“Use it or lose it,” says Muriel Frank, M.D., a 90-year-old retired anesthesiologist, who does 100 push-ups a day — boy style.
She is one of 14 seniors enrolled in strength training and Tai Chi classes at UNMC’s Center for Healthy Living and is determined to use her muscles to keep healthy and active.
“It’s absolutely important to exercise,” Dr. Frank said.
Fitness is part of a “compression of morbidity” strategy adopted by UNMC’s Geriatric and Gerontology clinics under the leadership of Jane Potter, M.D., Neumann and Mildred Harris Geriatrics Professor and division chief of geriatrics.
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Muriel Frank, M.D., and Hanna Ekstrom share fitness tips at the Center for Healthy Living. |
Even so, the state has only 31 fellowship-trained geriatricians and a need for 89 more across the state.
This puts a major load of the state’s geriatric care on physicians, nurses, physician assistants and other caregivers across the state.
“A family physician spends 60 percent of their office time with patients over the age of 65,” Dr. Potter said. “They need to know a ton about geriatric medicine.”
To help meet that need, UNMC obtained federal support for the Nebraska Geriatric Education Center in 2004 to educate health professionals and faculty members across the state in geriatrics and gerontology.
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This summer, the $10.2 million Home Instead Center for Successful Aging will open and create a centralized location for geriatric medicine, psychiatry and fitness on the UNMC campus.
Funded entirely by private donations, it will be the only free-standing center focused on aging that is tied to an academic medical center in the region. Paul and Lori Hogan — co-founders of Home Instead Senior Care — are the principal donors.
Patricia Hageman, Ph.D., professor of physical therapy education in UNMC’s School of Allied Health Professions, is excited about the center.
“I’m passionate about empowering people to improve their lifestyle to achieve a high quality of life,” she said. “May we all be able to do 100 push-ups at the age of 90.”