Registration Now Open
Welcome to the 48th Annual Midwestern Conference
on Health Care in the Older Adult
"Reconciling Complexity in Older Adults"
Friday, January 29, 2027
Virtually held via Zoom
8:00 am- 4:15 pm
Designed for primary care physicians, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals, this conference instructs participants in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of conditions common in older adults.
Sponsored by:
Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
The Department of Family and Community Medicine
The Health Resources and Services Administration made this conference possible in part through Award Number 6 U1QHP53049‐01‐01. Views expressed by speakers, moderators, and in writing may not reflect the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services. Mentions of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations do not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Purpose:
Designed for primary care providers and allied health professionals, this in person interactive program will focus on Multimorbidity & Care Transitions.
Educational Objectives:
By the end of this conference, participants will be able to:
- Identify key clinical factors—including frailty, functional status, physiologic reserve, cognitive impairment, and psychosocial well-being—that contribute to complexity in the care of older adults.
- Apply evidence-informed approaches to prioritize and reconcile competing treatment recommendations in older adults with multimorbidity, frailty, and limited physiologic reserve.
- Recognize changes in function, cognition, mental health, and overall health trajectory that may signal increasing vulnerability, decline, or the need to reassess the plan of care.
- Integrate patient goals, values, functional status, prognosis, and treatment burden into shared decision-making and longitudinal goals-of-care discussions for medically complex older adults.
Agenda
| Time | Presentation | Presenter |
| 7:45 am | Zoom Links Open | |
| 8:00 am | Welcome | Nicholas Butler, MD, MBA, FAAFP |
| 8:05 am | Frailty, Function, and Physiologic Reserve | Ellie Fishbein, MD – WashU Medicine |
| 8:50 am | Reconciling Competing Treatment Strategies in Complex Chronic Illness | Margo Schilling, MD Mike Ernst, PharmD, BCGP, FCCP Kevin Schleich, PharmD, BCACP |
| 9:50 am | Break | |
| 10:00 am | Mental Health, Distress, and Adaptation in Aging | Kayla Holthaus, MD |
| 10:45 am | Cognitive Impairment and Decision-Making in Medically Complex Older Adults | HyungSub Shim MD |
| 11:45 am | Lunch | |
| 12:45 pm | Recognizing Decline in Long-Term Care: Function, Frailty, and Failure to Recover | Samuel Orvis, MD Adisa Tokaca, ARNP |
| 1:30 pm | Earlier Goals-of-Care Discussions in Outpatient Chronic Illness | Rick Dobyns, MD, MPM |
| 2:15 pm | Break | |
| 2:30 pm | Cancer as a Chronic Illness: The Role of Primary Care and Geriatrics | Chris Fletcher, MD- UW-Madison |
| 3:15 pm | Interdisciplinary Case Panel: Integrating Complexity into Care | Jason Wilbur, MD, FAAFP Linda Lee, MD, MHA, FACC Chad Triplett, PharmD, BCPS Gretchen Schmuch, MSW Steven Abdo, PA-C, MPAS |
| 4:15 pm | Closing Remarks | Nicholas Butler, MD, MBA, FAAFP |
Conference Planning Committee
Course Director
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Course Co-Director
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Course Co-Director
Pharmacist - Department of Family and Community Medicine
Course Co-Director
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Course Co-Director
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Course Co-Director
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Program Coordinator
Department of Family and Community Medicine Administration
Questions?
Contact Rae Ann Hosier
