August 15, 2024
Even as a medical student, Monica Ott, MD, CMD, the newest state presidents council representative on the PALTmed Board of Directors, knew she wanted to work in geriatrics and long-term care. By the time she participated in the Futures Program, she was ready to dive into the field she loved, and it felt like coming home as she met “other people who were just as passionate as me. I quickly realized this was my professional home and knew that I wanted to be an active member of this organization,” she says.
The opportunity to serve on the association’s board is truly meaningful for Dr. Ott. “It’s a privilege and an opportunity I am so grateful to have. I think it’s important for the board to have perspectives from people in different geographic areas and from team members working in various capacities—from practice to academia to research,” she says.
Not only is Dr. Ott an active association member, but she has also won several awards. In 2022, she was named the Choosing Wisely Champion, and in 2015, she won the Howard Guterman Award for top poster presentation. She has also presented at several annual conferences.
All of these efforts may seem like work to some people, but for Dr. Ott, it’s “fun.” She notes, “I enjoy doing posters and presentations, and I like the opportunity to share knowledge and ideas with others in the field.” She also is passionate about efforts to attract young practitioners in various disciplines to PALTC. “There aren’t enough of us to care for the elderly population that is coming, and we need talented practitioners to choose careers in post-acute and long-term care,” she observes.
Dr. Ott acknowledges that there are many challenges facing her colleagues, from staffing shortages and addressing the new federal staffing mandate to the constant barrage of regulatory updates and changes to reimbursement issues. However, she is optimistic about the future. “We are seeing a more person-centered approach to care and a focus on individual goals,” she says. For instance, if a person’s goal is longevity, various preventive measures may be appropriate. However, if the goal is comfort, the care plan is very different. “I think this understanding is changing the landscape, and we are looking at quality in a new way,” she offered.
In addition to being a talented, engaged practitioner and team leader, Dr. Ott has been a caregiver for a loved one living with vascular dementia. “I took care of my mother-in-law in our home for four years before she moved to a nursing home. Despite my experience in this field, I was blindsided by what it means to care for an older parent with dementia. I understood dementia from a professional standpoint but not from a personal perspective,” she recalls. “It’s 24/7, and it truly takes a village. However, at the end of the day, there often aren’t enough consistent village members.” She is considering writing a book about her experiences in hopes of helping and empowering others caring for family members who have dementia.
In the meantime, Dr. Ott is honored to be a practitioner, educator, and advocate. She says, “You can choose to stay and be part of the solution or walk away when things get hard.” She has chosen to stay and “fight the good fight.” But when she gets tired, she gets “reenergized” at the association’s annual conference and through her interactions and connections with her colleagues across the country.
Dr. Ott currently serves as the market medical director for the Indiana/Illinois/Ohio/Kentucky market of Senior Community Care within Optum, where she supervises and educates advanced practice clinicians in three states. She graduated from the St. Louis University School of Medicine and completed a geriatric fellowship there. She is board-certified in both Family Medicine and Geriatrics.