Dr. Scott Kaiser is a practicing geriatrician at the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF), a charitable organization that provides services, support, and assistance to the Hollywood community. As the MPTF’s Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Kaiser is committed to creating communities that support peoples’ ability to live and age well, with dignity and purpose. A passionate advocate for the growing population of older adults, Dr. Kaiser bemoans what he calls “rampant agism within the medical community,” and the “institutional bias” he says he has encountered doing his job. In this LLAMA podcast interview with Peter Bowes, Dr. Kaiser explains his unique role, working with members of the entertainment community, and why he is privileged to hear “the best stories” from his patients.

This is the third in a series of interviews recorded at the USC Body Computing Conference.  Find out more about the event here and the USC Center for Body Computing here.

Published on: 15 Oct 2018 @ 16:52 PST

NOTES AND QUOTES

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In this interview we discover:

• How Hollywood luminaries started the MPTF to take care of their own.
• Are the needs of this unique community different to wider society?

‘It’s really amazing, this kind of great equalizer that we all know that our own aging can be, to create this place where everybody can thrive.  It’s about everybody living and aging well with dignity and purpose.”

• Why Scott is so passionate about caring for the elderly.
• The value of taking part in intergenerational programs.
• The “hidden social factors” that influence the ability to age well.
• Why the most rewarding aspect of Dr. Kaiser’s work stems from an understand of what makes people tick.

“I find that a lot of people in geriatrics and palliative care – we spend our time with people who have put a lot of the noise, filtered out a lot of the noise, and have a good focus on what really matters.”

• Why Dr. Kaiser believes “rampant aging” is alive and well at medical schools.
• The rewards that come from working with a population that is “confronting some heavy things but have filtered through a lot of the noise of midlife.”
• The value of physically intensive exercise for healthy aging.
• Why Dr. Kaiser laughs at numerical age.
• As a geriatrician, does Dr. Kaiser have a special ingredient in his own life, to help him master the aging process?