Avenidas Without Walls

Dr. Mehrdad Ayati, Director, Geriatric Center in Los Altos

In January 2018, Dr. Ayati testified on the "Challenges of Aging in America" before the United Special Senate Select Committee on Aging. For our March Town Hall, he discusses these challenges, as well as COVID-19, its impact on our health care systems, patient experiences, and the lessons learned.

About the Speaker

Dr. Mehrdad Ayati, Director of the Geriatric Center in Los Altos, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University Medical School has dedicated his career to clinical practice and research for enhancing the well-being of seniors and their family caregivers. He completed his medical residency at UC Davis and his fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has worked as Medical Director/Advisor in rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, assisted and memory care communities. Dr. Ayati is the author of Paths to Healthy Aging and a frequent guest speaker on NPR and KQED programs. Dr. Ayati may be contacted for medical consults at the Geriatric Center: (650) 808-0180.

Presented by Avenidas Care Partners.

Featuring: Nicole Lance, Family Mediator

We will discuss issues that often require mediation within a family such as: advance care planning, designating trustworthy decision-makers, disclosing financial information, and giving up the car keys. We invite you to bring your questions to the chatline. 

Nicole Lance helps adult siblings and their parents resolve challenges ranging from emotionally difficult to psychologically straightforward but otherwise complex situations. As a certified Family and Elder Mediator, Nicole brings expert communication and negotiation skills to the table so that families can transform difficult conversations into workable agreements.

As a certified Senior Advisor, she has relevant content knowledge that assists parties in making fully informed decisions as parents age. Before becoming a Family and Elder Mediator and Senior Advisor, Nicole practiced business law over a 15-year period, which included mediating disputes. More information is available in her website www.mediateforward.com.

Presented by Avenidas Care Partners.

Dr. Marina Martin, Section Chief of Stanford Geriatric Medicine and Stanford Geriatric Medicine fellows Dr. Caroline Park and Dr. Alice Mao answer questions from Avenidas members about the COVID-19 vaccines as well as our county strategies for distributing vaccines to front line workers and at-risk populations.

Presented by Avenidas Care Partners. For more information about the Avenidas Town Hall series, visit https://www.avenidas.org/programs/care-partners.

Avenidas Care Partners presents a panel discussion with Dr. Mehrdad Ayati, Director of the Geriatric Center and Dr. Logan Schneider, Co-Director and Staff Neurologist for the Stanford VA Alzheimer’s Center.

Dr. Ayati begins the session with an update on Covid-19. Each speaker will then introduce the services provided at their clinics to help clients understand cognitive health, signs and symptoms of impairments and testing protocols.

Includes extensive Q&A with attendees.

Dr. Anna Lembke discusses the impact of alcohol consumption, including potential damage to our physical and cognitive health, as well as signs and symptoms of alcohol dementia: Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, in both its acute stage encephalopathy and late stage chronic confusion and possibly psychosis. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

Dr. Anna Lembke is the Medical Director of Stanford Addiction Medicine and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She is nationally recognized as sounding the alarm on the opioid epidemic. Dr. Lembke educates policymakers and the public on addiction and what to do about it.

Hosted by Avenidas Care Partners.

Avenidas Care Partners is hosting a monthly Town Hall series starting Wednesday, September 16. Each presentation will include an update on Covid-19 matters and focus on current challenges impacting the health of our community.

September's special guest is Albert H. Lam, MD, Chair of the Department of Geriatric Medicine at Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group. Slides by Lily Horng, MD, from the California Flu Task Force.

Avenidas presents the 5th Town Hall Zoom Meeting: “Preparations for Post COVID-19 and the Possibility of a Second Wave”

Presented by Dr. Mehrdad Ayati, Director, Geriatric Care Center.

Event moderated by Emily Farber, MSW, Director Social Services, Rose Kleiner Adult Day Health Center.

Join Dr. Ayati for a complex discussion on risk assessment, COVID-19, and likely outcomes if we end sheltering in place too quickly.

Avenidas presents the 4th Town Hall Zoom Meeting: “Covid-19 Challenge at Skilled Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities”

Featuring a special greeting from Joe Simitian, President, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

Presented by Dr. Mehrdad Ayati, Director, Geriatric Care Center and Dr. Marina Martin, Section Chief, Stanford Geriatric Medicine.

Drs. Ayati and Martin were quoted in the April 16th, 2020 San Jose Mercury News article “How Covid-19 Exploded From the Chaos Within Nursing Homes.”

Event moderated by Emily Farber, MSW, Director Social Services, Rose Kleiner Adult Day Health Center.

Conditions in some of our care facilities are resulting in a potential bottleneck of hospitalized seniors who no longer need hospital care and require a safe discharge plan as well as causing significant stress for family caregivers who are not allowed to visit their loved ones.

Featuring Dr. Ellen Brown, Elder Care Consultant, Former Medical Director of Pathways Hospice Home Care.

Dr. Ayati will also be available for questions.

Moderated by Emily Farber, MSW, Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center

It’s never easy to have “What do I do when…” conversations, but it’s important that every person has their wishes for end-of-life care understood and respected. We’ll talk about ways to get the conversation started and how to keep the focus on values especially during a pandemic when anxieties are already high, as well as how to manage the emotional challenges that may surface. This information is important for elders, caregivers, our staff and area providers.

Geriatric pyschiatrist Dr. Grace Nadolny presents strategies for managing stress, anxiety, depression, dementia care giving, and difficult treatment decisions while sheltering in residence. This information will be of critical importance for elders, caregivers, our staff and area providers.

Sponsored by Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center and Avenidas Care Partners. Moderated by Emily Farber, MSW, Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center.