Life after 65 can be your most powerful chapter yet. With the guidance of a Geriatrician and a commitment to healthy living, you can cultivate physical and mental well-being and joy for life, showing that aging is not about slowing down, but about thriving.
Bahar Niknejad, MD, geriatrician and assistant professor of Medicine at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences EVMS Medical Group at Old Dominion University recommends these 5 things you can do today to start your healthy aging journey:
- Engage regularly in physical activities and exercise.
- Follow a balanced, healthy diet.
- Prioritize your mental well-being and exercise your brain with mental activities.
- Keep an active social life.
- Get regular health check-ups and screenings recommended for your age and gender.
“In the best-case scenario, we will see the squaring of morbidity, where people live at the highest level of function for as long as possible,” said Dr. Niknejad. “By doing this, we hope to decrease disability for older adults.”
Navigating the care that comes with aging can be confusing for both patients and their families, but a geriatrician can help. A geriatrician is an internal medicine or family medicine physician who has taken extra training to become an expert in the healthcare needs of older adults. They focus not only on more complex cases, but they also champion wellness and prevention, which could shorten hospital stays and decrease health care costs.
“As we age, not only do our bodies change, so do life priorities,” said Marissa Galicia-Castillo, MD, professor of Medicine and director of the Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology at EVMS Medical Group at Old Dominion University. “Geriatricians specialize in looking at the ‘big picture’ and understanding how to manage the changes that occur with aging. They enjoy helping older adults obtain optimal function and focus on improving quality of life.”
The team at the EVMS Healthy Aging Consultation Clinic is here to help you work toward your goals of healthy aging. Providers and staff, including Dr. Galicia-Castillo and Dr. Niknejad, perform comprehensive geriatric evaluations on each patient using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age-Friendly 4M framework: Mobility, Mentation, Medication and What Matters Most. They tailor recommendations to you and team up with your primary care provider to help you focus on wellness, prevention, and to achieve the best possible quality of life as you define it.
To learn more or schedule an appointment with a Geriatrician at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences EVMS Medical Group at Old Dominion University, call 757-446-7040.
