David Lubarsky: 4 Ms

David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health and Vice Chancellor for Human Health Sciences at UC Davis Health, recently posted on LinkedIn:

“I was honored to deliver a virtual presentation at the 4th Vietnam National Geriatric Conference on Nov. 10. A tremendous team from UC Davis Health attended this globally oriented and highly thought-provoking conference. In my talk, I highlighted what we are facing as our population ages, in particular, ‘ The Silver Tsunami,’ which will have far-reaching implications for this country. As the American population heads towards 2060, we’re expecting a near 50% increase in the total proportion of seniors, and seniors will go from accounting for 16% of the American population to 23%. Meanwhile, more than 6 million Americans are already living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.

There is much more to discuss about these issues, so for brevity’s sake I’d like to point out that UC Davis Health’s age-friendly initiative is keenly focused on the four essential elements of care for older patients (also known as the ‘4 Ms’):

– What matters: Know and align care with each older adult’s specific health outcome goals and care preferences including, but not limited to, end-of-life care, and across settings of care.
– Medication: If medication is necessary, use age-friendly medication that does not interfere with what matters to the older adult, mobility or mental function, across settings of care.
– Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression and delirium across settings of care.
– Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do what matters.

There’s a lot of meaningful work ahead to ensure people age gracefully and with the support they need. UC Davis Health is actively involved in this broader conversation, on both national and global levels.”

Source: David Lubarsky/LinkedIn