Do All that You can: to get “Real Old, Real Well”
brief Philosophy & Practice
Do all that you can
a “Pitch”: help anyone (willing to do the work) to get Real Old, Real well
Through HealthAge, we intend to offer a unique system, primarily for the 55+ tribe: 80% restauration of health (and productivity-), >50% reduction in medication.
Just about 80% of all chronical, limiting and/or invalidating health problems don’t have to be.
Every individual that wants to, can learn to take his or her own health to unprecedented heights and even take the Directors’ seat in the process.
Why
”Me, getting to be 110 years old? I don’t want to even think about it!” (“Look around: so many people become so miserable, growing old: horrifying, really”. “And if all goes wrong, you even end up in a nursing home”).
Elderly that do get in trouble, reflect and regret: ”I would spend anything to reverse the clock (and my actions)”.
So much (80%!) is preventable: the majority of chronic ailments and illnesses, the vulnerability, the pain, the depression, the loneliness of advanced ageing.
Good, broad exploration, followed by no-nonsense information, behavior adaptation and further coaching and support can, without a doubt, prevent so much suffering and misery.
Especially in the fast-expanding cohort of “young elders” (50 – 65+): they appear ever more motivated to invest in their health (in its broadest meaning). To get and stay as healthy and fit as possible, even in their latest years. To be remembered as super-healthy.
We can do “all that we can”, to get Real Old, Real Well!
This is what we envision:
(at a “Top-Class level”)
- Broad preventive Health exam (“Body, Spirit and Mind”: physical, psychological and social; purpose, spiritual)
- Secondary- preventive training and -behavior modification (smoking, overweight, inactivity, alcohol and/or substance abuse, mood disorders)
- Maximize “resilience” and vitality, safety; minimize age-related vulnerability and dependency
- Specialized geriatric rehab medicine (secondary- preventive, pre/post-surgery, post trauma, invalidating medical problems; chronical pain, arthrosis, osteoporosis)
- Availability of conventional- and non-conventional treatment and support
What is so unique: the “Wham!”
- We make the participants on an individual level well informed and fit to make their own (health) decisions – “in command”. Not depending of “white coats” and/or “professionals”: fit (with optimal information and support) to do all one can do to get Real Old, Real Well, and to prevent as much misery as ever possible
- We outdo, by a long shot, the “practice as usual” of current medical practice (costly, tardy interventions, only when sickness and life-threats ensue)
The HealthAge Exam
Purpose:
Optimal (extensive, broad, not maximal) examination, so that the participant will gain factual insight in all sensible aspects of his or her vitality in the broadest sense, gets to know what she can do to lower the chances for problems to ensue:
- Focused on (and sometimes limited to-) what the client desires
- Gender-specific
- Based on informed consent/ good explanation
- Maximally effective: physical and monetary costs in relation to results
- Physical/ medical, ADL, social, (neuro-) psychological, purpose, motivation and capacity to adapt; communication (eyesight, hearing, speech, handwriting)
- Recommendations
- Proposal for action(s)
Flow of Events
- Registration
- Contact Liaison (explanation, (im-)possibilities, proposal, timeline)
- Essential data collection
- Appointments for further exams and review
- Age Report review: conclusions, recommendations, goals, proposed plan of action, foreseeable costs and benefits; follow-up
Anamnesis, history
- Personal Data (name and address etc.)
- Clinical and personal history
- Involved doctors, care providers
- Medication
- Risk factors (medical and psy-/ soc), smoking & drinking; drugs, medication abuse)
- Allergies
- Recent / relevant examinations, tests, etc.
- Concerns, doubts, wishes (client and Significant Others); vulnerabilities
Tests, measurements
- Vital measures
- Length, weight
- Abdominal circumference
- Base- Physical Therapy Tests
- Respiratory measurements
- Cardio-vascular exertion test
Physical examination per sé
From head to toe, left to right and front to back: a checklist of more than a hundred items that are examined, noted and ticked off.
Additional exams
- Blood, urine
- Communication measurements (hearing, eyesight, etc.)
- p.m. additional imaging
- p.m. Genometry;
Observations, possible tests (neuro-) psychological
A checklist with questions about the following aspects; if deemed relevant, expanded further, ad hoc, by the “Intaker” and / or the doctor.
- Mood, attitudes
- Past trauma; relevance to current and future functioning
- Perception of personal safety
- Vitality
- Attention / concentration / memory
- “Flexibility”
- Motivation
- Impressions, possibly research network, meaning, relational, intimacy, spiritual
The HealthAge Exam Report (HAER): data, recommendations, action plan
The LOR is a practical summary of the Age Exam.
It contains:
• All Registered data
• Measurements, tests and values found (incl. relevant reference values)
• Perspective, conclusions: descriptive
• Recommendations in order of urgency
• Action Plan: options for a “Clean Sweep” (optimize all that you can)
a. Benefits: foreseen health gains and misery prevention
b. Proposal: who, what, how, where; goals and yields in target values
c. Estimated costs
Clean Sweep
Almost all age exams will result in recommendations to make a “Clean Sweep”, both secondary-preventive and future-oriented-preventive:
Secondary preventive:
To optimize
• Physical
• Social (work, meaningful activities, assertiveness, hobbies)
• Psychological (trauma; stressful Life Events; sense of (un)certainty; personality disorders; cognitive; mood disorders)
• “Bad Habits” (overeating, drinking, smoking; unhealthy memes & beliefs)
• Vision; hearing
Future-oriented preventive:
• Physical training, counseling and coaching
• Diet, healthy food / drink
• Intimacy, meaningful activities, spirituality
• Feel-Good rituals
Maintenance
Much future misery can be prevented by maintaining the optimized.
• Continued physical training; p.m.
• Personal Trainer
• Medical Fitness, Yoga, Tai-Chi; Mindfulness (in small groups)
• Walking skills training, fall (prevention) training
• Medical check-ups
• Weekend retreats, seminars, selected information
Trouble
Vulnerability increases with advancing age, and the chance of (treatable or otherwise) incidents (cardio- and cerebrovascular, pulmonary; fractures; mood problems; cognitive; malignancies) also increases.
We’ll provide:
• A network of trusted medical specialists (incl. a relevant evaluation system)
• A trusted network (family doctors, paramedics, dentists)
• Trusted counselor (“Liaison”) for every individual
• Optimal cognitive and possible dementia examination (possibly outsourced) and adequate counseling, guidance and/or training (in your own family circle)
• Counseling in case of Completed Life issues
• Specialist Geriatric Rehab Medicine (in-house; unique in the Netherlands)
• Focused Care, shelter
Lights Out
Getting real old, real well implies a brief terminal phase before demise. We want to be prepared and able to help in:
• Terminal care
• Demise support and counseling (including loved ones)
• Aftercare, Follow-Up (loved ones).
