Dr. Kalasapudi trained as a physician is an expert on geriatric psychiatry.
Geriatric psychiatrist and founder and executive director of India Home Dr. Vasundhara Kalasapudi has been named one of Next Avenue‘s Influencers In Aging for 2017.
A press release issued by India Home, a non-profit serving South Asian older adult in New York, said Kalasapudi received the honor, along with New York’s Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and New York Times reporter Paula Span.
The third annual list of the top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next Avenue, which covers issues for people 50 and older, includes advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts at the forefront of changing how we age and think about aging. The honorees are from five areas that Next Avenue covers: Health & Well-Being, Caregiving, Money & Security, Work & Purpose and Living & Learning.
Kalasapudi, a graduate of Andhra Medical College, is an expert on geriatric psychiatry. Among the patients she treated was her own father, who developed dementia in 2003. She traveled several times a year to India to care for her and became acutely aware of the lack of culturally appropriate services and care facilities for older South Asians in the United States.
The result: Kalasapudi founded India Home, a nonprofit that serves elderly South Asians in New York City. The organization provides food, health care, social support and advocacy rooted in South Asian values. It serves hundreds of older South Asian adults in the city.
When asked if she could change one thing about aging in America, what would it be, Kalasapudi said, “I would advocate to better integrate social and medical services for older adults. Senior centers are integral institutions to help Americans age in place and prevent or delay many health issues, but medical professionals are unaware of such social services.”
The highest honor, the Influencer of the Year, was presented to Elizabeth Blackburn, the Nobel Prize-winning president of the Salk Institute whose groundbreaking research about telomeres in the aging process is presented in a bestselling book, The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer, which was co-authored with Elissa Epel, a 2016 Influencer in Aging. Published in January, the book describes how the way we live influences our “healthspan,” or the length of time we live healthy and active lives.
“Next Avenue is proud to honor these 50 people who are transforming aging in a time when this work is especially crucial,” said the publication’s Editorial & Content Director Shayla Stern. “More than 100 million Americans are over age 50 now, and as life expectancy increases, it is imperative that policies, housing, science, technology and culture all evolve to better serve our population. These honorees on our list of Influencers in Aging are on the leading edge of this revolution.”
(This post has been updated.)