Transplant Psychiatrist;
3. Discuss the reciprocal relationship of depression and heart disease;
4. Describe medication and non-medication interventions for depression in patients with heart disease.

In daily clinical practice, care decisions must be made even when patients lack capacity to independently provide informed consent and shared decision-making. If the patient has not named someone to speak for them, it can become a challenge to know how best to proceed. This presentation explores various complexities of surrogate decision making and proposes strategies for honoring patient values and goals when alternate decision makers are needed.

In this presentation, John Hennessy discusses best practices with older clients and patients in the LGBTQ+ community. By the end of the presentation, learners should be able to: (1) know the importance of Affirmative and Inclusive Health Care for LGBTQ+ Older Adults; (2) know barriers to care for LGBTQ+ older adults; and (3) put it all together- solve problems on the front lines. Slides are available for download.

Our training materials help educators teach health care workers about dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. We developed these training materials for: health professions faculty, students, primary care practitioners, members of a geriatrics care team, and direct service workers. The training includes 37 modules in four series: An overview of dementia and health care provider roles (16 modules); Helping caregivers (5 modules); How providers address caregiver needs (4 modules); and Nursing home training modules (12 modules).

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain, at any age, to rewire itself to function in new ways in situations of new learning, experience, or injury. Janet M. Dubinsky, Ph.D. (Department of Neuroscience, Medical School, University of Minnesota) talks about this remarkable ability of the brain to be flexible, in both structure and function, to make new connections and adapt to the circumstances of life. In particular, she addresses what we can do for our brains to keep it healthy as we age.

Two presentations discuss ways to engage family members in family history.

Donna Weispfenning is currently working on a graphic memoir inspired by a visit to her grandmother in 1976. Donna showed us an eight-page draft of how she is transforming images from black and white photographs into drawings, paintings, and woodcuts to recapture the spirit of her time with the then-82-year-old family matriarch.

Jan Morlock and her brother, Jerry Morlock, described their efforts preparing for a major family reunion. Here is Jan's short take on the experience:

This presentation given by Dr. Page Ulrey is part of the 2021 Spring NW Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Center's Geriatric Healthcare Lecture Series. By the end of this lecture, learners should be able to:  1) identify how elder abuse is defined under the law; (2) describe the prevalence and impact of elder abuse on victims and their families; and (3) discuss how health care providers can help identify, address, and respond to elder abuse in patient care.