Dr. John Morley, a SLUCare geriatrician and director of geriatrics at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, joined St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh to discuss health issues faced by older adults and what doctors should know to look for in their older patients.
"Physicians are not well trained in care of older people," Morley said. "They tend to treat older people as though they are 50-year-olds and that's not a good thing."
Morley, along with the team at SLUCare, has crafted a simple assessment program to get a headstart on diagnosis and treatment of issues in older people. He said the program has been tested on six continents with 9,000 screenings in the past year and has proven effective at identifying issues early.
"We're finding people 80 and older are actually having some problems thinking and many of these problems are fixable," Morley said. "In addition to that, the screen asks about advanced directives. Only about 60 percent of older Americans in Missouri have advanced directives."
There are several free, local screenings coming up that St. Louis residents can be a part of. For more information on timing, you can head to this website: .
Listen to the full conversation with Morley here:
Related Events
What: 37th Annual "Bringing It Together: Age Out Loud HealthFest"
When: Friday, May 26 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Muny Opera Pavillion in Forest Park
What: SLU Geriatric Health Assessments
When: Saturday, June 10 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where: Learning Resources Center at Saint Louis University Medical School, call 314-977-8848 for an appointment
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