Lindsey Yourman Named to the California Commission on Aging

Lindsey Yourman, M.D., associate clinical professor in the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology, and Palliative Care at UC San Diego School of Medicine, has been appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the California Commission on Aging.  The commission comprises 18 appointees from diverse professional backgrounds who serve as advocates on behalf of older individuals to ensure quality of life for older Californians.

One of the commission’s key objectives is to help operationalize California's Master Plan for Aging which was created by an executive order in 2019 to help California prepare for one of the biggest demographic shifts the world has ever seen. A report from the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation predicts that by 2034 there will be almost 1 million adults over 60 years of age in San Diego. That includes an almost 90% increase in older adults living in California. Additionally, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that adults 65 years and older will outnumber children under 18 for the first time in U.S. history

“The design of our communities, everything from health care to housing to transportation, has previously been geared towards a younger population with a shorter life expectancy as opposed to an older one that is more likely to live with multiple chronic conditions, frailty or late-life disability,” said Yourman, primary care physician at UC San Diego Health. “We have a critical time period over the next ten years to prepare and adapt systems to better leverage the strengths and serve the needs and wants of an aging population. California’s Master Plan is a blueprint to do just that, with a focus on helping all Californians to age how and where they choose.”

Yourman, who is dual board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, is the only geriatrician currently serving on the commission.

“As a geriatrician, I bring a perspective that values the diversity of health in aging and focuses on what matters most to patients,” said Yourman. “At UC San Diego Health, this means shifting from asking ‘what’s the matter with you’ to ‘what matters most to you.’ We must also ensure that the studies guiding care reflect the needs and outcomes that matter to people of all ages and stages, including people of advanced age or multiple chronic conditions who, unfortunately, have often been excluded from research in the past.”

In 2022, Yourman became the chief geriatrics officer of the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) – the first role of its kind at a county HHSA in the country. She was also UC San Diego Health’s inaugural medical director of geriatrics quality improvement. Her clinical experience spans the full continuum of care, including home-based services, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) programs, outpatient clinics, residential facilities, nursing homes and behavioral health units.

Inspired by her grandparents to pursue a career in geriatrics, Yourman remembers visiting her grandmother in a nursing home in high school and feeling a connection with so many of the residents.

“A lot of them had so many stories and had overcome so much, and their experiences were under appreciated,” said Yourman. “I realized I really like being around older people and engaging at the nursing home made me feel useful.”

She says what sealed the deal for her to pursue specialization in geriatrics came during her first week of medical school at UC San Francisco. She attended an activities fair with different student interest group booths overflowing with excited students but was shocked when she found so few students at the geriatric interest group booth.

“At that moment, I knew working with older people was my calling,” she recalls. “More than half of us will need help at some point in our lives to do our activities of daily living, things like eating a meal, shopping or driving. Ensuring that we honor and care for the people who cared for us is important to me.”

For Yourman, caring for an aging population is also remembering that age is truly just a number. Her research has included a focus on physiologic age as opposed to just chronologic age. As she explained, one 70-year old can be very different from another 70-year old, so a one-size fits all approach that considers only chronological age doesn’t make sense and can even cause harm to a patient.

“With a physiological age-based approach, a clinician can better determine whether a given intervention is more likely to help versus harm a patient and thereby make the best recommendation for that patient to achieve whatever matters most to them,” she said.

Yourman is hopeful that her work on the commission will not only improve health for older generations, but that she can also use her position to encourage medical students to be part of a movement to plan for the future and improve care for all ages and stages of life.

“Medical students bring fresh perspectives and often have the most valuable insights on the medical team about what we can do better as health systems,” said Yourman. “I encourage all students to listen to their patients and their inner voice and consider how we might do better both within the walls of UC San Diego and outside of it. It all goes back to what matters most to our patients and staying true to why we went into medicine.”

For Yourman, what matters most to her is her family and being a mom. She says that through her two young daughters, she has learned to be a better doctor. “Being a mom has given me insights into how to explain things so that they are easy to understand and listen more effectively to hear what matters most to each patient and their care partners.”