Indian American makes the Next Avenue’s Influencers in Aging for 2017 list

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An Indian American doctor, Vasundhara Kalasapudi’s aging facility India Home; a non-profit serving the elderly Indian American population in New York has been named as one of Next Avenue’s Influencers In Aging for 2017.

Kalasapudi trained as a physician at first and became an expert on geriatric psychiatry, which allowed her to diagnose her own father with dementia in 2003, something she thought she would never do.

She then travelled to India several times to take care of her father and in the process became very much aware of the lack of culturally appropriate services and care facilities for the elderly in the Indian American community.

So Kalasapudi founded India Home, a revolutionary nonprofit that serves the elderly Indian American community in New York City, providing hundreds with food, health care and social support which can be found in strong Indian values.

“I would advocate bettering integrating 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,” Kalasapudi said about the one thing she would do to change aging in America.

“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,” said Next Avenue Editorial & Content Director Shayla Stern.

Next Avenue is public media’s first and only digital publication dedicated to covering issues for people 50 and older and this is the third annual list of the top 50 Influencers in Aging, which includes advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts at the forefront of changing how we age and think about aging.