Episode 16 · Aging in place

Dr. Terry Fulmer

Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and President Emerita of The John A. Hartford Foundation

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About Dr. Fulmer

Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and President Emerita of The John A. Hartford Foundation, which she led as President from 2015 to 2025 in its work to improve care for older adults.

She was a driving force behind the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement, now implemented across hundreds of hospitals and health systems. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, she is a nationally recognized leader in aging, healthcare and geriatric nursing, and her research has focused on geriatric assessment, elder mistreatment and improving care for older adults.

She was the first nurse to serve on the American Geriatrics Society board and the first nurse to lead the Gerontological Society of America as its President. Among her many honors, she was named a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing in 2021.

Credentials

Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
President Emerita, The John A. Hartford Foundation
Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine
Living Legend, American Academy of Nursing
PhD, RN, FAAN

Follow Dr. Fulmer's Work

LinkedIn Age-Friendly Health Systems Dartmouth Geisel

What you'll learn

The 4Ms framework — What Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility — and how to bring it up at your own doctor visits
Why "health at home" programs are expanding, and how conditions that once meant a hospital stay can now be treated safely at home
Why care at home can cost less than a hospital stay — fewer routine tests, lower overhead and fewer complications
How to tell normal age-related memory changes from early signs of dementia
Why mobility matters at every stage of life
The difference between social isolation and loneliness, and why it matters for your health
How to take a more active role in decisions about your own medications
The scale of family caregiving in the U.S., and where to find real support

In this episode

00:00Meet Dr. Fulmer
01:37A Nurse's View of Care for Older Adults
04:00Why Care Is Moving Home
09:12Why Care at Home Can Cost Less
10:29Age-Friendly Health Systems and the 4Ms
16:48Bring the 4Ms to Your Next Appointment
19:32Improve Your Mobility Where You Are
20:52Getting Up and Moving in the Hospital
22:21Mobility in the City and the Country
25:29Normal Memory Changes vs. Dementia
32:38Should You Take an Alzheimer's Blood Test?
33:34Your Say in Your Medications
37:53Keeping Up Credentials Mid-Career
41:47Reframing Aging: It's Us
48:18Supporting Family Caregivers
51:03Social Isolation vs. Loneliness

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