Bethesda Geriatrician is Moved and Inspired by His Patients
Bethesda Magazine featured Dr. Gary Wilks, Geriatrician, talking about older patients
What are the hidden dangers, tough decisions Geriatricians face when caring for Bethesda seniors?
Bethesda Magazine reports that, “When one of Dr. Gary Wilks’ patients told him she felt isolated because she could no longer drive, they stopped talking about her high blood pressure and turned the conversation to her social life.”
Dr. Wilks explores how his patients feel overall. Dr. Wilks, who is 55, lives in Bethesda with his wife, Madeline, a family doctor practicing in D.C. In 2008, Dr. Wilks and Dr. Roy Fried, also a geriatrician, founded Premier Senior Care, a small medical practice that treats patients at senior living and assisted living communities. The two doctocs also make house calls. "There are so few geriatricians that we’ve really focused on what is called, in an unscientific term, the ‘old-old,’" says Wilks, whose interest in the field stemmed in part from his close relationship with his grandparents."
The average age of Premier Senior Care's patients is 86, and they typically see about half as patients per day as do many doctors who treat younger patients. “A lot of people think geriatrics is just really sad,” Dr. Wilks says, but some of his patients are 90 years old and still very active. “A lot of people are very frustrated about what they can’t do anymore, but working with patients and trying to reframe what they’re faced with—it’s amazing their resiliency. They can still find things that give them joy.”
BrightStar Care of Bethesda and Silver Spring works with elderly patients to support their physician's care plan. Learn more about our home health care services for seniors in Bethesda - CLICK HERE
Source: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/may-june-2017/a-bethesda-geriatrician-finds-inspiration-from-his-elderly-patients/