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Your Body of Work

Originally published for the San Francisco Bay Times Your Body of Work Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” Getting older is a privilege not afforded to many throughout history or even today. We are fortunate to live in a time and place where so many in our community are living…

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Medicare: A Very Brief History

It is open enrollment for Medicare. Decisions about coverage can be complicated as there are multiple ‘Parts’ of Medicare, in this blog post I will give a brief history of Medicare–the single payer health insurance program of the federal government. To be eligible for Medicare health insurance you must be 65 years of age or older, be an individual with a disability, End-Stage Renal Disease, or…

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Resiliency and COVID-19

Resiliency in the time of COVID-19 As I write we are marking the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shut down. I cannot help but think of the hardships this year has bestowed upon my family, community and in particular older adults and people of color. It was just about a year ago that my wife and I started having daily Facetime calls with my mother-in-law Peggy. It was at the time…

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Resiliency During a Pandemic

Resiliency During a Pandemic

The author’s mother-in-law, Dr. Peggy Levison As I write we are marking the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shut down. I cannot help but think of the hardships this year has bestowed upon my family, community and in particular older adults and people of color. It was just about a year ago that my wife and I started having daily Facetime calls with my mother-in-law Peggy. It was at…

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Speech to UC Davis Medical School Improving Outcomes for LGBT Adults Conference

Speech to UC Davis Medical School Improving Outcomes for LGBT Adults Conference

Good morning.

It is a pleasure to be with you today and a privilege to talk to you about improving health outcomes for LGBT adults age 65 and older, just to be sure we are all on the same page, that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender adults. I want to start this morning by sharing a good friend of mine, Alice Herman (https://youtu.be/ZW7pAFCsIlo).

Right now, 2.4% of people age 65 and older…

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Speech to UC Davis Medical School Improving Outcomes for LGBT Adults Conference

Speech to UC Davis Medical School Improving Outcomes for LGBT Adults Conference

Good morning.

It is a pleasure to be with you today and a privilege to talk to you about improving health outcomes for LGBT adults age 65 and older, just to be sure we are all on the same page, that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender adults. I want to start this morning by sharing a good friend of mine, Alice Herman (https://youtu.be/ZW7pAFCsIlo).

Right now, 2.4% of people age 65 and older…

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https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/health/lonliness-aging-health-effects.html

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The Myth of Easy

The Myth of Easy

I don’t know about you, but I am a little tired of all the claims of how easy it is to lose 10 pounds, become a millionaire by flipping houses, or become successful INSTANTLY when you buy product X.

It is not that I don’t believe that we are all capable of being and achieving more. Rather, it is that doing more and being more takes three things: time, work and passion. You need to accept that it…

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Optimal You Journal: Sample

Optimal You Journal: Sample

The opportunity arrived in my life to spend a good portion of each week writing. Here is the first section of my new Optimal You Journal. The Journal is a tool for people like you and I who embrace that we are the authors of our lives. The following below is from the first section of the Optimal You Journal. Publication date is early 2019–and I sharing this with you to get feedback and to simply…

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Be Positive About Aging It Means You're Alive…

Be Positive About Aging It Means You’re Alive…

There are some who believe aging is a disease. These researchers, philosophers and opinion leaders espouse a narrow definition of aging as the decline and deterioration of functional properties at the cellular, tissue and organ level that leads to the body’s inability to remain in balance (homeostasis) and thus individuals lose functional capacity as they age. That definition of aging as decline,…

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A Quick Review of AARP's new LGBT Aging Study

A Quick Review of AARP’s new LGBT Aging Study

This March has seen the release of an important new study by AARP. The study, Maintaining Dignity: Understanding and Responding to the Needs of Older LGBT Americans, is packed with new and fascinating information.

Not long ago there were few studies of the aging experience for LGBT people. For years, researchers opined that the LGBT community was difficult or near impossible to study—LGBT seniors…

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AARP Releases Study on the LGBT Aging Experience

AARP Releases Study on the LGBT Aging Experience

This March has seen the release of an important new study by AARP. The study, Maintaining Dignity: Understanding and Responding to the Needs of Older LGBT Americans, is packed with new and fascinating information.

Not long ago there were few studies of the aging experience for LGBT people. For years, researchers opined that the LGBT community was difficult or near impossible to study—LGBT seniors…

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Your LGBT Senior Client Just Came Out to You, Now What?

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Your LGBT Senior Client Just Came Out to You, Now What?

Your LGBT Senior Client Just Came Out to You, Now What?

  Have you ever revealed a secret or sensitive detail to someone only have them brush it off as unimportant? For me, it can feel like I am being disregarded, thought of as less than or worse ignored. I suppose for the listener a secret revelation can feel awkward. What is the best way to respond when someone tells you a sensitive secret? It’s not always easy to know.

The reason I am writing this…

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Your LGBT Senior Client Just Came Out to You, Now What?

Your LGBT Senior Client Just Came Out to You, Now What?

Have you ever revealed a secret or sensitive detail to someone only have them brush it off as unimportant? For me, it can feel like I am being disregarded, thought of as less than or worse ignored. I suppose for the listener a secret revelation can feel awkward. What is the best way to respond when someone tells you a sensitive secret? It’s not always easy to know.

The reason I am writing this is…

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Acceptance and Belonging Key to LGBTQ Elder Housing

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Acceptance and Belonging Key to LGBTQ Elder Housing

Acceptance and Belonging Key to LGBTQ Elder Housing

Years ago, I met a gay man in his late 70s. He was an active member of the LGBTQ rights movement, and linked his vitality to his connection with the LGBTQ community.  As he aged, however, he found it harder to grocery shop, go to the doctor or volunteer. He was losing his ability clean his home, cook and he felt was soon going to be unable to care for himself without help. He lamented his loss of…