Oct. 21 Web Event
Confronting Ageism in Health Care: A Conversation for Patients,
Caregivers and Clinicians
The covid pandemic has
provided more visibility for longstanding ageist attitudes and practices
that run through the health care system, at times undermining the care
and well-being of older adults in this country.
KFF’s Kaiser Health News
and The John A. Hartford Foundation will hold a 90-minute
interactive web event on ageism in health care beginning at Noon
Eastern time on Thursday, Oct. 21. Join us for a frank, practical and
empowering conversation about this pervasive, systemic problem of bias,
discrimination or stereotyping based on age.
What does ageism in
health care look like? It can be a thoughtless quip that makes an older
person feel diminished. Or an assumption that patients are unable to
follow a conversation or make their own decisions. Maybe it occurs when a
concern is voiced, then discounted or dismissed.
Ageism is reflected in
care strategies that ignore a patient’s values and ideas about what
constitutes a productive life. Too often, attitudes such as “these
patients are old and near the end anyway” or “there’s not much we can do
to help them” prevail.
The impact of ageism is not new, but the pandemic brought it to view in
shocking fashion. In its early days, the virus was shrugged off as
something of concern mostly to older people, with some arguing they were
expendable if the alternative was shutting down the U.S. economy. In the
grave months that followed, many who died in nursing care were
dehumanized in news reports that showed body bags piled outside
facilities. In the end, about 80 percent of those who died from covid
were older adults, including nearly 140,000 nursing home residents -- a
population beset by understaffing, inadequate infection control and
neglect.
Older adults trying to
stay healthy at home faced their own challenges: isolation, a lack of
support from community groups, challenges in accessing care via
telehealth and sign-up systems for covid vaccines that were overly
complicated or confusing.
So how can we identify
ageism in health care settings – and address it? Judith Graham,
Navigating Aging columnist for Kaiser Health News, will moderate a panel
of experts to offer their guidance and insights.
Rani Snyder, Vice President, Program at The John A. Hartford Foundation
will make introductory remarks.
Panelists will include:
Dr. Louise Aronson, a geriatrician, professor of medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco, and author of “Elderhood.”
Dr. Michael Wasserman, a geriatrician, advocate for vulnerable
older adults through the Covid-19 pandemic, and leader of the public
policy committee of the California Association of Long Term Care
Medicine.
Dr. Javette Orgain, a family physician and medical director for
Longevity Health Plan of Illinois, which serves nursing home residents.
Former president of the National Medical Association, which represents
African American physicians and their patients, and former assistant dean
of University of Illinois College of Medicine Urban Health Program.
Dr. Rebecca Elon, a geriatrician and current caregiver for her
mother, who has dementia, and husband, who passed away during the
pandemic.
Jess Mauer, a lawyer and executive director of the Maine Council
on Aging, which promotes an
anti-ageism pledge.
KHN
KHN (Kaiser
Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism
about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is
one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser
Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing
information on health issues to the nation. KHN receives grant funding
from The John A. Hartford Foundation, among other sources, and retains
full editorial control over its journalism.
The John A. Hartford Foundation
The John A.
Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private,
nonpartisan, national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of
older adults. The leader in the field of aging and health, the Foundation
has three areas of emphasis: creating age-friendly health systems,
supporting family caregivers, and improving serious illness and
end-of-life care.
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