Rosemary Rawlins, right, and her mother in "The Bistro." For much of the past 13 years, Rosemary Rawlins has found herself thrust into the role of family caregiver in a series of very different scenarios. First, her husband, Hugh, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) after being hit…
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The Amjad Family "village" in 2014. At the age of 4, Halima Amjad was already telling people she wanted to be a doctor. And not just any doctor. “I used to say that I want to be Mommy and Daddy’s doctor,” says Amjad, MD, MPH, a clinical and research…
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Click on cover to read or download a PDF of the report. Meet Millie Larsen. Millie is an 84-year-old Caucasian female who lives alone in a small house. Her husband, Harold, died a year ago. Here, Millie reveals a bit about herself: I went to the doctor last week…
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Rosemary Rawlins, whose story "Gratitude for End of Life Lessons" tied for second prize in the contest, sits in "the Bistro" with her mother. “Every time my Mother has a stroke, she wakes up a completely different person. This is okay because, as my Dad once observed, we’ve liked…
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One of this blog post's authors, Teresita Hogan, MD, speaks on care transitions during the Geriatric EM Boot Camp in Milwaukee. Editor’s Note: In our Feb. 19 Health AGEnda post, the team we’re informally calling the Hartford Geri EM Champions shared information about the first two Geriatric Emergency Medicine…
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One of this blog's authors, Dr. Kevin Biese, right, and Dr. Jan Busby-Whitehead lead a collaborative project at UNC-Chapel Hill to develop a unique model of a geriatric emergency department (ED) focused on improving care transitions. Editor’s Note: This is the first of two parts. “Geriatric Emergency Medicine”—As health…
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This week we offer a poignant story of one physician's struggle to understand what he could do to help his aging and ailing new patient. Written by Dr. Mitch Kaminski, and originally posted on Pulse, a leading narrative medicine website, this true tale makes the point that if we don't…
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Throughout my career in aging, I have worked for and with community-based agencies. I know how essential these agencies are in helping older people remain well and in their homes by providing and coordinating needed supportive services. These critical services for older people who have difficulty with daily tasks or…
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While most people will be watching the Super Bowl Sunday, Rachael Watman is rooting for another team: the latest Hartford Change AGEnts Action Awards winners. I am not going to win many fans here: I don’t watch the Super Bowl nor do I really like football. My husband just…
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As Orson Welles might have said: "We will evaluate no program before its time." One of the first things you learn in “foundation school” is how easy it is to kill even great programs by evaluating them before they are ready. Nothing innovative starts working on day one as…
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