With the ceremonial swing of sledgehammers, renovation has begun on the new home of the University of Louisville Trager Institute at 204 E. Market St. Formerly the Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging, the Trager Institute will expand into the new space thanks to generous gifts from the Trager Family and Republic Bank Foundations.

“My vision for UofL is that we be a great place to learn, work and invest,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, PhD. “We are grateful to the Trager Family Foundation and the Republic Bank Foundation for investing significant resources in our work here because of the Institute’s demonstrated impact on the economic, social and cultural health and well-being of Louisville, the Commonwealth and beyond.”

“Considering the importance of the eldercare industry to Louisville’s economic development, we are proud to partner with the University of Louisville. It is our hope that this gift will help develop a world-class conduit that eldercare companies can partner with in research, innovation and career development. Additionally, local citizens will become beneficiaries of the Institute’s efforts through the newly established Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic,” said Steve Trager, chairman and CEO of Republic Bank.

The complete renovation is expected to cost $1 million.

Located in what Louisville Metro Mayor Greg Fischer has dubbed the “innovation corridor,” the renovated space will accommodate the Institute’s leading edge research, care coordination, physical and mental health clinical practice and educational programming.

“UofL continues to chart new territory by building strong partnerships with our leading economic industry groups,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “The work we have done together with the university and the Trager Institute on our Compassion Index and age-friendly initiative positions Louisville as the epicenter of aging care innovation. With the addition of this cutting-edge facility, we will continue to build on the strength of Louisville’s aging and health innovation culture.”

“With this new facility, we will be able to conduct research and provide care in ways that transform our understanding of health care and aging. We are working to change the way health care is provided and focus on integrating lifestyle medicine that has shown to provide extraordinary benefits to achieving optimal aging,” said Anna Faul, PhD, executive director of the Trager Institute.

The Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic will specialize in comprehensive care for the aging population. This clinic, organized using the latest best-practice health care model known as age-friendly Integrated Practice Units (IPUs), will help individuals achieve optimal physical and mental health as they age. IPUs involve an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, pharmacists, social workers, chaplains, community health navigators, life coaches and lawyers to meet patient needs. These health care partners facilitate patient care related to physical and mental condition, along with outpatient, inpatient and rehabilitative care and social services. The clinic will provide a patient experience that focuses on lifestyle medicine, an evidence-based therapeutic approach to prevent, treat and reverse lifestyle-related chronic diseases. The space is designed to promote telehealth to homebound and isolated older adults.

Multiple financial supporters are key to the successful work of the Institute. The clinical practice is bolstered by the financial support of John Wright, MD, a geriatrician and professor emeritus of the UofL Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine.

His $1 million investment — originally a bequest that he decided to pay during his lifetime — supports the John C. Wright Endowed Professorship on Aging for the benefit of the Trager Institute.

His gift will help maintain the high quality of medical care by attracting the best geriatricians to enhance collaboration between the Institute, the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine and other universities.

In addition to clinical services, the new facility expands the research capacity of the Institute to expand the number of clinical trials it offers and technology development and testing. The innovative space will have a conference room equipped with video conferencing capabilities that allow researchers to collaborate on a national and international level. The space also will support the Trager Institute’s aging-care workforce development efforts with a multi-purpose training space.

Other features of the space will include a fully operational kitchen for nutrition counseling and classes, complete with its own wall garden; a fitness area for community residents to participate in mindfulness sessions, yoga and other fitness activities; and space for physical therapy and audiology testing, when needed.��

Renovation completion is expected this summer.

Highlights from yesterday’s renovation kickoff are below: 

During a ceremony held October 30 at the Muhammad Ali Center, the institute was lauded for its , an innovative, evidence-based approach to health care grounded in the concepts of social determinants of health and integrated care coordination.

The program is based on the institute’s , which links clinical and behavioral health care plans with a community care plan. Patients in the program receive detailed assessments, weekly and monthly monitoring, interdisciplinary health care consultation and care planning, coordination of care, community resource planning and support, as well as behavioral and mental health support.

In addition to improving health outcomes, the Flourish model hopes to reduce health care costs by leveraging new rules through Medicare Advantage that will pay for non-skilled in-home service providers beginning in 2019.

The institute was one of . UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences faculty member, Sarah Moyer, MD, also was honored for her work as a co-chair of the Louisville Health Advisory Board. She is director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness.

To help tackle the issue of opioid misuse in older adults, the at the University of Louisville has been working with individuals in rural Kentucky who are involved in the institute’s , which is designed to deliver interdisciplinary care coordination to those with chronic conditions.

Of the 154 patients who have received services, medication management issues related to opioid prescriptions and interactions with other medications were a factor with more than 90 patients. Medication safety also proved to be a problem, with family members or caregivers taking opioids from patients in at least 10 percent of cases.

The institute recently received supplemental federal funding to their Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program grant, specifically to expand work in Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties related to opioids and older adults. This effort also will be offered in Jefferson, Barren, Metcalf and Hart counties.

“This additional funding will allow us to dramatically increase our ability to screen for potential opioid misuse and to educate patients, students and practitioners on best practices for pain management for older adults,” said Anna Faul, PhD, the institute’s executive director.

Joe D’Ambrosio, PhD, the institute’s director of health innovation & sustainability and assistant professor at the UofL School of Medicine, will lead an interdisciplinary clinical team of faculty from nursing, social work and counseling psychology to serve as mental health clinicians for the project.

He said the institute is developing a new program to train students and clinicians on how to identify and treat opioid-related substance abuse among older adults. The programming also will be offered to community mental health partners including , the region’s largest mental health care provider.

Now in its seventh year, hosted the awards this month, honoring Slavin in the educator category.

After teaching more than 30 years, Slavin went on to create and serve as the first director of the Kentucky Labor Institute. He lectures on topics ranging from Einstein’s views on the relationship of science and religion to the role of the administrative state in a democracy.

The Gold Standard awards honor individuals age 85 and older who lead flourishing lives, said Anna Faul, PhD, executive director of the institute.

“We do not have to be free of aging-related challenges to age optimally. It is our ability to flourish and live our best lives every day in the face of these challenges. This year’s outstanding cohort of awardees and nominees are true inspirations,” she said.

Fifteen awardees, along with 58 other nominees, were recognized at a luncheon on Sept. 7 sponsored by . The event corresponds with – an effort dedicated to promoting the positive view that aging is an opportunity, not a disease.

“The award winners demonstrate that while aging optimally looks different for every person, we can all strive to continue living our best lives at every stage,” said Christian Furman, MD, medical director of the institute.

“Hosparus Health applauds the institute for recognizing that aging is a part of life. As an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life, we are honored to be a part of this event,” said Phil Marshall, president and CEO of Hosparus Health.

The complete list of is below:

• Elmer Lucille Allen, Category: Outstanding Individual, Age: 86
• Mary Atherton, Category: Years of Wisdom, Age: 100
• Elizabeth Bealmear, Category: Years of Wisdom, Age: 91
• Les Brooks, Category: Never too Late, Age: 86
• Thomas Cork, Sr., Category: Outstanding Individual, Age: 92
• Don & Patsy Hall, Category: Outstanding Couple, Age: 87 & 87
• Father Simon Herbers, Category: Compassion, Age: 97
• Beatrice Huff, Category: Kentucky, Age: 89
• Margot Kling, Category: Social Justice, Age: 92
• Margaret Martel, Category: Years of Wisdom, Age: 106
• Emma Patria Pedroso Iglesias, Category: New Beginnings, Age: 85
• Dorothy Roehrig, Category: Years of Wisdom, Age: 100
• William T. Shumake, Category: Leadership, Age: 92
• Seymour Slavin, Category: Educator, Age: 96

Nearly $2 million in funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will provide stipends each year throughout a four-year period to 13 master level social work students, five counseling psychology students, and four doctoral level psychiatric nursing students for a total of 88 students. These students will be part of the Rural Geriatric Integrated Behavioral Health  and Primary Care Training Network and will complete behavioral health practicums in primary care settings throughout Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties. They also commit to seek employment in those areas upon graduation.

“Isolation and transportation are big issues for older adults. Often there are limited behavioral health clinicians in rural areas, and it is the perfect marriage to incorporate behavioral health services within the primary care offices where older adults are already seeking care,” said Anna Faul, PhD, executive director of ISHOA and associate dean of academic affairs at the .

Christian Furman, MD, the institute’s medical director and a professor of geriatric and palliative medicine, said the combination of multiple health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure and hearing or vision loss can be overwhelming for older adults.

“The mind-body connection is so important,” Furman said. “Physicians can write prescriptions but unless a person understands why they have a disease and receives the proper training on how to be resilient, people can feel helpless in their situation. We see a lot of alcohol and drug-abuse, and now the opioid epidemic.”

As the result of a for the creation of the Kentucky Rural & Underserved Geriatric Interprofessional Program, older adults in rural areas are already seeing the benefits of coordinated care.

Former Henry County resident Lynn Retzlaff, 66, has been living with a degenerative bone disease most of his life, resulting in a number of health complications leading to such factors as poor nutrition, reliance on opioids, isolation and despair.

Through meeting with one of the institute’s community health organizers, Retzlaff was able to get connected with multiple services for older adults, including a nutritionist, a student counselor and transportation services. He also learned new techniques for managing pain.

“I am no longer on opioids,” Retzlaff said. “I now use meditation tapes and have found they help me more than the pain medication. Before, I would cycle between relief and suffering.”

Retzlaff says he now eats more balanced meals and is in an overall better mental state.

“Many older people feel they can’t cope – they feel helpless. Without the help of the institute and community health organizers I would have deteriorated and life would be very gray.”

The newest HRSA grant also aims to bring enhanced training to both students and primary care providers. Utilizing the institute’s already established , along with development of a curriculum for the Professional Certificate in Rural Geriatric Interdisciplinary Integrated BH-PC and continuing education courses for health care professionals, the initiative hopes to build capacity for the mind-body approach to care for seniors.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant award,” Faul said. “With this funding, we will improve the health outcomes of vulnerable older adults in our rural counties. We also will dramatically increase the interdisciplinary approach to health care education and service delivery, infuse behavioral health into rural primary care, and provide students with increased employment possibilities.”

Furman, who practices geriatric medicine with , says both older adults and their care-givers stand to benefit from the grant.

“When you look at a disease like dementia, patients deal with many behavioral disorders like paranoia or agitation, and there can be a lot of anxiety on how to problem-solve around those factors,” she said. “This grant is important in not only getting behavioral health specialists into rural areas but also in opening up opportunities for physicians and nurse practitioners to coordinate with behavioral specialists to improve patient outcomes from a social support stand-point.”

Check out footage from today’s announcement: 

“This distinction celebrates not only lifetime achievements but also the continuing contribution of older adults,” said Christian Furman, MD, medical director of the institute. “This award is one of the cornerstone events of Optimal Aging Month in September, a time dedicated to promoting the view that aging is an opportunity, not a disease.”

Now in its seventh year, the award recognizes adults 85 years or older who are outstanding models of optimal aging in the physical, social, spiritual and creative aspects of life.

“Optimal aging is the ability to flourish throughout one’s lifespan. It is not a specific level of achievement but rather a state in which a person is able to continue living life to its fullest,” said Anna Faul, PhD, executive director of the institute.

The public may an older adult for the Gold Standard Award for Optimal Aging through April 15. Multiple award winners will be announced during a luncheon September 7 at the Crowne Plaza, 830 Phillips Lane. Former radio personality Wayne Perkey will serve as master of ceremonies. Tickets are $35 per person. The event benefits the Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging and its efforts to empower older adults to flourish.

Along with the nomination form, sponsorship and registration information also is .��

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, joined by representatives of the University of Louisville and local and international compassion organizations, have announced a new Compassionate Cities Index. The index, a research project from UofL’s Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, in partnership with Louisville Metro Government, the University of Louisville School of Medicine, the International Center for Compassionate Cities, Compassionate Louisville and the International Charter for Compassion, is a comprehensive study designed to measure compassion at the city level within the context of individual communities.

Fischer and the Louisville Metro Council formally committed to the international Charter for Compassion in 2011, and on Dec. 6 was named a Model City for Compassion for the fifth year in a row by the Charter of Compassion.

Louisville was honored for its focus on compassion and for programs such as the Mayor’s Give A Day Week of Service, and the success of Compassionate Louisville, a grassroots network of organizations that have adopted the Compassion Resolution.

“Compassion is one of our three city pillars, reflecting our commitment to ensuring that all in our city have the opportunity and resources necessary to reach their full human potential,” Fischer said. “We are honored to be named a model for that work, and we’re excited about this new tool for measuring that work.”

The Compassionate Cities Index carries this work further by defining and measuring the components that make cities compassionate. Drs. Joe D’Ambrosio and Anna Faul, both with the Institute of Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, plan a comprehensive study that looks beyond dollars donated and hours volunteered, to measure how people feel and act with compassion within the context of their specific community.

“This study is unique because we are capturing both subjective and objective measures that indicate compassion,” said Faul, who is executive director of the institute. Data will be gathered from the 37 standard ZIP codes in Jefferson County, with the goal of 67 survey responses per ZIP code.

D’Ambrosio, director of health innovation and sustainability for the institute, explained the goals of the research: “This will allow us to understand how people practice compassion within the context of their neighborhood and examine how the city as a whole is promoting a culture of compassion.”

“The Compassionate Cities Index answers the call from cities around the world for an adaptable tool that measures their definition of compassion. It is an honor for Louisville to be the first location to implement the Index,” said Corinne Witzel of the International Center for Compassionate Cities.

“There is a strong correlation between individual health and the quality of life for a community’s citizens as they grow older. Compassion is a key component of both quality of health and quality of life. This index will provide valuable guideposts for improving wellbeing for all of us at every stage of our lives,” said Toni Ganzel, MD, MBA, dean of the UofL School of Medicine.

Participants in the study must be over the age of 18 residing in Jefferson County. Participants can or contact the institute at (502) 852-5228 to receive a paper survey to complete.

Following the success and popularity of the 2015 event, organizers are hosting the celebration for a second year to honor the legacy and service of the Greatest Generation.

In Louisville, the Spirit of ‘45 will take place at the Vintage WarBirds Hangar 5 at Bowman Field, 2700 Gast Blvd. On Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., exhibits, demonstrations and entertainment will evoke memories of Louisville during World War II.

“The University of Louisville has been working to educate members of the military, veterans and their families since World War II, when we helped train officers in the V-12 program,” said Renee Finnegan, UofL executive director of military initiatives. “Last year, we were named a ‘Best for Vets’ university because of our tireless work for those who have dedicated their lives to our freedom. We are honored to serve those who have served their country.”

UofL’s contributions to the event are included below: 

• In appreciation of their service, veterans attending Saturday’s event will have an opportunity to make an appointment for a complimentary dental exam and panoramic x-ray at the UofL School of Dentistry. Dental students also plan to provide oral health education at their booth.
• The UofL Kornhauser Library will have a custom-made exhibit featuring memorabilia from the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine and Nursing from the WWII era. In addition, a number of UofL faculty and alumni plan to display their personal WWII memorabilia and model airplane collections.
• UofL’s Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging will provide information on healthy aging and living, along with opportunities to sign a participant registry for those interested in taking part in academic research projects. In keeping with the theme of aging well, the Institute also will raffle two basketballs – one signed by Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum and the other signed by Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. Tickets are $20 and $15 respectively, with the proceeds going to the Spirit of ’45 Committee to offset costs for next year’s event.

Other presenters include the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, and a variety of other veterans organizations. Vintage military equipment, vehicles and aircraft also will be on display. Admission is free, a $5 donation is requested for parking.

In the same location, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., a “Canteen Dinner and Dance” will be held, featuring the Ladies of Liberty and the Don Krekel Orchestra performing big-band hits of the period, and a drawing to give four people a free ride in the UPS simulator. Admission is $50 per person.

Update: Photos from this year’s event are .