Alex Smith

3 days ago | geripal.org | Alex Smith

June Lunney famously characterized the end of life functional course of people with dementia as a slow dwindle over time. Tom Gill later found that people with dementia do indeed have persistent severe disability throughout the last year of their lives. But from our clinical work, many of us are familiar with people with dementia who experience sudden shocks to their health, think hip fracture, think hospitalization for pneumonia.

1 week ago | geripal.org | Alex Smith

Happy Pride Month GeriPal listeners!Transgender issues are in the news. Just today (June 17th) as we record this podcast:Ezra Klein released a wonderful interview with Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of congressA judge ruled that cuts to NIH grants focused on minority groups, including transgender people, were illegal and ordered the government to restore funding.

2 weeks ago | thebreakthrough.org | Alex Smith

We are pleased to announce that Marc Levitt has joined the Breakthrough Institute to lead our work to reform environmental review and permitting. As Director of Environmental Regulatory Reform, Marc will guide our efforts to modernize the regulatory systems that govern environmental oversight, infrastructure permitting, forestry and land use, and clean energy development. Marc brings two decades of experience.

2 weeks ago | geripal.org | Alex Smith

If you’re anything like me, you might find the process of what happens to patients when they visit a radiation oncologist somewhat mysterious. During my training, I didn’t receive much education about radiation oncology, and I’m not entirely sure what some of the terms mean (hypofractionated means fewer sessions, right?). Well, today’s podcast aims to clear up all these uncertainties.

3 weeks ago | geripal.org | Alex Smith

The need for better palliative care in nursing homes is significant. Consider this: the majority of the 1.4 million adults residing in U.S. nursing homes grapple with serious illnesses, and roughly half experience dementia. Many also suffer from distressing symptoms like pain. In addition, about 25% of all deaths in the United States occur within these facilities. Despite these substantial needs, specialized palliative care beyond hospice is rare in nursing homes.