The course of care for older adults often involves transitional care, moving from one healthcare setting and team of practitioners to another. Unfortunately, gaps in communication and access to needed services during these transitions can leave patients vulnerable to adverse events and greater chances of re-hospitalization. The goal of research in this area is to improve the outcomes for patients in transitional care, reduce avoidable hospitalizations, and improve the ease and efficiency with which patients and their caregivers move between care settings.

Healthy aging is active aging, and the Center for Aging Research creates programs that help seniors stay active and fit into their golden years. Obesity and its related issues continue to be a rising concern locally and globally. Different groups experience varying access and barriers to achieving a healthy level of physical activity. With the help of community leader Eskenazi Health, the center’s programs reach seniors in their homes and at their doctors’ offices to study active options for aging. Work in this area examines ways to better integrate fitness into health care across all demographic groups.

Changes are inevitable as people grow older. Brain health and safety are critical to healthy aging and quality of life, and while many older adults may experience some mild cognitive decline, others suffer from conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia. There are few whose lives haven’t been touched in some way by these impairments. Center investigators are working in both clinical and research settings to better understand how to protect the brain and improve cognitive functioning in older adults–from the partnership with the Sandra Eskenazi Center for Brain Care Innovation to research studying the effects of medications on the aging brain, as well as interventions for patients with Alzheimer’s and delirium.

Patients in long-term care facilities often need their families, caregivers and healthcare providers to guide and support end-of-life health decisions. Interventions from hospice and palliative care teams greatly improve the quality of life and care for patients and their caregivers toward the end of life. The center works with nursing homes in the Central Indiana area to create facilities that check with patients and their families every step of the way to make sure wishes are respected.