How an LGBTQ+ Geriatrician Helps People Age the Way They Want

“Accepting one’s age allows a person to get on with having the best old age possible,” Leipzig says. “Many of us feel less insecure [or] more open to saying what we think” in this “new stage of life.” She finds that directing energy to what patients do have control over as they age is the most productive route. “Accept what you can’t change,” Leipzig advises, “because there will be changes that occur with aging.”

These perceptions about aging are important. Becca Levy, professor of public health and psychology at the Yale School of Public Health, has conducted studies about the possible effects, or correlations, between our beliefs about aging and the actual process.

During a presentation to the American Medical Association, she noted, “If people take in more positive age beliefs, we see an advantage in these different types of health outcomes.” Levy said she found “quite a bit of evidence that, in fact, these cultural age beliefs can impact aging health.”

Levy’s work is a reminder that growing older is not exclusive to older people. “Aging begins at birth,” Leipzig says. “By the time you’re in your 30s you’ve reached your maximum muscle mass and strength, bone density, [and] ability to memorize lists of words.” Leipzig also discovered “most people live with these changes for years without recognizing the accommodations they’ve made to these ‘losses.’ ”

Leipzig worked with her colleagues to formalize her expertise into a curriculum to benefit future students and their patients.

In 2009, Leipzig worked “to create the national geriatric medicine competencies for medical students,” says Amit Shah, M.D., an internist, geriatrician and palliative care specialist at the Mayo Clinic. “The next step,” he says, “was to create a national curriculum that tied to these competencies. We began years of work to bring this idea to fruition.” The curriculum, now referred to as Aquifer Geriatrics, is still a part of the national curriculum of the American Geriatrics Society.

In her personal practice, Leipzig stands out as “very holistic in her approach,” says Helen Fernandez, M.D., the current vice chair of education at Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “She evaluates new evidence and sees how it can impact care in a meaningful way,” Fernandez says.

Another expert in geriatrics at Mount Sinai, Joyce Fogel, M.D., agrees that health care and especially aging is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. “Rosanne looks at each patient as a unique individual and tries to develop an understanding of their [specific] goals and individual needs,” she says. Treating a patient holistically or individually acknowledges their unique life experiences that often impact a person’s medical history. This approach “address[es] social determinants,” Fogel says, including cultural effects, racial or gender diversity, and personal preferences.

Simplifying crucial information for patients and caregivers is yet another pillar of Leipzig’s work. “Dr. Leipzig is an outstanding communicator,” Shah notes. She “is able to take complex topics and make them simple and easy to understand.” Not only should a patient’s care be specific to them, it should also be communicated in a way that makes sense to them.

“She knows how to distill information [so it] is understandable and digestible to patients and families and caregivers,” Fernandez says. One accessible example of Leipzig’s dedication to furthering information and education about aging is her 2023 book, published by John Hopkins Press, Honest Aging: An Insider’s Guide to the Second Half of Life.

“Her book is an example of how she teaches her patients,” Shah says. In it, Leipzig offers guidance for everyday health issues such as hearing and vision, mood, mobility, weight and sex. With her evidence-based expertise, she shares advice about making decisions about health care and other concerns, such as where to live, and includes a sample checklist for medical visits. Leipzig also recommends technology relevant to aging, such as mobility and emergency device systems.

“Aging is [just] change,” Leipzig says. The key to the best second half of life is acceptance and adaptability, so each person can age how they choose. “We have the time to try new things or spend more time on the things and people we love,” she says. “It’s a gift.”