‘Healthy Aging’ series to be presented at Temple Beth–El

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Dr. Richard BesdinePROVIDENCE – Can we be fit in our 60s and sexy in our 70s and beyond?  Is dementia inevitable? Can we maintain a healthy mind as we age?  What are “advanced directives” and “palliative care” and other health care terms? What are the fundamentals of healthy aging for our caregivers?

These and other questions will be addressed at a special series on healthy aging created and sponsored by the Lifelong Learning Collaborative (formerly BCLIR). The 10-week series will feature experts and practicing physicians on the faculty of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Other partners include Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Foundation and Temple Beth-El, which is hosting the entire series at 70 Orchard Ave., in Providence.

The first lecture in this series will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 3 p.m. Richard Besdine, M.D., director of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, will be the guest speaker at the first lecture, open to the community at no charge. Besdine also directs the School of Public Health’s Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research at Brown University.

The remaining nine presentations in the series will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and continue every Tuesday thereafter through Dec. 10. All sessions begin at 3:30 p.m. The cost for the entire program is $25 per person.

Other speakers will include John Murphy, M.D., a senior executive with Lifespan; Gary Epstein-Lubow, M.D., a geriatric psychiatrist at Butler Hospital; Christine Nevins-Herbert, M.D., a physician trained in palliative care; Terrie Fox Wetle, Ph.D., dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health; Jessica Early, M.D., a family medicine physician; Pamela Steadman-Wood, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist; Stephanie Chow, M.D., a family medicine physician trained in geriatric medicine; Lynn McNicoll, M.D., director of education at the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School and Gus Manocchia, M.D., a senior executive with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

The Lifelong Learning Collaborative, a peer-run organization of mature adults, is dedicated to offering a variety of opportunities for lifelong learning – seminars, lectures, cultural events and social activities – in an accessible environment at a reasonable cost. Collaborative volunteers develop and facilitate courses that address art, music, literature, history, science, current events, economics, etc.

For more information or to register for this program, visit lifelonglearningcollaborative.org or call 270–2556.

Sam Shamoon (samshamoon@gmail.com) is a participant in the Lifelong Learning Collaborative.