Ask Dr. Mia: Navigating Dementia Caregiving

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ask Dr. Mia, host Dr. Mia Yang speaks with Josh Marquess about his family's journey in transitioning his grandmother with Alzheimer's into a memory care facility. They discuss the special bond Josh has with his grandparents, the early signs of Alzheimer's, the emotional challenges of witnessing the progression of the disease, and the difficult dec...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Ask Dr. Mia podcast, Dr. Mia speaks with Jeannine Bryant, a downsizing expert, about the challenges and emotional aspects of helping seniors transition to smaller living spaces. They discuss the concept of "right sizing", the importance of planning, and when to seek professional help.  Jeannine shares practical tips for decluttering, navigating fam...

Send us Fan Mail Summary In this episode of Ask Dr. Mia, Dr. Mia shares her personal journey as a caregiver for her mother, who passed away from ovarian cancer. She discusses the challenges of navigating caregiving, grief, and the complexities of relationships between caregivers and their aging parents. Dr. Mia emphasizes the importance of understanding and accepting the wishes of loved ones, espe...

Send us Fan Mail In this special crossover episode Dr. Mia is interviewed by Rachel Zimmer, host of  "The Hygge Nurse." In this episode they discuss Dr. Mia's origin stories- how she decided to go into geriatrics and her current career focus. Rachel and Mia also talk about a recent study they worked on, which examined at the impact of caregiving, specifically on Black and Latino pop...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia interviews Dr. Mariana Wingood, a physical therapist specializing in geriatrics. They discuss the importance of physical activity for older adults and strategies to motivate them. Dr. Wingood emphasizes the need to understand what is important to each individual and tailor exercise programs accordingly. They also explore the benefits of incorporating physical therapy into...

Send us Fan Mail Summary In this episode, Dr. Mia discusses five things that can help with healthy aging: exercise, diet, sleep, stress and mental health, and positive age-related perceptions. She emphasizes the importance of aerobic exercise and getting at least 8,000 steps a day. She also recommends a Mediterranean-style diet (MIND diet) with plenty of fresh vegetables. Dr. Mia provides tips for...

Send us Fan Mail Bill Cohen, a certified senior advisor, shares his experience in helping families navigate the challenges of caregiving for a loved one with dementia. He emphasizes the importance of open communication and allowing each family member to express their opinions and concerns. Bill also discusses the training required to become a certified senior advisor and the holistic approach they...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia uses a composite patient Ms. Smith's story to demonstrate her journey through different levels of care, from home to hospital, to skilled nursing facility (SNF), and then back to home. She discusses assisted living vs nursing home vs memory care unit and insurance payment options for them. Additional resources: Eldercare Locator (acl.gov) Nursing home facility ratings...

Send us Fan Mail Summary Jenny Kim, a family caregiver for her elderly parents, shares her experience managing their finances and healthcare. Her father, who has severe dementia, insists on withdrawing large amounts of cash and giving it away. Jenny has power of attorney but faces challenges with banks and bill companies. She hired a geriatric case manager to help with appointments and medical coo...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia opens up about her personal experience with her mother's ovarian cancer diagnosis and the grief she is going through. She discusses the initial diagnosis, the challenges of treatment, and the emotions she has been experiencing, including anger, helplessness, guilt, and grief. Dr. Mia shares her strategies for processing grief, such as self-coaching, journaling, exerci...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Mia interviews David McLawhorn, a grief counselor, about his work and the topic of grief. David shares his personal journey into grief counseling and discusses the differences between grief and depression. He also explains the phases of grief and the challenges of anticipatory grief and ambiguous loss. David provides insights into how grief counselors can supp...

Send us Fan Mail Summary Dr. Mia interviews Dr. Monique Nugent about her book 'Prescription for Admission' and discusses various topics related to navigating the healthcare system and hospital stays. They cover the inspiration behind the book, common questions and quick guides for patients, understanding inpatient medicine, options for discharge, safety and goals of care, improving commu...

Send us Fan Mail In the final episode of season three, Dr. Mia reflects on her love for working with people living with dementia and their caregivers. She shares the inspiring story of a couple, Bill and Pat, who exemplify the extraordinary daily acts of caregiving. Dr. Mia discusses the importance of acknowledging, validating, and redirecting communication strategies for dementia care. She also e...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Mia interviews Jeff Bloomfield, an estate planning lawyer from Carolina Estate Planning , to discuss the importance of estate planning and related legal documents. They cover topics such as the difference between a trust and a will, the probate process, and the impact of Medicaid on long-term care services. They also address common issues with power of attorne...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia talks with her colleague Dr. Tim Hughes, about vascular and metabolic conditions' contribution to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Timothy Hughes, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He is a neuroepidemiologist cross-trained in cardiovascular epidemiology and multimodal brain imaging....

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia talks with Caroline Prioleau, writer for the Global Brain Health Institute at University of California San Francisco's Memory & Aging Center and co-lead of the Hear/Say oral history project that collects stories from people's experiences with dementia, aging, creativity and caregiving. We talked about a new documentary called Keys Bags Names Words - about hop...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia talks with Dr. Ashley Sanderlin about how to advocate for yourself or your love ones within the healthcare system. Ashley H. Sanderlin, PhD is a passionate researcher that investigates modifiable risk factors and early interventions for Alzheimer’s disease. She was the first African American to attain a PhD in Neuroscience from Michigan State University. As an Assistant Pr...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia talks about the other main reason why people end up in nursing homes- "legs not working" aka falls, especially the factors that affect people's balance and what to do about each of the risk factors. New format of episode with screen share, check out Dr. Mia's new YouTube Channel if you would prefer to follow along visually . Medications that increase ri...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ask Dr. Mia podcast, Dr. Mia talks to her colleague, neuropsychologist and memory researcher Dr. Bonnie Sachs.  Dr. Bonnie Sachs is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in working with older adults with memory loss and other cognitive disorders. Her areas of focus, both clinically and in research, include mild cognitive impairment (MCI),...

Send us Fan Mail Returning back to Season 3 of Ask Dr. Mia Podcast talking about what is Comprehensive Dementia Care and Medicare's new program to pay for it. Health Affairs' article on Comprehensive Dementia Care: https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/payment-comprehensive-dementia-care-five-key-recommendations Medicare's GUIDE program: Guiding an Improved Dementia Experi...

Send us Fan Mail For the last episode of season 2, Dr. Mia talks about lecanemab, a monoclonal antibody against amyloid, results since the show's most popular episode on lecanemab released on 10/7/2022. Lecanemab or Clarity AD clinical trial results in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Death related to lecanemab , reported in Science, related to Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Donanemab pres...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Mia talks with Dr. Trey Bateman about Lewy Body dementia, unique challenges in diagnosis, different treatment options compared to Alzheimer's dementia, and his research on Mild Behavioral Impairment . Dr. James (Trey) Bateman is a behavioral neurologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Salisbury Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His cli...

Send us Fan Mail With the recent news of Bruce Willis' diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, I talk with Dr. Halima Amjad about her own personal journey with her late father's FTD diagnosis as well as her professional role in dementia care and research. Dr. Halima Amjad is an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her career as a geriatrician...

Send us Fan Mail Sleep, everyone wants it or better versions of it. Dr. Mia talks with Dr. Jaime Hughes about sleep for older adults. Jaime Hughes is an Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Implementation Science and Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. As an implementation scientist, Dr. Hughes focuses on how to spread programs that work into d...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Mia talks with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, a trailblazer in transforming the way we approach aging individually and as a society.  In her 40+ year career, she has treated thousands of patients and trained hundreds of doctors and practitioners in all specialties of medicine.  She is the Gerald and May Ellen Ritter Professor and Vice Chair, Emerita of the Brookdale Department of Geriat...