EP 16 - GLP-1s in Skilled Nursing: Weight Loss Wins, Muscle Loss Risks with Dr. Vargas
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EP 16 - GLP-1s in Skilled Nursing: Weight Loss Wins, Muscle Loss Risks with Dr. Vargas
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About this listen
GLP-1 medications are transforming healthcare—but what happens when they enter skilled nursing and post-acute care?
In this episode of Our Purpose – The LTC Podcast Host James Dieter, Kip Kruger and Chris Light sit down with Dr. Norberto Vargas, a board-certified physician in physical medicine & rehab, pain management, addiction medicine, and obesity medicine, to unpack the real-world impact of GLP-1s in long-term care settings.
We discuss:
• Why GLP-1–driven weight loss can become dangerous muscle loss (sarcopenia) in SNFs
• How dehydration, reduced intake, and therapy setbacks can create facility risk and F-tag exposure
• Who the right and wrong candidates are for GLP-1s in post-acute and long-term care
• The expanding science behind GLP-1s: cardiometabolic benefits, dementia risk reduction, and addiction “noise”
• Why obesity meets many real-world criteria for addiction—and why DSM-5 doesn’t classify it that way
This episode is essential listening for LTC administrators, medical directors, clinicians, and operators navigating GLP-1 use while protecting outcomes, compliance, and patient safety.