Category: Fresh Perspectives

Last week was a busy one for the Varsity team. Over the course of four days, we visited both coasts, with the team enjoying a successful annual conference and expo in Spokane for LeadingAge WA, followed by a top-notch annual event in Hershey, put on by LeadingAge PA. As usual, we sharpened our pencils and took notes about what we’re hearing from providers, pundits and other aging services experts across the country so that we can share them with you!

Before diving in, however, we’d like to congratulate Adam Marles, who has been appointed as the new CEO of LeadingAge PA. Adam is a progressive and visionary member of the aging services community, and we are looking forward to the ideas and innovations he’ll bring to the table. At Varsity, we’ve been working with LeadingAge PA to help launch its new website, and we’re excited to be a part of its next chapter!

Now, on to the takeaways!

1. Skilled nursing regulations

Whether you’re in Tacoma or Philadelphia, the changes to skilled nursing regulations remain an ever-present bogeyman that haunts providers in our space. It seems that, just when organizations feel they have a handle on compliance, authorities change the regulations and guidelines again, causing a new scramble to ensure providers are up to snuff. If we have to describe this trend in one word, it’s “weariness.” Providers feel like they are running a rat race that never ends; they are constantly trying to keep up and are very concerned about falling behind. As a marketing and branding group, these regulations fall out of our area of expertise, but we empathize with our skilled nursing providers who are trying to find a way to make their compliance jobs easier. Kudos to those organizations that have strong nursing leadership and that continue to be leaders in this space, such as Presby’s Inspired Life and Elim/Augustana Care.

2. Mindset matters

Motivational speakers are a key component of LeadingAge conferences. They help the leadership in our space feel refreshed and energized about the work they do. One common theme we heard from these speakers on both coasts is the importance of mindset.

Let’s face it — working in aging services can be stressful. As care providers, we see people at their most vulnerable, and we have to deal with death far more often than we’d like; however, our residents rely on us to remain upbeat and positive. One bad day can quickly turn into a dour week, which impacts everyone around us. As LeadingAge Washington speaker Dan Diamond put it, “Every day, we choose our mindset.” What was the mindset you chose for yourself today? How is it affecting those around you? Being conscious about our attitudes and mindset can help us become better leaders for our teams and organizations.

3. What’s next?

There is an unquenchable thirst within the aging services space for information on “what’s next.” It seems like as soon as someone explains what he or she thinks is “the next big thing,” someone else raises a hand to say, “That’s great, but what’s after that?”

We’d all love to have a crystal ball and be able to predict the future of our marketplace. At Varsity, we have some good ideas of what’s coming down the pike because of our insights into generational values and our breadth of experience across the country, but what’s next for Washington might be very different from what’s next for Pennsylvania.

For example, in the western states, we’re seeing providers tackling social policies like never before, such as LGBTQ issues and legal cannabis use. Over on the East Coast, providers are more interested in innovations in construction and technology and how it will change their product mix going forward. At some point, focuses will shift as each area looks at how the other has engaged and managed the challenges at hand.

While the travel between these two conferences was exhausting, the value of seeing LeadingAge members in two very different parts of country was immeasurable. We thank both LeadingAge WA and LeadingAge PA for their hospitality, and we look forward to continuing our partnerships and initiatives with them.

In the coming weeks, our team will be at LeadingAge Florida and LeadingAge Tennessee, so stop by and say hello!

In recent weeks, we’ve written about how “Roseanne” opened up a new dialogue around aging. In reading these pieces, I was struck by how another show has also been portraying the aging process — the dramedy, “Grace and Frankie,” available on Netflix.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it stars some big names that many Boomers will immediately recognize: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen. Fonda stars as Grace, while Tomlin portrays Frankie, the title characters in the series. Grace is a retired cosmetics mogul, while Frankie is an aging art teacher. They become best friends and roommates after their husbands Robert (Sheen) and Sol (Waterston) announce that they are gay, in love and plan to get married. While this is a stressful situation for everyone, the quartet tries to remain friendly and work through their feelings and struggles. In a way, it’s a “Golden Girls” for the modern age.

The show is now in its fourth season and has started featuring storylines on aging. Grace and Frankie are vibrant, independent and have been operating their own business, but some of their behaviors have begun to cause concern for their children — with good reason. Incidents include driving a scooter while under the influence and hitting a police car in the process; getting lost on the road and following a truck on a whim, with an infant granddaughter in the backseat; and being swindled out of a large sum of money by a contractor. The culmination of these circumstances results in Grace and Frankie being pressured by their children to move into an assisted living community. The children know that they won’t go willingly, so they use duplicitous reasoning to get them to agree. Grace is told that Frankie needs the care of an assisted living community but won’t go without her friend. Alternately, Frankie is told that Grace is in need of greater care but won’t make the transition without Frankie. For this reason, they both agree because their care and concern for one another is tantamount.

As one can imagine, these two independent and vital women are not mentally or emotionally ready to move to such a community. The characters struggle with life in their new home, feeling like they just don’t belong there. After all, how can you possibly make frozen margaritas when your blender and every other small appliance has been confiscated and locked up in a storage room? When friends come to visit, they feel even more depressed because their peers have remained in their homes, with active lives, while they have to rush off to the dining room at 4:30 so they don’t miss dinner. The season ends with Grace and Frankie “breaking out” of their community and trying to return home, only to find a “sold” sign in the front yard, creating a cliff-hanger ending for the fourth season.

While “Roseanne” has dealt with the day-to-day issues of blue-collar aging, “Grace and Frankie” has dialed in on a different part of the process: the decision to move to a senior living community and how family and friends can influence that decision.

These interactions are great fodder for comedic plotlines and may be a bit exaggerated, but they are rooted in real-life challenges that people are faced with every day. Senior living sales & marketing professionals can all tell a story about pushy family members trying to get their loved one to move to a community before he or she is ready. They can also speak to individuals who do need the assistance a community can provide, but who move in kicking and screaming — sometimes literally. A move to a community can be a traumatic experience if not properly planned and handled appropriately — and if control is taken out of the person’s hands. “Grace and Frankie” finds a way to depict in a humanistic light, with a touch of humor, that this is the reality that many aging services providers face today.

We, at Varsity, applaud “Grace and Frankie” for taking a look at how families make decisions regarding their aging relatives. It’s a topic that is hard to portray accurately and in a way that doesn’t feel overly dramatized. While we don’t agree with the methods used by the children to get Grace and Frankie to make the move, the emotional toll it takes on the characters is realistic.

I encourage you to check out “Grace and Frankie” if you haven’t already. It’s an excellent show that looks at aging from a fresh perspective — just how we like it.

Over the last week, we’ve heard reported the deaths of several celebrities who chose to take their own lives. One of the highest profile of these was Anthony Bourdain, famed chef and world traveler. He was 61 years old, squarely placing him in the Baby Boomer demographic. From early reports we’ve received, few people knew of Bourdain’s struggles with mental health. This highlights an issue in the world of aging services, and it is one we often do not like to talk about — the mental health of our Boomers and seniors.

An April 2016 issue of The Week magazine sums it up concisely, with a headline blaring “U.S. suicides have reached 30-year high, led by Baby Boomers.” The article notes that Americans age 45 to 64 have shown a massive increase in suicides, with women’s rates jumping 63 percent, while men climbed 43 percent. The author further notes that the Boomer generation has always suffered from abnormally high suicide rates, so it should come as no surprise that this trend has continued as they age.

Scientists and researchers, noticing this alarming surge in self-harm, started to research the root causes affecting Boomers. In a 2015 article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Dr. Katherine Hempstead and Dr. Julie Phillips released the results of their study on this phenomenon. Their review of the data showed that suicide in the Boomer population tended to occur for a combination of three reasons.

1. External circumstances, such as the loss of a job, a personal financial crash or legal distress. They further discovered a correlation between the Great Recession of 2008 and Boomer suicide rates, which makes sense, as Boomers were unduly impacted by the 2008 financial crisis.
2. Boomers are feeling a loss of power as their generation leaves the boardroom and the workforce, which has been such a defining factor in their lives. Aging out of the workforce also means lower income, which for many Boomers can lead to credit and financial difficulties.
3. Last, and most pointedly to us, is the issue of retirement. As people age into their 50s and 60s, they suddenly realize that they haven’t saved properly for retirement. The stress of financial instability and the thought that some might never retire can certainly cause some extreme feelings of helplessness.

This begs the question: What can we, as aging services providers, do to help keep our residents mentally healthy? The best place to start is to simply talk openly and honestly about the issue. Remember — Boomers come from a generation in which mental health issues were stigmatized. The first step in bringing about awareness is to engage your residents on the topic. Ask them how they are doing, and listen to their responses with empathy. When they do share a concern, respond with reassurance and hope. If there is an available resource for support, put them in contact with that help. Finally, after your initial conversation, stay engaged. By building a long-standing relationship with a resident, you’re more likely to notice changes in his or her mental condition.

Coming to grips with Boomer suicide can be difficult. For younger people, Boomers often appear to be on top of the world. They have money, great careers, families and can soon retire from the workforce to pursue their passions. However, just under the surface, are issues that people don’t realize — a failure to adequately save funds, the death of loved ones, declining health and more. We, as a society, must face down our stigma of mental health among aging populations and provide them with the support they need.

Anthony Bourdain said, “I have the best job in the world. If I’m unhappy, it’s a failure of imagination.” Did his imagination fail him, or did we, as a society?

Sources:

http://theweek.com/speedreads/620136/suicides-have-reached-30year-high-led-by-baby-boomers

https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(14)00662-X/pdf?code=amepre-site

LeadingAge Colorado celebrated it’s 50^th anniversary in style with this year’s conference and exhibition, under the theme “Looking Back, Leading Forward.” Part of the Varsity team was on hand for the event and we thoroughly enjoyed the program.

We were especially taken with the keynote speaker, Reggie Rivers, a former player for the Denver Broncos, who shared his sports experiences and related them to the leading of teams. Reggie’s wit and humor were infectious and his presentation was packed full of great lessons. We wanted to share three takeaways from Reggie that we think could benefit any leader of teams in the aging services space.

Establish a metric for success.

Organizations accomplish goals because they keep their eye on the proverbial prize. While each individual person, team or department in an organization may have goals; they should all be contributing to the ultimate metric of success. Every person within the group should be able to clearly understand how their work helps to accomplish the overall mission and advance the organization.

This point really struck home with us at Varsity. As partners with our clients, we are keenly aware of how our work directly aids a client in achieving their goals and pushing their organization forward. We will definitely be asking our future partners to articulate their “metric of success” and working to demonstrate how we are contributing to that goal.

Focus on your area of control.

Aging services is a big and complicated space to work in. Every day we are confronted with new challenges and opportunities. They could range from a disappointed family, to an unexpected survey, to celebrating a 100^th birthday. It can be easy to let ourselves get caught up in these moments and feel like we are constantly responding to issues instead of being proactive. To Reggie’s point, if we spend our time focusing on the items we can control, we’ll end up happier and closer to our goals.

Prepare to fail and instead focus on incremental wins.

If we succeeded one hundred percent of the time, the world wouldn’t need us. We must recognize, as people, that we are always learning and growing. We are going to fail our team. Our team is going to fail us. It’s how we respond to these failures that demonstrates our organizational culture, values, and understandings. On that same thought, we should also celebrate incremental wins. If your goal is 100% occupancy, don’t delay celebration until that number is hit. Instead celebrate every new resident and contract signed, as that’s an incremental win that is pushing you further towards your goal.

Reggie demonstrated the real world impact of these three points thorugh a story about the Broncos. The team shifted their philosophy for rewarding success and in doing so, made sure that EVERYONE “wins” when the team does well on the field. The leadership of the team made sure that every role in the organization understood how their job contributed to the overall team performance. This caused an absolute transformation in attitudes and, interestingly enough, the team went on to win several Super Bowls after numerous losses in the Big Game.

We congratulate LeadingAge Colorado on a successful conference and a productive half-century of advocacy for seniors in the State. Keep up the good work and we are looking forward to the 2019 conference!

During 2018, we have undertaken an ongoing blog series in which we take a look at the opportunities and challenges faced by the diverse groups of Boomers and seniors being served by today’s aging services providers.

For our first article in the series, we examined a rapidly growing population in the United States — Latino Boomers and seniors.

In this, our second article, we are looking at the challenges faced by LGBT Boomers and seniors as they age in a changing society.

It was early — almost too early, some would say — but I was interested in the topic, so I got up early for the 7:30 a.m. session at the LeadingAge California Annual Conference and Exhibition.

The speaker was from SAGE, an advocacy group for LGBT Boomers and seniors. His presentation was discussing how communities are adapting their policies and culture to become more welcoming to LGBT individuals. The audience was fuller than I expected, with approximately 20 people. They were clutching their coffees and wiping the sleep from their eyes. Such is the bane of the early morning presenter.

After the typical opening remarks, the presenter said something that caught everyone’s attention. “I guarantee you that there are LGBT individuals residing in your communities right now.” You could almost hear the wheels start to turn.

“Do you have two women that live together, who are lifelong friends?” he said. “Did you have two men move into the community at the same time who chose to live in separate apartments? How about Mrs. Jones down at the end of the hall, who was never married?” Then, like a sunrise, it dawned on the participants, including myself: LGBT individuals are at all of our communities. They just choose not to be out because of personal, societal or cultural reasons.

Admit it. As you read this, you probably thought of someone at your community who fits this description. That’s because the presenter was right — these individuals reside at all of our communities. We need to recognize it and, frankly, we need to do a better job of meeting their needs as they age.

According to SAGE, there are currently three million LGBT adults over the age of 50 in the United States. By 2030, that number is expected to grow to seven million. These individuals are twice as likely to be single or living alone, and four times less likely to have children. This is significant because, as we age, our families are often the first people we turn to for care. But, in many cases, LGBT seniors may not have that kind of support. This can lead to social isolation, with more than 60 percent of LGBT adults reporting feeling a lack of companionship, with more than 50 percent feeling isolated from others.

Obviously, there is a huge market for culturally competent aging services providers to provide care to these individuals. The key here is that the provider is truly culturally competent. Thirty-four percent of LGBT older adults fear having to re-closet themselves when seeking senior housing in order to be accepted or to fit into a community. This fear isn’t just in regards to the staff and administration; it also relates to the other residents who form the day-to-day life at the community.

What can you do, today, to become more culturally aware and competent in assisting LGTB Boomers and seniors?

We encourage you to look around your community and ask yourself if it is welcoming to LGBT individuals. Be realistic. Would you residents be accepting of an openly LGBT person? Would your team know how to address him or her respectfully? Could you accommodate his or her needs?

There’s a huge market being created right now for communities that can appropriately care for LGBT individuals. This could be your organization’s chance to get in on the ground floor of this movement. Not only will you be doing the right thing, but it could easily give you a leg up on your competition.

We encourage you to check out SAGE and engage its training program for your team — starting with your executives and working downward to your frontline associates. Becoming SAGE-certified is a great way to show that you’re taking the LGBT Boomer and senior community seriously and that you want to meet its needs.

Diversity has never been more important in senior living than it is right now. The fabric of American culture is changing. What people want from an aging services provider is changing. Providers can either adapt and welcome diversity or shun it and wither on the vine.

What path will your organization choose?

Source:

https://www.sageusa.org/resource-posts/the-facts-on-lgbt-aging/

Two weeks ago, on a whim, I wrote an article discussing how the reboot of the show “Roseanne” has been addressing issues related to aging. Since writing that article, another episode has debuted that touched on an issue that many Baby Boomers are struggling with — aging parents. Specifically, we’ll be reviewing season 10, episode 6, entitled “No Country for Old Women.”

In the show, Roseanne and her sister, Jackie, are confronted with how best to assist their aging mother, Beverly. Neither daughter wants to take full responsibility for her, as they are both leading complicated lives that leave little time for caring for an aging parent. It also doesn’t help that Beverly has a challenging personal outlook and worldview. Eventually, the sisters decide on “joint custody,” with the mother alternating where she lives every week. As one would suspect, Beverly isn’t very happy with this situation. After Jackie catches her mid-coitus with an older gentleman in Jackie’s apartment, Beverly half-heartedly threatens suicide. This moment helps Jackie to see the challenges her mother faces and how the whole situation makes her feel unwanted. Jackie concedes, and Beverly takes up residence with her.

In less than a half hour of television, this episode struck at the heart of a growing crisis in American families. As people live longer, their retirement funds are drying up, and their need for extended medical care grows. Families once took care of aging relatives at home, but that was usually for just a few years. Now, an aging parent might live for a decade or more, requiring additional care that children and grandchildren just aren’t able to render. Of course, the children don’t want to feel guilty by placing their parent in a community that the parent doesn’t want to go to. It’s a rock and a hard place, for sure.

In 2016, The Atlantic published an article called, “What Aging Parents Want From Their Kids.” In the piece, several families are interviewed about how they are handling aging, from both the children’s and parents’ point of view. It’s fascinating how the roles have reversed, with parents feeling the stress of being checked up on and feeling as though their life is under constant scrutiny. This can lead to parents trying to hide age-related health issues, such as memory lapses and difficulty with daily activities. On the other side of the coin, adult children are often afraid of their parents getting hurt, further encouraging their protective behavior. Welcome to the new normal for many families.

“Roseanne” adroitly manages to take a serious topic and find the humor in it. Yes, Beverly is a prickly individual that is hard to like, but she’s still a human being with feelings that can be hurt. Just because she’s aging doesn’t mean that she is bereft of value. Jackie and Roseanne are forced to confront their own behavior and how it impacts someone they love.

This issue is becoming all too common in our space. As caregivers to the aging, we must also care for a resident’s family, who can be just as scared as a new resident. The services that communities provide are felt well beyond the resident, and our ability to put the family at ease is often even more important than the direct care a resident might get.

Source:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/when-youre-the-aging-parent/472290/

The LeadingAge California 2018 Annual Conference & EXPO is in the books! As always, the event was truly “extraordinary,” fitting with this year’s theme. From the PAC dinner on Monday evening to the continuing education classes and the exposition hall, the event was filled with opportunities for learning and networking.

Over the last year, we’ve built up an article series about our three takeaways from major events like “be extraordinary” by LeadingAge California. This gives me a chance to share some of the insight I’ve gained and, hopefully, provide some thoughts around what’s on the horizon for aging services organizations.

The sharing economy is here to stay.

Given the flood of Boomers who fall into a more moderate income category, expect the concept of sharing even more of their collective assets to continue, up to and including their homes. Brace yourself for groups of friends who want to move to your community to cohabitate — perhaps two or three to a home. Ride sharing continues to grow in this space as well. I had the opportunity to speak to several people who are using Lyft as a primary source of transportation at their communities, with much success. Other organizations are making shared vehicles, like Zipcar, available to residents. As individual assets continue to shrink, expect to see Boomers looking for creative ways to pool their resources to get the best experience possible.

In advocacy, there is power.

Advocacy remains vital to keeping the needs of our aging society in front of legislators; as a field, we must do more work in coordinating a common voice on behalf of those we serve. LeadingAge California is leading the charge by increasing its focus on developing its PAC and targeting specific legislators who have an interest in helping LeadingAge member organizations. It isn’t just investing in lobbyists, but also in causes that can make a big difference in the bottom line for communities across the state.

Technological advancements can’t replace social interactions.

Right now in our communities, we are seeing a technological revolution that is being driven by our residents. During the conference, we heard multiple stories of residents utilizing the Amazon Echo and Apple Siri products to augment their day and make it easier. Boomers and seniors are taking these devices and finding new and creative ways to apply them to their daily lives, especially for those who may have vision issues. Think about it — our society is incredibly driven by visual interactions; however, this new generation of device is best interacted with using our auditory senses.

All that being said, these advancements aren’t likely to replace human interaction. Attendees were cautioned on the consequences such devices can bring with them, like families who visit less often, a decline in face-to-face doctor visits and a desire to automate health. It’s a rabbit hole that we can easily fall down as we cut costs and stretch our staff farther. Remember, no piece of technology can beat the caring voice and the compassionate hand on the shoulder of a trained nursing professional.

We’d like to thank our friends at LeadingAge California for the opportunity to present two education sessions at this year’s event. Our team had an excellent time meeting and networking with communities from all over the Golden State, and we are already looking forward to next year!

On March 27, 2018, ABC aired the first episode of “Roseanne”’s 10th season. To say there was an appetite for the relaunch of this program is an understatement; more than 18 million people tuned in to watch the show, which was renewed for an 11th season within three days of the airing. Sure, nostalgia is driving interest in the production, but the stories being told are resonating with viewers, especially in the 18 to 49 demographic.

You might be wondering why we’re discussing a television show that is popular with an age group that doesn’t qualify as the “mature market.” It’s certainly a pertinent question! To answer that query, we point to season 10, episode 3, entitled “Roseanne Gets the Chair.” While every episode of the season touches on aging issues, this one brings them to the forefront.

As Roseanne has aged, her knees have gotten bad. Throughout the season, she quips about her joint pain and the challenges she faces getting around as she ages. To help this situation, Roseanne’s caring husband, Dan, installs a chair lift in their home stairwell to help Roseanne with her mobility issues. Dan says he got the lift from a neighbor who passed away, implying that someone much older than Roseanne up to this point used it. Naturally, Roseanne is resistant to using the lift because, in her words, “It makes me feel old.” At one point in the show, Roseanne gives in to using the lift, taking a seat and riding it up the stairs. As she does so, her granddaughter bounds up and down the steps, running past her, making her feel even more feeble and vulnerable. This interaction illustrates a point that is hitting close to home for that 18 to 49 audience — namely, the adult children that are now looking to care for their parents.

In real life, Roseanne is 65 years old, and it can be presumed that her character is roughly the same age. In the show, she and Dan struggle with keeping track of their prescriptions and dealing with age-related pain, as well as the challenges of living with their children and grandchildren all under one roof. Let’s face it: This is a common story in America today, which may be why the show has struck a cord.

People 18 to 49 are young enough to remember when “Roseanne” first aired, with a young, vibrant cast dealing with blue-collar issues. Now, that cast has aged alongside them and is facing the same life stage challenges as their families are. Adult children are watching as their parents endure joint replacements, manage medications and fight to stay active, even as their bodies begin to decline. This is especially apparent within blue-collar families, who may not be able to afford a retirement community and choose to stay in their own homes, depending on family care and resourcefulness.

In its own way, “Roseanne” is generating discussion and insight on the aging process in a manner that no other show is doing today. Rather than exaggerating the issues of aging for sport, the show reacts to them in a real way. This reaction is something that many adult children are facing as they watch their own parents age into their mid- to late-60s and early 70s. The desire for this group to remain active is routinely challenged by health, leading to adult children taking on caregiver roles — whether they are equipped or not.

Through our work with aging services providers, we know these challenges all too well. Previously in this blog, we’ve discussed the lack of middle class senior living options. Instead, our industry is bookended with affordable housing and luxury brands, leaving the middle class with few places to turn. We must ask ourselves: Where will the Roseanne’s of the world live in the next 10 years, and is our industry ready for those opportunities?

In the meantime, we will continue to tune in to “Roseanne” and laugh along with America — even as we look deeper into the aging issues that the show brings to life.

Welcome to the month of May!

It’s a time when we welcome blossoming flowers, warmer temperatures and the observance of Older Americans Month. In the next few days, aging services providers across the country will tip their hats to this annual event — perhaps going so far as to plan a promotion around it — yet we find that most providers don’t understand the history and true purpose of the celebration.

Older Americans Month was established in 1963 to support and recognize the small population of Americans aged 65 and over at that time. Fifty-five years later, if Older Americans Month were a person, it could join AARP and would probably start getting mailers about your communities and services. The impetus for the creation of the observance came from the National Council of Senior Citizens who worked with then-president John F. Kennedy to establish Senior Citizens Month, which has evolved over time into the annual event we know today. Starting with JFK, every president since has issued a formal proclamation, asking that the nation pay tribute to older Americans in some way — whether through a ceremony, a fair or some other activity.

The program is now under the purview of the Administration on Aging, in partnership with other agencies and entities. Each year, a theme is determined, with supporting materials provided to help community leaders recognize older Americans for their lives and service. The theme for 2018 is “Engage at Every Age,” which aims to emphasize that you are never too old (or too young) to take part in activities that can enrich your life. Specifically, the program is shining a light on mental and physical wellness this year, including traditional exercise-based ideas, as well as more unusual ones, like establishing a mentoring relationship.

We encourage you to explore the website for Older Americans Month and make use of all of the resources provided. The outline great ideas for programs that can help energize your residents and team members, as well as the greater community that your organization serves.

Click here to visit the website for OAM.

Remember: If you are posting about Older Americans Month on social media, use the hashtag #oma18! to share all of the great things you are doing!

This article is a guest post by Rebecca Evans of GeriatricNursing.org. As we approach Older American’s month, we thought it was an appropriate time to discuss one of the most challenging diseases that an aging adult might face – Parkinson’s. We thank Rebecca for her input and we hope you enjoy the piece!

I can hear you wondering: How is it hard to diagnose Parkinson’s Disease? After all, aren’t the characteristic symptoms rather distinctive?

Well…yes and no, unfortunately.

Yes, Parkinson’s disease symptoms are rather distinctive (for the most part, anyway; there are a few diseases and drug reactions that can mirror Parkinson’s symptoms)…but they take time to develop. In the early stages of the disease, in fact, it can be incredibly hard to diagnose.

After all, there are no precise tests for Parkinson’s. As often as not, it is mistaken in its early stages for another disease—which in turn delays appropriate treatment.

Most common diagnosis difficulties

For instance, there’s data that actually suggests that as many as 25% of Parkinson’s patients are misdiagnosed. That is, they may be receiving treatment for Parkinson’s, and not actually have Parkinson’s. Or they may be receiving treatment for something else, and actually have Parkinson’s disease.

A big part of this goes back to the fact that there is no precise test for Parkinson’s, and different diagnosing doctors treat different indicators differently. For instance, some of the most common tests given to potential Parkinson’s patients are CT scans, blood tests, urine samples, and more. None of these tests are definitive, however (remember, no precise test?), and so it is up to the doctors reviewing these tests to decide what to make of them.

For some doctors, inconclusive test results may cause them to lean toward a Parkinson’s diagnosis. For other doctors, those same inconclusive results may cause them to lean away.

So what are more accurate predictor tests?

In particular, because Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder, you probably want systematic neurological assessments to play a role in your diagnosis. For instance, neurologists familiar with Parkinson’s will know to test your reflexes, balance, muscular strength and responsiveness. Additionally, it is not uncommon for a neurologist looking at the possibility of Parkinson’s to say they aren’t yet sure. They want to run more tests, or want to run more tests in the future to see if your symptoms develop further. Parkinson’s is not an easy diagnosis to make. As such, neurologists familiar with the disease will likely not rush into such a diagnosis.

Similarly, there are a whole range of neurological disorders that can present many of the same symptoms as Parkinson’s. As a result, a neurologist may want to be careful to eliminate or rule out some of those other neurological disorders.

As a general rule, the more careful and thorough your neurologist is in testing you,  the more comfortable you can be in their diagnosis.

Please do note, however, that you can always get a second opinion from a neurologist you trust if you don’t feel comfortable with your original neurologist.

Why is appropriate and early diagnosis so important?

Quite simply, because it is the key to better treatment. When earlier caught, treatment can begin earlier, and adjustments can be made to help preserve independence and a high quality of life. This might mean developing an early exercise routine that works, finding the pharmaceutical regimen that gives best results, and determining what level of physical therapy works best for you and your current symptoms.

What diseases are most often confused with Parkinson’s disease?

In particular, if you suspect you or a loved one may have Parkinson’s disease, these are some of the other diseases that may regularly be confused with Parkinson’s. You will want your neurologist to rule them out in testing:

Benign essential tremor
Brain tumor
Huntington’s disease
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple system atrophy
Striato-Nigral degeneration
Supranuclear palsy

Other diseases may also be confused with Parkinson’s, obviously, but the above list is some of the most common.

So ask your neurologist to be thorough. It’s more important that you are appropriately diagnosed, so you can get the care you need, than that you are diagnosed quickly.

Multiple Sclerosis – An infographic by GeriatricNursing.org