For many aging adults, it’s natural to write off changes to their bodies and minds as intractable and inevitable.

“People think, ‘Oh, I’m just getting old and there’s nothing I can do,’” Dr. Susan Melchiore. “But there is often a lot we can do to prevent or postpone decline or change.”

Melchiore is part of a small cadre of geriatricians in Idaho and one of just two in North Idaho. The only other geriatrician in the five northern counties is Dr. Megan Skibitsky, who is based in Sandpoint, while a handful of others practice in Lewiston, Twin Falls and Boise.

“There’s a huge need,” Melchiore said. “The population here is growing and especially the retiree population.”

Geriatrics isn’t the most glamorous specialty, Melchiore noted, nor is it the most lucrative area of medicine, which goes a way toward explaining why there are so few geriatricians in Idaho and across the nation.

“It attracts people who really have a passion, something that drew them to it,” she said. “You’ve got to have the right heart.”

Melchiore cares for patients through Kootenai Health’s Memory Consultation Clinic, which provides comprehensive care that includes diagnosis, treatment, education and ongoing guidance for individuals experiencing memory loss.

The clinic sees fewer patients than a primary care office, and that’s by design. Melchiore and other clinic staff spend a lot of time with patients, conducting full assessments and hour-long visits and meeting with a patient’s family and caregivers.

Even so, Melchiore said the clinic has seen more than a thousand people in the past year and a half.

“The need is huge,” she said.

In general, adults aged 65 and older utilize all areas of healthcare than the younger population. Patients in this demographic typically face many more comorbidities than younger patients, as well as other factors that make their care needs more complex, Melchiore said.

That’s why it’s important for healthcare providers to work together.

“Geriatrics is very much team sport,” Melchiore said. “To do specialty geriatrics, you need to be in a web, in a network of other specialists.”

Family practitioners receive training in geriatrics, Melchiore said, and provide geriatric care as a normal course of their practice. But as a specialist, Melchiore brings with her a particular expertise.

“Geriatrics is really focused on the whole person and looking at what matters most for that person,” she said. “They know what matters most to them. It’s really important to understand their motivation, their preferences, so we can tailor care to meet those needs best.”

Similarly, doctors practicing other specialties — from cardiologists and neurologists to nephrologists and orthopedists and beyond — can combine their expertise with that of a geriatrician to enhance the care that a patient receives.

“Sometimes you need two specialties working together to come to the answer,” Melchiore said. “It also makes care more efficient for the person.”

The need for specialized healthcare for older adults isn’t going away, and while demand is high, Kootenai County residents have options.

Melchiore encouraged seniors to be proactive about their healthcare as they get older.

“Don’t age alone,” she said. “As much as we want to be independent, sometimes we need a buddy system.”