Episode 36 Learn About Healthy Aging

SUMMARY
As a contractor for Medicare, Acentra Health serves as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization, also referred to as a BFCC-QIO. While Acentra Health provides BFCC-QIO services in 29 states, the general information is relevant to everyone who has Medicare (including Medicare Advantage) and everyone who works with people who have Medicare. 

This episode is a conversation with our guest, Dr. Angeline Brunetto, Associate Medical Director for Acentra Health. She will share information about healthy aging to commemorate Healthy Aging Month, which is the September health observance.

For more information about Acentra Health BFCC-QIO, please visit www.acentraqio.com.

KEY TOPICS

00:23: Overview, introduction of guest, Dr. Angeline Brunetto

01:46: What is healthy aging?

02:45: How to stay healthy

09:00: How to get involved in your community

10:58: How to be safe in the aging process

15:38: Final thoughts 

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RESOURCES

BFCC-QIO Information for stakeholders: www.acentraqio.com/partners

BFCC-QIO Information for people who have Medicare: www.acentraqio.com/bene

Music: Motivational Upbeat Corporate by RinkevichMusic 

https://soundcloud.com/rinkevichmusic

https://protunes.net/

Video Link: https://bit.ly/3NNqGTs

Transcript

Welcome to Aging Health Matters, a podcast from Acentra Health, a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization. We plan to cover healthcare topics for the Medicare population. Information in today's show may help you or someone you know in their healthcare journey. Thanks for joining us. Now let's get started.  

Hello, everyone. I'm Scott Fortin. I'll be your host today of Aging Health Matters from Acentra Health. A little bit about Acentra Health, we are the Beneficiary and Family-Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization for 29 states. We help people with Medicare who have concerns about their health care. We can help you appeal if you're leaving the hospital too soon, or if skilled care like physical therapy is ending early. We also offer Immediate Advocacy services to help fix problems quickly with medical care or services. And more information is available on our website at acentraqio.com. I'm very happy today to have a guest with us that we've not had on our podcast in the past. It is one of our associate medical directors, and that is Dr. Angeline Brunetto. Hello, Dr. Brunetto.

Hello, Scott. Thank you so much for having me.

Absolutely. It's great. And I was hoping that you could give the audience a little bit about your background.

Happy to. I am an emergency room physician. I've been practicing for over 30 years, and in the emergency room, I have the honor of taking care of folks at many different stages in their life. I am currently now working with Acentra Health with a focus on the Medicare population and thrilled to be here, making sure that the Medicare population is getting the care that they need.

That's great and thank you. And that is what our topic for today is, is healthy aging. What we want to do at Acentra Health is offer you information about our services, but also we want to offer you information that helps your life to be better as a whole. So one of the things that I wanted to ask you a little bit about, Dr. Brunetto, is can you tell me a little bit about what healthy aging is? I mean, we know there's a definition of it. Could you give me your definition and the people that you've worked with in the past, what you've seen?

Healthy aging is all about taking care of yourself now so that our quality of life as we age is better. And to me, that's about staying physically strong, mentally sharp, and emotionally balanced. And it's a lifelong journey. So the earlier you adopt these habits and this lifestyle, the better you age as you get older.

OK, that's great. And I think I get the sense of where my next question is going. But you know, can you tell us some of those components? You mentioned a couple of things about physical, mental, emotional. Can you tell us a little bit more about some of those components, what it takes to stay healthy?

Absolutely. So the first thing that I touched on was staying physically strong, and that's focusing on your physical health. And what I tell my family, my friends and my patients is that if you don't use it, you lose it. So if you're not using your muscles, if you're not being active, you have a tendency to actually lose your muscle tone, and you're not staying as strong and as fit as you can. So staying active in any way, shape, or form, that can be things that you enjoy doing. If it's walking, running, bicycling, gardening, anything that keeps you physically moving. 

And that’s really good for your body and your strength as you age. And another way to stay physically healthy is focusing on your nutrition. You know, we talk about this, and you hear about this all the time in the magazines and on the news about how important nutrition is. In our society, people just really don't have the time and effort to put into healthy meals. It's just easier to do things more quickly, which can mean fast foods, processed foods, doing what's just the quickest and the easiest. The studies have shown that one in four adults don't eat as much vegetables and fruits as they should in a day. So if we can actually focus on those healthier foods, a healthy balanced diet, so get a variety of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, limit our salt, sugars, and those processed foods.
 
That actually can help improve your physical strength as well. And then another big component is preventative care, and that's actually seeing your doctor, your provider on a regular basis. A lot of folks associate their doctor and are going to see them and make an appointment when they're ill, but you're going to want to make a regular appointment at least once a year for preventative care because a lot of disease processes are managed much more easily if they're diagnosed early and treated. And some things, such as cancers are actually completely treatable. Another thing for preventive care includes vaccines. Because as we're younger, you know we get our vaccines when we're children, they have a tendency to wear off. And as we get older, there's different threats as we age that we want to protect against. And moving on from the physical health is the mental health, and there's a lot there as well.

Oh, yes.

So again, if you don't use it, you lose it. So with your brain, you're going to want to keep active with puzzles, reading, learning something new. And now that we're older, we may actually find time to do the things that we've always wanted to do. Learn how to crochet or knit or a different language or read books.

There's so many opportunities to keep our brains nice and sharp. And then another component that goes with keeping your brain sharp is getting enough sleep. Now, I don't know about you, Scott, but those mornings that I didn't get enough sleep and I'm just dragging through my day, I can't think clearly or cognitively. Sleep is essential for your health and emotional well-being, and there's things that you can do to improve that as well. And that includes keeping your bedroom quiet, keeping the temperature cool at night, not using any type of electronic devices 30 minutes before you go to sleep.

You don't want to eat a large meal or have caffeine in the afternoon or in the evening. And then of course, exercising regularly can also help you sleep better at night. And then the last thing I touched upon was the cognitive, and that's basically avoiding decline. You want to make sure that if you're not thinking as clearly as you naturally do, then you might want to get that checked out. Meaning we all have a tendency to walk into a room and forget what they came in there for, right? I do it all the time.

Oh, yes.

But if you find that things are stacking on top of themselves, that you're forgetting important dates or events, or you're not really sure where you are or what's going on. If you're forgetting important things, that's the time to actually see your provider and maybe get tested to see if there's something to be concerned about. And then the last thing is the emotional health, and that's basically being engaged in your environment. So people are social creatures by nature, meaning we really do thrive in environments in which we can interact with other folks.

So engage with your friends, your family, your environment, and even in your community. There's so many opportunities to be engaged and do things such as volunteering, and that gives us more of a sense of purpose and well-being, and it has been demonstrated to show that people feel better when they're contributing to
 their environment and to their community. Now I know I just pounded you with a bunch of stuff, but that's pretty much the gist of it. There's so many different opportunities to have an impact on how we are successful and how we can thrive. And those are just the basic three pillars as I see it.

Absolutely. And you know, as I looked at those three pillars that you mentioned, I can think of a few instances where different activities that I've done or others do that you could hit some of those together. And that's things like you take a walk with someone in your family or a friend, you know, it fulfills a couple of those

Pickleball is a large thing right now that people are in, and that can be a part of community. So I just really feel like a lot of the things you just provided to us are really good, and I think it helps people to really kind of feel good to be independent, to continue to have all of those things going on in their life. And as you said, really just stay active and keep it going. Because as you said about the physical, the brain is the same way. Keep using it or else it might not be as sharp. 

Now we mentioned a little bit about the community. So what sort of things do you think from a doctor's standpoint that are really healthy for someone when they're trying to age well that they could do in their community? You talked a little bit about getting involved in the community, but what are some of the other resources that they could rely upon for further information?

Oh, I found so many things in preparation for this podcast. Now, my mother is actually an older individual, and she lives independently herself, and so she's very active in her church and her community that way, and that's an area of interest for her as well. 

But there's so many opportunities for any individual at any age. So, for example, you can have health fairs, there's Medicare wellness visits, online fitness classes, hobby groups, faith-based activities, and again, the volunteer work. And one of the sites that I went to, I was just curious just to see, and I actually found 11 volunteer opportunities for older adults, and it was through Forbes, and it has everything from the Senior Corps to working in local and national charities, even working for parks, which I found really exciting. There's definitely things out there.

Depending on what motivates you and excites you. Animal shelters, being a foster grandparent, working with folks at hospice. And again, being an older individual has its benefits in that we have a lot of experience and a wealth of knowledge that we can share. There are even opportunities to be a mentor or provide educational classes. There's just so many opportunities out there, so I would recommend that if anyone was interested, they could just even do a search online for you know maybe a gardening group or whatever interests them to help get them out there. So then you get the physical component, the mental component, and the social community component as well.

That's great. And you know, I definitely feel like as we all age, we slow down in some of these aspects, and you know, I think it's great to continue to try to be active, and I think I would be concerned if we didn't at least present also the concept to our audience of a reminder, just always be safe. You know let's talk a little bit about some of the things maybe that when you are aging, some of the things that while I might love pickleball, it might not be the best thing for my knees, for example, or something. Is there anything that you'd like to add on those type of concepts?

Thank you. Well, definitely safety is priority. You know your body better than anybody else. Now, in my mind, I like to think I'm still 20, but my body reminds me constantly that no, I'm not. You're right, I move slower, and I have found that if I'm not as active, I'm not as flexible.

And people are afraid of, you know, especially an older population of falling. And even I used to think that falling was just a normal process of aging, and it's really not. Falling can cause serious injury, but they can be prevented, and there's things that you can do there. When you're out and about and doing things, it's good to be in touch with what your medical conditions are, what your medications are, because they can contribute to you not being as active or more tired or dizzy.

So you may need a medication review. Maybe you can get off of some of those medications that you don't need any longer, or they're interacting with others. Another important thing is getting your vision checked. Seeing, you know where you're walking and being able to see is incredibly important. And not just for walking, but even for driving if you're still driving.

You need to make sure that your vision is at its best. One of the things I used to notice in the emergency department a lot was folks that would come in, even with just something as simple as dirty lenses in their glasses, and I just couldn't help it. I had to take them off and wipe them down and clean them for them. It's just the simple things of being able to give ourselves the best environment, again, for thriving. Another thing I found interesting was having your hearing checked. Now, I think that as we get older, we think that's not going to happen to us. Oh, that's not going to happen to me. But then when you get there, you realize, man, I'm just like everybody else.

The same things are happening to me. And so I think we push off, you know, seeing the doctor or getting things checked because we really kind of don't want to know. It's almost accepting the fact that we're getting older. But the blessing is we're getting older. You're able to be in that stage of your life.

Hearing, they have found, tremendously affects balance. So if your hearings not the best, it actually can disrupt your spatial disorientation and can contribute to falls as well. Those are just some basic things for you, but then for the home and then again for other things that you're interested in doing, a safe environment is incredibly important, so you can make your home safer. Throw rugs are kind of a no-no. People slip and trip over those all the time. You're going to want to keep your floor clutter-free. You're going to want to have good lighting in your home, so that you can see where you're going.

In the bathrooms, especially in some of those tight spaces, or in areas where it might be wet, you're going to want to install some grab bars by the shower or the bathtub, maybe even next to the toilet. And some of these don't even have to be permanent. Some of them are suction and work very well for supporting folks. Wear shoes that fit properly. And some of the things I would say is be present. A lot of us in today's day and age, when there's so much going on, you're thinking about all these things you have to get done or all these on your mental list, and you're not being present and truly paying attention to the situation that you're in, and you might trip over your dog or your cat or accidentally slip or drop something. And then my last recommendation would be at night, if you find that you're one of those folks that gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, make sure that maybe you have some nightlights or a flashlight close to the bed, so that you can utilize it and see where you're going.

That's great guidance. And you know, if I were to look at this with a common theme in the things that I've heard from you, just to kind of bring us towards some conclusion of all of these great points that you provided, a lot of it to me is planning. Just really having a plan to age well, would that be a fair assessment?

Oh, absolutely. You know, information is power. And the more information you have or control you have over your environment, you're empowering yourself to have a better aging process.

That's wonderful. And so I guess to kind of close us up, is there anything else that you you've shared some great stuff with us, but is there anything else that you would love our audience to know as a takeaway point?

I think that we touched upon so many different opportunities, and a lot of it is drilled into us from society, our families, our medical providers, so many different folks. There's so many things. With that being said, I think it can be daunting and overwhelming to think, oh my gosh, I've got to get physically healthy, and I have to do this, and I have to do that. What I would recommend is take off little bites and little pieces at a time and start putting those into practice. And as you do that, it becomes a habit. And once it's a habit, you don't have to remind yourself anymore. So take little steps, small changes, and you'll get there. Again, small changes in your daily life can help you live longer and better, and that would be the last thing that I would recommend.

Absolutely. Thank you. And you know, one of the things as an organization that exists to help people that have had challenges with their stays or with their conditions, I really thank you for these guidelines and some ideas that you've provided to the audience, and I just hope that should someone need us that they'll be able to take these items that you've talked about, doing them slowly, doing them little by little, but that also we can kind of help to really impact their health overall and should you need us and if you'd like more information about our services, people can feel free to sign up for our newsletter. They can subscribe to our YouTube channel, our helpline number as well. It's a link on our website. We have a newsletter for people to sign up for so we can provide information in there as well. We do provide some of these general health topics as well. That’s all going to be available in the Show Notes. 

And we also have a couple of Outreach Specialists that are my partners as well that you will hear (shameless plug). If you have not heard some of our previous podcast people, I would ask that you go back and listen to some of them. Our Outreach Specialists are the other hosts with me, and they collaborate with our partners in the community. So I just wanted to say thank you again for your time, Dr. Brunetto, to share all this information with our listeners.

It was an honor to be here, and thank you so much for including me.

Absolutely. And thank you to all of you that are listening. We really appreciate your time and hope that today was really something special, gives you some new ideas, fresh ideas to keep you healthy as you age, and ask that you stay tuned and look into our next episode of Aging Health Matters. Take care, everyone. Bye-bye.