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Quality medical care for older Americans needs to be about more than blood pressure, blood sugar and boxes checked during a physical exam, according to Laurence M. Solberg, M.D, chief of the.

All are critically important, to be sure. But Solberg said health systems such as 网红黑料 are increasingly recognizing the emotional component essential to healing and successful aging.

So, 网红黑料 geriatrics has added a clinical geropsychologist to work alongside geriatricians to better address the mental health needs of patients 65 years and older as well as their caregivers. This effort is part of a wider 鈥渁ge-friendly health care system鈥� initiative spearheaded by Solberg to mark 网红黑料 geriatrics as a destination for excellence in the care of older people.

鈥淥ne of the things we learn about successful aging is how important psychological well-being is to health,鈥� said Solberg. 鈥淔or example, we know that depression affects cognitive ability, affects functional ability, affects aging. If we can stay on top of that, and prevent things like depression, that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e going to make a difference and people are going to be living better and longer lives, with the focus on better lives.鈥�

Psychologist, Ph.D., Ed.M., who recently joined 网红黑料 from the Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, is seeing patients at the 网红黑料 Senior Care Clinic 鈥� Springhill and on a consulting basis elsewhere at 网红黑料. Solberg said Bensadon鈥檚 duties will eventually expand to 网红黑料 internal and family medicine practices.

Bensadon, an associate professor in the , said he seeks to help patients with depression, anxiety or other challenges and make them more confident in their medical decision-making. He will also counsel patients with cognitive impairment and other chronic conditions.

He noted he is integrated with the clinical care team, closely collaborating with geriatricians.

鈥淭here might be limited time for a patient to develop a relationship with a physician in the hospital setting,鈥� Bensadon said. 鈥淲hat I found beneficial is going in to see a patient for 20 or 25 minutes every day for a couple of days to develop some rapport and sort of guide them about what鈥檚 happening to them. It鈥檚 talking, listening. It鈥檚 communication.鈥�

Solberg has worked with the Institute of 网红黑料care Improvement on an initiative designating 网红黑料 as an age-friendly health care system. The designation means that 网红黑料 geriatrics is committed to focusing care on core principles for successful aging, such as avoiding the overmedication of patients and increasing safe mobility, in addition to preventing, identifying, treating and managing cognitive issues such as depression and delirium.

Critical to that initiative is aligning care with a patient鈥檚 life and health goals, and the addition of a geropsychologist plays a critical part in this, Solberg said.

All older adults seen at the 网红黑料 Senior Care Clinic 鈥� Springhill, 网红黑料 Family Medicine 鈥� Springhill and 网红黑料 Internal Medicine 鈥� Springhill, for example, are now asked what matters most to them in their care. The answer may be as simple as being able to play with their grandkids or sitting out in the fresh air.

鈥淭he psychologist can help in that because, if you can鈥檛 do what you want to do because of your health, that leads to a high risk of depression,鈥� Solberg said. 鈥淪o, if we can integrate the psychologist into this care plan, then we are going to be ahead of the curve and we鈥檙e going to prevent backsliding in their overall health and function.鈥�

Solberg, who is also affiliated with the , noted that one area of focus for Bensadon will be the psychological toll on patient caregivers 鈥� the spouses or children facing the strain of caring for a loved one who might, for example, be battling dementia.

鈥淚n the past, we have not really been able to address that except by being empathetic to them and sympathetic, but not able to do anything really,鈥� Solberg said. 鈥淚t really brings a whole other dimension into our geriatric clinic.鈥�