Answers For Elders Radio Network (Suzanne Newman)

What is a Medicaid spend down? Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne Newman to answer this question, and shows how it differs if you're single or married.

In the previous segment, we talked about what to do if you're married and you or a senior loved one needs care now — a crisis situation — and have some money available.

With a single person, if they want VA coverage, they have the same asset limits of $130K. If they want Medicaid long-term care coverage, they need to reduce assets to $2K, or their state's level, which is very different from the VA level.

How you do that is through a spend down. A spend down is spending the excess money above your limit on anything that gives you roughly equal value. If you want to hide your assets, for example by buying your son's junk car for $25,000, that is not considered a legitimate expense. Buying hearing aids, extra eyeglasses, dentures, those purchases are OK. Buying ten $1,000 TVs is acceptable as long as you don't give them away. Pre-paying your funeral and your spouse's funeral (you can't over-pay), funeral services, is a great way to use extra money.

You may be required to private pay your care until spend down is finished, in some places, but check those details with a lawyer. Acceptability of donations varies by state, and sometimes even by case worker. Most cases involving church donations have been allowed, but donations have to follow your previous pattern of donation.

Jim Koewler addresses later-life financial and legal issues. Talk to an elder law attorney to guide you in your state with your situation. Learn more at Answers for Elders or at Jim's website.

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Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Suzanne highly recommends Jordan River after her experiences with the company helping move her mom twice.

Suzanne says, "You guys did two moves for my mom. And I remember each time it was just a breeze, it was easy. Your staff was wonderful. They were kind, they were gentle, they listened to what she had to say. There was a lot that we had to do, especially in the first move, where we had a lot of stuff to get rid of, but you guys just handled it perfectly. So I always say thank you. That is really important to me, that you're not like anybody else. And I mean that."

Sean says, "I would like to provide a good service to people. I remember my business partner, Kobe, we started in Boston working for my brother in Philadelphia, and we learned how to provide quality service. And we went back to — we originally were born and raised in Israel — we went back to Israel. One day Kobe come into my house and said after seven years, we already had a baby each, he said, 'Let's go back to the United States, let's do moving the way we believe moving should be, high-quality service. He didn't say let's go to the United States to make money. Let's do moving services with high quality. We picked Seattle because we wanted a place that was safe, education was good, public schools and everything was high grade, a low crime ratio. And really from the get go, we emphasized customer service."

Sean adds, "We are born and raised in Israel, which is a very family-oriented country. Take care of your parents and respect grandparents."

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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RN Case Manager Josephine Porokoso at Serengeti Care in the Greater Puget Sound area in Washington shares her wisdom about caregiver burnout.

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Dr. G. Allen Power joins Suzanne to talk more about Alzheimer's and dementia. At the time of this recording in 2019, he had just spoken at a recent Discovery Conference on Alzheimer's. His books ''Dementia Beyond Drugs'' (2010), ''Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care'' (2016), and ''Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being'' (2016) repositioned care and support methodology for people living with dementia.

Dr. Power is a board-certified internist and geriatrician and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester, New York. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. Dr. Power has practiced medicine for 25 years, the last 18 of which have been in long-term care and rehabilitation. 

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Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about what to do when a care facility threatens to discharge or evict a senior loved one. There are specific federal rules that apply when the reason for the discharge is failure to pay:

* No "failure to pay" if Medicaid application is pending

- If not first application, there must be difference from first

* Maybe no "failure to pay" if state hearing or appeal is pending

* Facility may try to discharge despite the Medicaid application

Just the fact that they are prohibited from these discharge threats doesn't mean they won't try. If they succeed because the family doesn't know any better, then they get away with it.

If someone wants to challenge a threat to discharge, make sure you follow all these steps:

* Appeal instructions are in the discharge notice

* Appeal to the appropriate governmental office

** Include a copy of the proposed discharge paperwork in your appeal

** Send a copy of your appeal to the facility

Have the written discharge notice before you began your appeal. You have 30 days, but don't wait to appeal — if you don't appeal soon enough, the facility can go ahead and discharge them. If you win your appeal after that, the facility is first in line to take them back, so long as they have the space.

Possible defenses against the discharge:

* Challenge the reason for discharge

** If discharge is for failure to pay, show there is aa pending application or appeal

* Challenge the choice of their new facility as not appropriate

** If it's your home, for instance, show how it can't meet the loved one's needs

* Challenge failure of proper notice

In a hearing, the nursing home or assisted living facility goes first, because they carry the burden of proof. When it's your turn, you're probably going to have to be specific about why the new place isn't appropriate. The hearing officer will assume because it was on the notice that it's appropriate, unless you say otherwise. Challenging them is not easy. Every family should have an elder law attorney, because all sorts of situations happen.

Watch on YouTube to see slides from Jim's presentation. Learn more about Jim Koewler at his website.

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Allyson Schrier joins Suzanne to talk about how a brain with dementia works differently, and how to change our approach for communicating with someone with dementia. Allyson realized that slower-paced visuals, with music instead of words, or with the words captioned, would be easier for those with Alzheimer's to engage with.

This led to her cofounding Zinnia TV, an app for mobile devices and connected TVs for people with Alzheimer's and dementia that creates engagement, reduces challenging behaviors, and encourages adherence to activities of daily living. Creating an environment that supports us is part of environmental wellness, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus this month for the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Allyson says, "What's really relevant for today's conversation is the changes that impact the way that I experience the world. So, as we know, our brains are our computers, right? They're input/output devices, and there are like 86 billion neurons that are constantly interacting with my entire body. In a very simplistic way, we can think about it such that when I am taking data in, there's a whole bunch of communication that's happening within my brain. Many, many, many neurons that are involved. Same thing when I am doing output, when I'm speaking, and the same thing when I'm thinking. One of the things that happens with all dementias is that those neurons, and the connections between the neurons, start to die. The brain is still going to try and have this communication, neuron to neuron to neuron. But what's going to happen is it's gonna go over here, and it's gonna go 'Ahh, bridge out, let me go this way.' 'Yikes, that bridge is out, this way.' And so the result is that our processing speed slows way down. It's not unusual for a person very early on in dementia to miss four or five words that's spoken to them. Because I'm working so hard to process word number one, I eventually start falling behind."

"At a time when they're experiencing hearing loss anyway, when they're experiencing things like macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts... And so you add to that the visual and the auditory processing changes, and other visual changes that occur as a result of dementia. So it means that, to create a an environment that is friendly, that takes these changes into account, I want to avoid visual and auditory clutter. So I'm going to be successful having a conversation with somebody where there isn't a lot of competing noise. So, busy restaurants? No. While we're shopping at Target? Not necessarily. In a room where the TV is going and there are people talking? No. 

"I want to give people plenty of time. It can take somebody up to 20 seconds to respond to a question when they have dementia. So I want to make sure that I give somebody adequate time to respond. I want to slow down the way that I ask my questions, maybe use fewer words. The hearing range that we loose first is the highest range. So therefore, rather than using my high voice, I want to maybe use a lower voice when I'm talking."

Learn more about
* Zinnia TV subscriptions, with a two-week free trial: https://www.zinniatv.com/
* Allyson Schrier: https://www.zinniatv.com/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more
* Podcasts with Allyson Schrier at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/allyson-schrier/
* Articles and podcasts about Environmental Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living joins Suzanne to talk about grief. 

How many of us have lost loved ones during the pandemic, having illnesses resulting from the pandemic, taking care of spouses or loved ones who are struggling? We turn ourselves inside out while caring for a loved one. Kelley shares insights about grief, how people process grief, and how we can be better at supporting and helping those working through the grieving process.

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Executive Director Beth Deems of Brookdale at Admiral Heights discusses steps to take that help your senior loved one stay at home longer, and mobility issues to look for, as part of this month's aging in place conversations.

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Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements talks about how everyone needs the confidence to speak their mind from a place of kindness, but as families begin to face these sorts of challenges, the parent/child relationship often gets in the way. For instance, the child wants their parent to continue making decisions, while at the same time the parent may have reached a stage in their life where they think they'd like to have help with certain things yet they have this parental role where they feel they need to maintain their image, or level of responsibility,or their authority. So both parties really want to come together in the middle but don't know how.

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The first of two Mama Blue special segments with Steve Raible.

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Kelley Smith from CarePartners Senior Living joins Suzanne to share Teepa Snow's six tips for making holidays successful for those who have Alzheimer's and dementia. As many of you are driving to family locations, maybe listening in the car, you may be wanting to know how to deal with a loved one who has dementia. You don't necessarily know what to expect, and there's a lot of questions about how do we deal with dad, mom, aunt, uncle, and include them in the family gathering.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than six million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease, and that is expected to grow to 14 million people by the year 2060. About 11% of those over 65 have some sort of dementia or Alzheimer's. The majority are at least 75 years old. It progresses and gets more evident as you get older. Oftentimes we may not necessarily know how to communicate, how to best serve them, how to feel comfortable in a dialogue.

Kelley Smith explains, "A lot of it stems around education. We sometimes have higher expectations than we should. I think people also get frustrated, because when mom does have those moments of clarity, we think she's okay again. It doesn't always quite work like that. People get frustrated with the same story 600 times, but that's also part of the disease. They can't remember if they told you this or not, or who they told. As the communication declines for their loved one, a lot of times, it's how do you keep up? What do you do? And that that's where people feel lost, not so much the frustration, but, what do we do now?"

Kelley offers a few tips of her own to prepare for the holidays. "There's a ton of different things we could talk about, but I think that the easiest thing is, first of all, don't be afraid to ask questions. If mom and dad are in a community, feel free to talk to those folks, and find out what are some activities maybe they're doing in the community that might be better for mom. Ask for advice, call the Alzheimer's Association. They have resources, ask questions.

"What is your plan, and then how do we execute that? What are the key things logistically of bringing mom or dad or an aunt or uncle into your home: Can they get up the stairs? Are they in a wheelchair? Can they get to the bathroom? Not only that, but has their dementia gotten to a point where maybe they're gonna need some some help eating? Everybody's circumstances are different, everybody's journey with dementia is different. There are many things to take into consideration. You bring them into your home, and it's all decorated for Christmas, and you've got bright lights and pokey, shiny, crazy, lots of stuff going on, loud Christmas music playing. That might not necessarily be the best environment for them."

In the next segment, Kelley and Suzanne provide insight and advice with the six tips for making holidays successful for those who have Alzheimer's and dementia. Learn more about CarePartners Senior Living at their website.

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Finance expert David Phillips joins Suzanne to talk about how to anticipate the future by putting a finance plan in place to take advantage of factors that we can control, and account for risks such as longevity, running out of money, potential inflation, taxes, and the needs of long-term care.

David says, "Preparing for the unknown is probably the most delicate thing that we can do. There are some factors that we can actually control, we can actually prepare for it. For example, we know that the longer we live there's gonna be a market correction. The longer we live, things are going to change, and it's called the longevity risk. So the market will change somewhere along the line. So we have to prepare for that. So how do we do that? We pull some of our money off of the risks table and we put it into guaranteed sources of income or guaranteed investments. Another longevity risk is we live too long, we run out of money. So we want to set up plans where we can have guaranteed income.

"Our Social Security is getting taxed. I think everybody knows that they're surprised when it's taxed, because we pay taxes all along the way to get the Social Security, but it gets taxed as well. And then the more money we make, we have to pay Medicare, and the Medicare cost increases the more we make. And health care costs are going through the roof, and healthcare supplemental policies, and all kinds of things like that.

"We have no idea what long-term care is going to do to us. Is it going to be a little thing? Is it going to be a big thing? Is it going to be dementia? Is it going to be Alzheimer's? The longer we live, the risk increases that this is going to happen to us. Probably the number one thing that we get when people call us is,' oh my God, my spouse has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. How am I going to pay for my husband's care, and I'm gonna lose my house, I'm gonna lose everything." And there are ways in which you can plan now. You can't do the planning while you're in a nursing home, so we have to do the prior planning now. Prior planning prevents poor performance. And so let's plan now."

To get his books, call David's office at 888-892-1102, or visit his Estate Planning Specialists website at https://epmez.com/. Subscribe to the monthly Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter at https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/. Answers for Elders listeners get a discount.

Learn more:
* Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter: https://www.generationalwealthnewsletter.com/
* David T. Phillips: https://epmez.com/our-team
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joining Suzanne this hour is Lianna Marie, founder of AllAboutParkinsons.com, who has written a new book called "The Parkinson's Path." In this segment, Lianna provides some Parkinson's caregiver advice, talks more about what she could have done different, and what she learned from her 30 years living with her Mom through Parkinson's.

Lianna says, “In my mom's case, she was in her 40s, so obviously it was a lot younger, and she was going to have a longer journey with Parkinson's. So a lot of this depends on the overall length of time that one might be living with Parkinson's. But for me, I really got to see and be a part of this slow, progressing, chronic illness, and one where I evolved from cheerleader to care partnering, which I think is a great term that we use nowadays, because you're the partner not necessarily hands-on caregiving, and then caregiving later, where I was doing some of that nitty gritty stuff, if you will, helping with those daily tasks and things that my mom needed, and then ultimately handing some of that off to professionals who care for Mom in long-term care. I spent a lot of my time advocating for my mom, and really just trying to get the people that were "in charge of her care" to take the best care of my mom, teach them a little bit about Parkinson's, because even though we know a lot more about it these days – in the healthcare profession there's a lot that's missing. I spent a lot of time teaching – if you will, for lack of better word – staff on best ways to make my mom's life easier.”

As the family member who was her mom's power of attorney, Lianna describes how that worked with her siblings, and whether she ever got burned out. “In my case, I have three siblings, and my mom had remarried. I like to call myself a project manager, where I was like, 'Okay, so here's what Lianna is gonna do. Could sister one do this, could brother one do this?' And it works well when everybody's on the same page. Back then we would have Skype calls with my siblings, with me explaining what I think mom needs, and what do you guys think about that? I was fortunate because my siblings and I pretty much were agreeing. From time to time, I'd get pushed back, 'Lianna, that's way too ridiculous. Mom does not need that' My mom had appointed me power of attorney of her care. So I felt like I had this duty to make sure I gave her the best possible outcomes, that's my job – I mean, it's on paper – so I maybe sometimes took that a little too seriously. It's helpful to talk things over and then also for me to see things from their perspective. I did have an implosion, if you will. One or two siblings may have accused me of holding on too tightly to Mom when she was getting far along into dementia. Just keeping her alive is not important if she isn't having some joy or something positive. It's so much easier now for me to talk about it, but at the time, you're letting go of your loved one, your mom."

Lianna has also written "The Complete Guide for People With Parkinson’s Disease and Their Loved Ones," "Everything You Need to Know About Parkinson’s Disease," and "Everything You Need to Know About Caregiving for Parkinson’s Disease." Her books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold. The new book "The Parkinson's Path" will be available in early 2023. Hear more of Lianna's podcasts at Answers for Elders, and visit her website or AllAboutParkinsons.com to learn more.

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Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living joins Suzanne to talk about the most common questions she's asked every day about Alzheimer's and Dementia.

Kelley explained, “People want to know what a normal day looks like. You may go in for a tour and see people sleeping on the couch. Depending on the time, they'd probably be doing that at home — and this is their home. Don't expect there to be parties every time you visit, because the job isn't to entertain the residents constantly, it's to keep them in a homelike environment where they feel safe and secure. There are all sorts of activities from doing somebody's nails to playing a card game, or something else that's entertaining. But the most important thing is not that mom needs to be entertained, but that she needs to feel needed. CarePartners learns as much about the residents. One family sat us down, told us all about their beautiful mother who moved into our Mill Creek community. The activity girl ran down and got all these vases, and all these gorgeous flowers, because the mother was a flower arranger. She now does all of the flowers at the community. That's the kind of stuff you'll see in dementia communities. It's not always cupcakes and popcorn balls. You need to meet these folks where they're at, at the moment.”

Sometimes mom wakes up and see her husband — but she remembers what her husband was like 30 or 40 years ago, not the old man in bed next to her, and she doesn't recognize him. Another common thing is that grandma will fixate on a teen grandson, and he doesn't get it, and thinks grandma's being weird. Do you look anything like grandpa when he was young? In her mind, Mom will go back in time. Certain things don't make sense to us, because in their mind, they're back to 32 again, and you should be about 12. Rarely, they don't recognize the spouse. Most of the time that's the only person they recognize as their disease progresses. But when it seems Mom can't remember your name. Kelley says, “I'm gonna tell you right now. I think, in their heart, they always know who you are. I think that's why things get calm after a visit. I think that's why, even if they don't recognize you, just your presence can be good for them. Don't give up on them just because they've hurt your feelings. Think about what they're going through.”

When families get to this point, and ask how can they best bridge my loved one into a community of care such as CarePartners, they ask what their first steps should be. Kelley advises, “The first thing they should do is start checking things out before it becomes an emergency. The problem with memory care is, by the time we get folks, there's either been an emergency, or we're about to have one. Make your decisions sooner. Start doing some research a little bit beforehand. Pick out communities that you like. I would pick out one or two, not just one. And the reason is, what if the time comes when mom needs to move, and they're full? So check out a couple of places, make sure you like a couple of them. Ask the right questions. And then as far as your loved one goes, you're gonna know, and a lot of times if you're taking them back and forth to a doctor, the doctor at some point will make a recommendation, and it's time. We've never had a problem with anybody really refusing to move in. You know, that's not really a problem because most folks are either they're ready for memory care or they're happy that assisted living is going to be a bridge.”

In the next segment, Kelley and Suzanne talk about the CarePartners Bonded Pairs program. Kelley explained, “One of the situations we realized we're having is that kids were coming to mom and dad, and separating them because one of them has Alzheimer's. We think we should go put Mom in this place. And dad's like, “I'll be darned if you're going to take mom from me,” and mom doesn't want to be taken from dad. So what we came up with was the Bonded Pairs program. And at our Mount Lake Terrace community alone, we've kept over fifty couples together that would have been separated. It not only saves money, but saves heartache. You know, if dad and mom can be in assisted living together, and she's not going to get up the middle of the night and wander down the street, she's fine. So why are we pushing these issues and trying to separate these folks? The biggest concern people had was being separated.”

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Learn about various ways people can volunteer for the Alzheimer's Association. Alexis Bonoff, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association in Washington state, joins Suzanne to talk about volunteering and also the organization's clinical trial match tool.

Check out the Alzheimer’s Association TrialMatch, which connects individuals living with Alzheimer's, caregivers, and healthy volunteers to clinical trials that may advance Alzheimer's research. It's free and allows you to see which studies are a good fit for you or your loved ones. Visit https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/research progress/clinical-trials/trialmatch to find clinical trials.

Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.

Hear more podcasts about the Walks: https://answersforelders.com/tag/alzheimers-walks/

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

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Real Estate 55 Plus founder and CEO Juli Anne Gibson talks about how the Puget Sound firm differs from a regular real estate agent. They can help guide seniors and their adult children in the sale of a home as well as the other components that come into play.

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Ken Farmer is a retired two-star general from the US Army and family medical doctor. He began another career after 33-years of service to become Careage's CEO in 2016, an organization that has senior services and communities in Washington State and California.

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Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about how to find trustworthy providers to help seniors with moving. This segment focuses on in-home estimates. Make sure items that are priceless to you are packed appropriately, and moving companies are there to provide these services.

Sean says, "So when we go to the house, first of all we would like to see what we're dealing with. We will go room by room, and ask what needs to be moved, what services are required from us to perform on the day of the move. And we will engage in conversation, and pretty much try to give advice of how to prepare for a smooth move. There will be a lot of questions that we usually answer with seniors. A lot of them didn't move often. You need to listen to what the customer says is important and what what they want to do.

"You need the person to understand, we can do it for you. They are here to help you. Sometimes it's just five minutes for us, but for you it's a few hours, and maybe involved more physical labor that you don't need. They still think they can do a lot more than what they can really do. And let me give you an example of how we can make it easier for you. Instead of putting all those clothes in your car, I can use wardrobe boxes. We can pack the china for you. It's not going to add too much to the move. We are here to help, we are here to provide service."

Learn more:

• Jordan River Moving & Storage on AFE
• Jordan River: Call 877-611-0808 or visit https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:

• Senior moving podcasts on AFE
• Moving to senior living podcasts on AFE

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast: Alzheimer’s Speaks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Executive Director Marilyn Raichle joins us for part 2 of a conversation with 2020 Maude's Awards Awardee Allyson Schrier of Thriving with Dementia.

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Kristine Grow, the spokesperson from the Coalition for Medicare Choices, explains why Medicare Advantage plans are growing in popularity. She joins Suzanne to explain who it covers, how it's accessible, and how the country's demographics apply.

Kristine explains, "when you become eligible for Medicare, you have choices and to what kinds of health care coverage you can enroll in. Original Medicare are the parts that are considered Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. A covers a chunk of hospitalization costs. Medicare part B covers a chunk of doctor visits in other sorts of visits. Medicare Advantage is Medicare part C, and Medicare Advantage covers everything that original Medicare covers ,plus a whole lot more. So if you enroll both parts A and B, you can also choose part C.

"Some of the benefits that we hear from our seniors, who are part of the Coalition for Medicare Choices, what they really like about Medicare Advantage is the vast majority of these plans include prescription drug coverage. A lot of Americans are surprised when they hear that original Medicare doesn't include prescription drug coverage. It also includes services like dental, vision, and hearing services which are very important. Other services include coordination of care, particularly for conditions that are chronic, such as if you have heart disease or a heart condition, if you have diabetes, very common kinds of health conditions that if you proactively manage them, you can stay healthier a little bit longer and realize and achieve a better quality of life than you may otherwise.

"There are also more benefits in Medicare Advantage that are being included now, which are called supplemental benefits. And these are benefits to address what are called the social determinants of health, or social barriers to better health. For example, if you have a home that doesn't have very good air conditioning or heating, and you have some, some health risks, you may be able to get additional services to help you keep your cold place warmer or your warm place a little bit cooler. You may get transportation back and forth to the doctor's office, for the pharmacy to get the care that you need, even healthy foods and healthy meal programs if that is a risk factor for you. So there's a lot of these Medicare advantage programs offer, beyond original Medicare."

Visit MedicareChoices.org to learn more about Medicare Advantage and the Coalition for Medicare Choices.

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Seattle's Joe Tafoya talks about his personal experiences with Alzheimer's. His mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.

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Dr. Jill Bjerke, CEO of Silver Spaces, joins Suzanne for this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place. People don't ask these questions enough. We get emotionally attached to a locale, and while our health and lifestyle changes, our home stays the same. Tasks that seem so simple can become complicated when we age.

Dr. Jill says, "Aging in place is different than people think. It's not, "I'm gonna live in my home forever." There are a lot of decisions that have to be made. The biggest ones are things like finance, transportation, health, socialization, all of those things you need to think about either at retirement, before retirement. What am I gonna do about my finances? I'm still gonna have maintenance on my house.  I'm still gonna have to pay someone to shovel my snow. How's my health? Is it good enough for me to stay home or will it deteriorate in the future? What if I can't drive? How am I gonna get places? How am I gonna get church, get my hair cut, whatever. What options are there? Are there senior services in your town? And then obviously socialization, that's the biggest barrier to aging in place is becoming isolated. So how can you avoid that? Is your church close enough where you can walk? Do you play bingo? Do you play cards? Can you get there? Can someone pick you up? Meeting with other people is absolutely vital to longevity.”

When should you start this planning? “It really should start when you're thinking ahead about retirement, because that's the time to think about. When you get to your seventies or eighties, all of a sudden it becomes, 'Can I stay here?'”

Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/.

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.

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Veterans Interview: Dennis Boyd talks with retired Colonel Mike Courts, a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army and the mayor of DuPont, at Patriot’s Landing in DuPont, Washington.

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In this hour, Elder Law and long-term-care planning attorney Jim Koewler talks about Medicaid, specifically in the long-term-care process as we're aging. Medicaid is the single biggest payer toward long-term care in the United States. Medicaid for long-term care is different than Medicaid under Obama-care, different than Medicaid for people with disabilities. In this segment, Jim talks about what it is, as well as some of the criteria that would allow someone to participate in Medicaid, covering some of the differences in different states.

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Katie Gaswint, Owner of Katie Marie's Adult Day Care Home in Marysville, WA, talks about adult day care.

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As part of National Caregiver Month, Star Bradbury joins Suzanne to continue the discussion about her 2023 book, "Successfully Navigating Your Parents' Senior Years."

Millions of Americans are in an active caregiver role or will be in one in the future, yet few have a solid plan for the inevitable challenges of aging.

Whether your parents are in their 60s or their 90s, and whether they have years of health ahead of them or already need more support, Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years provides the framework and information you need to prepare for and handle with confidence the changes to come.

The responsibility of caring for an aging loved one is often daunting—and when trouble hits, the sudden barrage of questions you face can be overwhelming. Have your parents executed their Advance Directives? Do you know what to look for in a senior community (and how to ensure a spot is available when you need it)? If your parents want to stay in their home, what can you do to ensure their safety?

Certified aging life care specialist and CEO of Senior Living Strategies Star Bradbury draws on her 25 years of experience in senior living to bring you an up-to-date, comprehensive guide to navigating the tricky waters ahead—starting with putting a plan in place now that maximizes your parents’ independence while providing them with the support they need.

Learn more: 
* Star Bradbury: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BRT9M6VQ/about
* Successfully Navigating Your Parents' Senior Years on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Successfully-Navigating-Parents-Senior-Years/dp/1637742479
* Google Books preview of the book: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Successfully_Navigating_Your_Parents_Sen/--VxEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Hear more:
* Podcasts celebrating caregivers: https://answersforelders.com/category/saluting-caregivers/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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Learn about the different types of Alzheimer's research studies, what's involved in participating, and how you can get involved. Suzanne Newman joins Dr. Cherian Verghese, Principal Researcher at the forefront of Alzheimer's disease at Keystone Clinical Studies LLC in the Philadelphia area.

It's hard to ask for help, and we face denial, not wanting to bother family, and pride issues. When we face cancer or heart disease, we think our bodies are failing. When it comes to something in our minds, we think we are failing, as something personal, but our mind sits within our brain, and these are illnesses, just like cancer or COVID. In the old days, there was a sense of learned helplessness — I can't do anything about it, so why bother? — but that's not the case any more.

Everyone knows the symptoms of a stroke or heart attack or cancer, and now COVID, but not many know the symptoms of Alzheimers, particularly early symptoms. We're not talking about everyday things, but perhaps you notice that your loved one is not as sharp as they used to be, and they have a subjective feeling that it takes more effort, as if the senior moments are getting worse.

If they have trouble following the plot of a TV show, or don't realize when they've already seen a movie, look for a clinical trial near you. Clinicaltrials.gov has a list, usually focused in the bigger cities. Participating in a research study provides an opportunity for better treatment than treatments that are currently available: access to the finest medical care, with professionals who know more about the disease than a regular doctor, the cream of the crop in doctors.

There's no magic bullet in treatment — think of the various treatments available for diabetes. Different illnesses require different approaches. Alzheimer's is complicated, and researchers at Keystone are studying medicines that treat different stages of the disease. There are studies for prevention, studies for early stages of mild cognitive impairment, and the Athira study for those in the early stages of Alzheimer's dementia. There are medicines for neural regeneration, for amyloid removal, for tau tangle removal

If you know of someone with Alzheimer's, there's probably a trial available for them. For those interested in a trial, visit Lift-AD Clinical Trial to learn more. You can learn more about Keystone by calling 610-277-8073 or visiting Keystone Clinical Studies LLC.

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Owner Vanessa Carr with Care at Home Seattle says don't wait for care.

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Alzheimer's Speaks host Lori La Bey joins Suzanne to share stories about how to find caregiver happiness over the holidays.

Suzanne shared a story. "When I met my husband, I'd been caring for my mom. And one of the things that I hadn't realized until I met him was that I'd forgotten how to laugh. I didn't have a lot of joy or laughter or lightness in my life. I had nothing but this heavy, heavy burden, and you just learn to live with it. And so, when a family reached out to me before the holidays, I told them, 'Whether they're a family member or a close friend of a caregiver, there's one significant thing you can do for that person. And that is to be primarily responsible for bringing joy into their life. Think about how you could do some things to bring joy.' There was three girls in the family. One daughter was taking care of mom and dad. The other two sisters lived about an hour away in different directions. What they ended up doing was, they called themselves the Joy Patrol.

"I remembering vaguely what they did, but this is really cool. They planned an event for the caregiver daughter. Once a month, one of them would take their place taking care of mom and dad. The other one would take them out someplace fun, someplace that they love to go. And they alternated every other month, and that was the gift for that year. It was the gift of the Joy Patrol. What happened was that they got an opportunity to get closer as a family. This was amazing. The other two daughters had the experience every other month being there with mom and dad all day. They realized what the caregiving sister goes through. They had a higher appreciation for that type of a situation. And the family caregiver daughter had something to look forward to. It brought this family closer, and it lifted the resentment that sometimes caregivers feel."

Lori adds, "When you said, I forgot how to laugh – that is serious. That is something that happens to so many people. We push laughter to the side, and we don't realize that our body needs that. It changes our physiology, and our mindset, and it gives us something to giggle about later on. You also mentioned about how families sometimes can be distant, or almost volatile, and being together and being able to appreciate one another and just sometimes getting to know one another again,  to be able to appreciate what's really going on in their life, and to be able to have that commonality of joy is just something... I love that they stretched it over the year, because a lot of times people will step up for the holidays, and then [disappear]."

Learn more:
* Alzheimer's Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/

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If you're thinking about moving, Real Estate 55 Plus conducts valuable Aging With Choice workshops. Founder and CEO Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about working with families, real estate agents, executors, and estate planners. She talks about how the workshops work, then provides a great example of a senior who took the workshop and how it led to her moving choices.

Juli Anne says, "We really are passionate about seniors and we would love for everybody to have a plan about housing and aging. That's really what we would love. And we understand that everybody is in a different stage in their lives when they come to us. So Aging With Choice workshops, we offer free, and we host them at retirement communities at fire stations, llibraries, anywhere that we can gather. It is a workshop in the sense that you're gonna leave with something that you're gonna be working on. But we're gonna give you the steps of what you're gonna be working on to make good decisions about housing and aging."

"The first 30 years of your life, you're deciding what you want, what you like, and then you spend the next 30 years accumulating it. Then the last part of your life, you're getting rid of it. And for so many people, that process is what stops them from moving forward. We talk about how you can do that successfully, and we even have tools that you can use. And people can actually access that information on our website. They can download a request form and we'll mail out that packet to them."

"We partner with senior housing advisors who really understand the different options that are available, how much they're gonna cost, what level of service they're gonna provide. And in 95% of the cases, those services are free to seniors. We're referring all the time to our senior housing advisors, because they do the leg work for our senior clients and their families. So once we meet with the family, and we have a really clear understanding of their finances, what types of services they're going to need for both physical or possibly mental, what they love doing, and what are their passions and desires, and then that senior housing advisor will say, based on that criteria, these are the communities or the options that are available to you."

You can reach Juli Anne Gibson at (800) 964-1553 or https://realestate55plus.com/.

Learn more:
* Real Estate 55 Plus: https://realestate55plus.com/
* Juli Anne Gibson: https://realestate55plus.com/team/
* Call 800-964-1553 to speak to a live person

Hear more shows with Juli Anne Gibson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/juli-anne-gibson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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What are the most important things to keep in mind in order to make sure your home supports your well-being? Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about environmental wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured this summer in the Vitality Revolution podcast series. In this segment, Dr. Shawn shares five critical areas to concentrate on:

1. Lighting throughout the home
2. Declutter pathways throughout the home from cords, lamps, charger cords
3. Address safety areas at entrances to the home
4. Keep emergency preparedness items, like first aid kits and items needed if you lose power such as portable phone chargers, purified water in an accessible location, some non-perishable food items, have life alert system in place, place emergency contacts list on the fridge in case you or others need them
5. Declutter to remove general hazards throughout the rest of the house

• More about Dr. Shawn Weiss
• Book a free consultation with Dr. Shawn
• Book an appointment with Dr. Shawn
• Thrive over Sixty: Dr. Shawn's 60 days to optimal health program
• Senior Health and Wellness website
• Rockstar Wellness with Dr. Shawn
• Hear more podcasts with Dr. Shawn
• Vitality Revolution
• More podcasts on Environmental Wellness
• Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

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As Answers for Elders begins its seventh year as a podcast and radio show, we've upgraded our studio and partnered with Salem Media’s Senior Resource network to provide even more services for our listeners. Senior Resource’s content manager Jennifer Otto joins Suzanne to talk about the network. Visit our sister website SeniorResource.com to get knowledge, advice, and guidance for all aspects of life over fifty, including free guides, author excerpts, and much more.

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This hour, Marci Lobel-Esrig introduces SilverBills, a Nationwide Concierge Bill Manager. Marci is its founder, CEO and General Counsel. One of the most challenging aspects of senior care is managing finances. Are the bills getting paid, where are the important documents, are they paying unnecessary bills? It also causes conflict and is a huge undertaking to step into the role of taking over paying bills for a senior loved one. In this segment, Marci talks about her background and various aspects of money management.

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Moria Veston aids family communications and teaches workshops on helping families get along.

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Suzanne joins direct of nursing Melanie Caoagas for the grand opening weekend at Vineyard Park of Covington in Covington, WA. 

Melanie oversees the physical health and wellness of the residents: giving them medications, keeping communications with doctors and families, customizing their care plans, and keeping residents informed. The community's assisted living options offer personalized assistance, supportive services and compassionate care in a professionally managed, carefully designed, retirement community setting. It's for seniors who can no longer live on their own, but don’t need 24-hour, complex medical supervision. They have a move-in special: if you move in during August, your deposit is waived. 

Learn more about Vineyard Park of Covington on their website or call 253-480-7050.

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Tina Hall joins Suzanne from Aljoya Mercer Island to introduce Era Living and talk about its reputation and mission. Founded in 1987, it's a family-owned organization with eight communities in the Greater Seattle area. The founders wanted to establish retirement communities that respect and honor older adults by enriching the quality of their lives, a mission that informs and guides how Era Living operates and how it treats residents and employees.

Tina's father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's, and that experience led her to a career in senior living. She provides some examples of how Era Living lives by its mission. When talking about healthy aging, they go beyond a person's physical being to create emotional and social experiences, which shows in meaningful life enrichment activities, culinary programs, arts programs, and unique resident and family supportive programs.

In future podcasts, various staff members will talk specifically about what goes into creating these programs, and what a day is like. Some residents will share the stories of their journeys.

Era Living has four communities in north Seattle: Ida Culver House Broadview, Ida Culver House Ravenna, Aljoya Thornton Place, and University House Wallingford. Beyond Seattle are four additional communities: Aljoya Mercer Island, University House Issaquah, The Gardens at Town Square, and The Lakeshore. Learn all about Era Living at Answers for Elders or at their website.

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Pam Stone describes the services provided by Family Resource Home Care. She is their Regional Manager, Business Development.

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Architecture and Aging-in-Place expert Aaron Murphy, owner of ADM Architecture, joins Suzanne. If you're a Baby Boomer concerned with how to live longer in your home, this hour is for you.

With 10,000 people turning 65 each day, Murphy's site foreverhome-us.com takes what he does in his business, designing houses with aging in place and universal design solutions, and helps more people by bringing what he knows to a national level. Now instead of training the individual consumer, he trains the trainer. It will become a group of experts (general contractors, occupational therapists, remodelers, home designers) and all the affiliate products and things that go with staying at home.

Visit foreverhome-us.com to learn more. If you email aaron@foreverhome-us.com and say that you heard him on Answers For Elders, you'll get a free home evaluation checklist. If you're a consumer looking for a longevity plan house design, he will provide 50% off on the first house design, more than $1,000 savings. If you're a business owner, interested in the course work to become an aging in place expert, you'll get 50% off on the first teaching module, also more than $1,000 off.

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With 9,000 COVID deaths, many of us have lost loved ones recently. Suzanne talks with Cassidy Bastien, an end-of-life doula, about a difficult topic to talk about, the end of life. There comes a time when you're caregiving a loved one when the time is near, we have an option for hospice care. Hospice is the umbrella of care that surrounds end of life. Eligibility comes down to a significant decline, not eating or walking, or a significant weight loss, with a diagnosis of six months or less to live, and a doctor's referral. If you feel that they qualify, you can ask for an evaluation. It focuses on quality of comfort at end of life. Visit her Caregivers Hub Support Group at Facebook.

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Dennis Boyd interviews Patriot's Landing resident Al Jones, who is from British Colombia and served in the Royal Air Force, eventually joining the U.S. Air Force. He was born in 1919 and was inspired to become a pilot at age 8 by Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight.

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Suzanne Newman joins Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living to provide a plan for starting the decluttering process for a transition to senior living. 

Kelley talks about how the conversation often goes, when Mom first sees a potential model unit. You know she'll need a couch, bed, table and chairs, nightstand — no brainers. But she sees no room for the things that matter to her. If her little crystal animals are that important to her, find a way to bring them. It's not whether she uses it or not, it's something that connects her to something she loves. The move itself is traumatic enough, so be kind and listen to what she wants. Honor her for who she is; it's important to her. 

Have those conversations with the community. The more people share, the more the community can help.

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Life coach Laurie Hardie says of seniors who are lonely, "If you offer them a drink of water, read a chapter of a book, offer them a game of cards, that is so huge to somebody who is shut in, that we can really make a difference. If we open our hearts, and listen to their stories, they can make a difference in our lives. These are simple things that take 15 minutes or less."

Suzanne adds, "Knowing that you're an integral part of a community, there's things to volunteer for, there's things to do, whatever you're called to, it's about connection, building relationships."

Laurie says, "I ask people to pay attention to their self-talk. Often it goes back to their childhood, something that a parent or a caregiver said, whether it was meant ill-intentionally or not. Recognize what it is... Alex Elle said, 'It is an act of community service when we do self-healing.' If we live in bad messages, we're not helping anyone. But if we take the time to heal ourself, and change those messages, it's going to be better for everyone around us."

The conversation centers around social wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

In this hour, Laurie talks about:

• Why caregiving should be part of your life, but not your whole life
• How to pick up the pieces and find ways to reinvent yourself
• What thing you have learning in the process of caregiving that creates a new you
• Resources to discover new passions and opportunities
• How to reinvent yourself to create a legacy

Laurie has two podcasts: "Enough," a coaching podcast, and "Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy," which is focused on recreating and reinventing yourself after having a life challenge.

Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes Occupational Wellness and Social Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

• Coach Laurie, Coach Laurie's website, and Coach Laurie on Facebook
• Listen to the podcast Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy
• Listen to the podcast Enough with Coach Laurie

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Jason Totedo,a financial advisor with AGP Wealth Advisors, talks about moving to retirement living.

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Senior fitness specialist Tracy Cromwell is a certified behavioral and nutrition coach, and personal trainer. In this segment, Tract talks about our evolving health as we age. She shares what led to discover her calling as a coach and trainer, learning how miraculous our bodies are, and realizing she was not alone, that her experience could help others. She is the author of the book "Your Personal Journey With Food." Learn more at www.tracycromwell.com.

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Tiana Jackson and Kelaiah Erickson join Suzanne to talk more about MorningStar at Laurelhurst in Portland, Oregon, a brand new senior living and memory care community opening in spring 2023. This segment focuses on assisted living. Tiana and Kelaiah describe what a typical day is like for residents, services available, and the types of daily activities that are available through their comprehensive life enrichment program.

MorningStar at Laurelhurst is located at 3140 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232. To learn more, visit the community's website at  or call (971) 248-7720. You can also hear more podcasts about MorningStar's Oregon communities.

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Elder law and special needs attorney Jim Koewler talks with Suzanne Newman about veterans benefits, claims, and appeals under the current rules. If your loved ones have spent any time in the military, they may qualify for benefits you might not be aware with. This segment continues the conversation from part 3 on who is eligible for veterans benefits and covers:

Eligibility Update for VA Pension (a.k.a. Aid and Attendance)

• Aged 65 or older or 100% disabled
• Health care expenses use up most or all household incomePeriodic, predictable health care expenses
• ClassificationsAid & Attendance - Need help with some Activities of Daily Living, or need a Protective EnvironmentHousebound - Can't easily get out on your ownPension - Expected medical expenses use up most or all income

Monthly benefits for VA Pension (a.k.a. Aid and Attendance), as of 12/1/2021

• Aid & Attendance
• Housebound
• Pension

Listen or watch on YouTube if you want to follow along with the presentation. Contact Jim Koewler at The Koewler Law Firm in Richfield, OH by calling 330-659-3579 or emailing jkoewler-afe@protectingseniors.com. His website is https://www.protectingseniors.com.

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In this three-part show, Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements provides some tools and tips of the trade for family caregivers. One thing that's key is for the caregiver to reach out to others whenever they're feeling weary. And for other family remembers, remember that you're not walking in the shoes of the caregiver.

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Kristen Christian joins Suzanne to talk about downsizing and decluttering. The goal is to own less. Be a gatekeeper for your next chapter: only bring what you like, need, and use. Bee Organized takes clients through a power purge. About every item, ask yourself: Do I like this item? Do I use this item? Is this item valuable or irreplaceable? There's no loophole in the process, and the more you go, the better you'll get at it.

It may seem overwhelming, but doing a little at a time gets it done. Give yourself time, and start small. All that stuff didn't accumulate overnight. Don't make it daunting, make it fun, turn on the music, invite a friend, hire a downsizing company like Bee Organized. Keep in mind the end goal and revisit it – if your goal is to move to a smaller space, hold on to that, and it'll push you through, give yourself grace.

Learn more at Bee Organized. Visit their What They Do page to sign up for their Buzz Tips newsletter and find the location nearest you.

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Mary Lynn Pannen at Sound Options talks about geriatric care management.

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Liz Diehl and former NBA Seattle Supersonics center James Donaldson join Suzanne to talk about the benefits of using CBD as a sleep aid. Liz is the founder of Total Wellness Solutions. She is also a certified CBD physiology and health specialist who provides education and a premier product line. Contact Liz at 503-209-4997 or email liz@totalwellnessinfo.com.

James says, "CBD has some wonderful benefits towards sleep and helping you to get a better, deeper quality of sleep. More, more restful, more sound. I take it myself before I go to bed every night. Four years ago, I came down with some heart issues myself and they think that was due to sleep apnea, which I didn't know I had. So I went in, I got tested overnight at one of the hospitals. It found I had 29 events per hour. An event is where you stop breathing. Your body just pushes some adrenaline into you to get your heart jumped, and you start breathing again — 29 times an hour. 30 is super serious, and I was right at 29.

"I took melatonin and these things for years as well. But since I've been doing CBD oil and wearing my sleep apnea machine, my face mask, my events per hour have gone down to 1.2, 1.5 per hour. And my quality of sleep, I'm sleeping almost nine hours a night."

• Liz Diehl on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter)
  
• Total Wellness Solutions on Facebook
  
• James Donaldson's website and his book "Celebrating Your Gift of Life"

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Suzanne Newman joins Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living to talk about The Arbor in Bremerton, CarePartners' newest community. Learn more at https://www.carepartnersliving.com/arbor-at-bremerton/

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Suzanne is joined by Rebecca Bomann, CEO and founder of SASH Services, to provide encouragement, guidance, and tips for families selling the senior home of a loved one.

First: get your legal paperwork in order. Rebecca says, “We can't emphasize it enough. People do not want to have these conversations, because it means that there's gonna come a time when you're very competent, bright, active, athletic, very sharp mom or dad can't make decisions for themselves anymore. Nobody wants to imagine that possibility. But when families don't get those documents in place, then they get caught in crises where somebody needs to be making the decisions and no one has the authority to do so.

“I'm working with a family right now where the son lives out of state. Mom was declining, he had her power of attorney ready, he sent it to me in an email. We got it recorded with the county. He was able to sign papers for his mom two days later to get her house sold. There was no scramble, there was no stress, and we were able to begin and get funds in for her care immediately. Contrast that with another client I took care of this year, where there wasn't a power of attorney. His wife is on the house's title, but she never signed a power of attorney over to her husband, and now had dementia. He couldn't sell his home because no one could sign for her, and he had to go through three months of a legal conservatorship through the court just to sell his own home. So, that's the difference between having those papers prepared and not.”

Second: “If mom or Dad are going to be in the home while the house is getting ready for sale, choose professionals to come in and help your family through this journey who are experienced and understand the delicacy of talking to someone who has advancing dementia or Alzheimer's. You don't want someone just barreling in, just because they have a real estate license, and talking about things that are going to cause anxiety and send the person with dementia into a disorientation, into an emotional tailspin, confusing them. This needs a very delicate touch, and it requires experience, empathy, and knowing how to navigate around those big decisions while mom or dad are there, and how to take the important things out of earshot or out of sight. I helped a couple recently, and I knew that she would forget who I was after our visit. I'd visit again and talk to her husband, and she would introduce herself to me over and over on each successive visit, even though we saw each other 30 or 40 times over the course of a few months. I just gently said hello, it's great to see you. How is your day going? I just smiled, brought a smile to her face. I didn't try to make her remember me. I'm just there to help her feel comfortable and at ease.

“For families that are choosing a real estate agent, vet them offsite first. Meet at a Starbucks or a local restaurant, have coffee, talk to them, ask them what is your philosophy of caring for people who have Alzheimer's or dementia. Find out how they talk about it, see how their inner-personal skills are, before bringing them into the home where mom or dad is, and see you know how they act around those topics. Also, ask about their experience, how many times have they been involved with a situation like this, and find out if they're experienced. Other elder care providers might be able to give a reference to the real estate agent that is sensitive to that.”

Learn more at SASH Services or call 888-400-7274. Also check out SASH's resources at AFE's website.

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In this three-part show, Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements provides some tools and tips of the trade for family caregivers. One thing that's key is for the caregiver to reach out to others whenever they're feeling weary. And for other family remembers, remember that you're not walking in the shoes of the caregiver.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about taking charge of the six pillars of health — nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, substance use, and personal connections — so that we can achieve optimal health in our later years.

Shawn says, "Health is not a one-size-fits-all for everybody, especially in the age where we're in now, with social media, where we're getting bombarded on a daily basis with contradictory advice. I deal with the six main pillars of health. And that for me is so easy to organize, because each one affects the other. I have everything in balance, which is the key. You have to be able to hit all of those pillars of health. One little off-balance system will exponentially affect the rest.

"I start off with exercise — of course, near and dear to my heart as a physical therapist, but confusion over 50 is OK. What type of exercise? How much do I do? How long do I exercise? Am I allowed to get my heart rate up high enough? So that's one of the main ones, and then we look at nutrition how to fuel your body properly. Gut health is the third one. Gut health and inflammation, inflammatory conditions, inflammatory foods go hand in hand. Then we look at stress, and stress is huge. You cannot remove all the stresses, and all the daily stressors that we have, but how do we learn to manage our daily stress? Sleep, that's the fifth one. And the last one is emotional health. And that's been huge, especially since COVID. So we include all of those when I talk with clients and coach them."

Shawn’s proactive approach to physical therapy focuses on wellness and prevention strategies for all of her clients, with an emphasis on fall management programs for the elderly in the assisted living setting. She currently serves on the Ohio Fall Coalition and Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership. She is also is an Instructor for Summit Professional Education where teaches nationwide for Continuing Education courses on Home Health Policy and Rehabilitation and has been a contributing member of Answers for Elders for more than a decade.

Learn more:
Shawn Weiss' website: https://shawn-michele.com/
Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/
Six Pillars of Health: https://www.stress.org/live-better-by-building-on-the-six-pillars-of-health

Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/tag/shawn-weiss/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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Lori Hutson joins Suzanne to talk about how find something to be grateful for, no matter where we are in the world today. This topic is part of spiritual wellness, featured as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Lori says, "Especially in these times we're living in now, we're just bombarded with the news cycle, and you can really go down rabbit holes, and you can really look for some things to get to depressed or down about. There are strategies to really live having an attitude of gratitude, to find something to be grateful for no matter where we are."

Lori adds, "One of the best ways is just to get in the habit of looking for those things, and having a gratitude journal... You write what you're grateful for, what your intention is, and then what you're going to let go of. If you just get in that habit, the first thing is five things that you're grateful for. Sometimes it could be the same things you were grateful for yesterday, or it could be just the tiniest thing. And especially it you're going through a hard time, it could be that ou're grateful that you have a comfortable bed to sleep in, you know, the smallest things. Once you get your mind focused on that, then you start recognizing, and then it opens up to all these things that you just take for granted, or haven't noticed."

Lori provides a list of tips, which includes being mindful of living in the moment. Also, going out and looking at things like you've never looked at them before. Download the pdf file at this link (you may have to right-click and save the file to your device): Having Attitude of Gratitude.pdf
https://answersforelders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Having_Attitude_of_Gratitude.pdf

Lori is the owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in the state of Washington.

Hear more:
Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/

Learn more about:
Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/
The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
Humana: https://www.humana.com/
Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Wuehler joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. The University of Colorado, when defining their 8 foundational principles of wellness, says spiritual wellness has to do with your own sense of well-being, commitment to your morals and ethics, and who you are as an individual. In other words, know thyself, and stand true to your values and principles. This can include your faith.

Michael Wuehler is a retired United Methodist minister with 30 years of experience in the parish ministry, helping many families work through so life challenges and circumstances. He's the author of Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You. Often we go about our day-to-day lives doing rather than being centered.

Michael says, "Most people practice their spirituality for an hour, or 45 minutes, during a worship service, and that's about it. But there's so much more out there, and the local church is just the practice of spirituality, and one minor focus. Spirituality s who you are. We are mind, body, and spirit. We notice the body, we feel things, we touch things, we respond to physical things. We think a lot — most of us have monkey minds, and we think all over the place, and we think too much, that's an ongoing concern with the younger generation. They tend to overthink. But we also have a tendency to leave out the spiritual part, and it's all three portions together that make us who we are."

Learn more about:
* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477
* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more:
* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/
* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008
* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wowzitude Founder and CEO Susan Black joins Suzanne to talk about continuing to be culturally curious in our senior years, by taking virtual tours to 140 locations across the world. It's part of intellectual wellness — expanding our minds, learning — one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, featured this month as part of The Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Susan says, "These are live-stream guided walking tours. The way we work it is, our guides have a stabilizer called a Gimble and a camera, and everything that they see you see live, while it's happening. It's not a television program, it's not video. It is a live-stream walking tour. And to make it even more immersive, everyone can ask questions in real time. We only do group tours. We have the same people on our tours all the time, because it's a subscription service. We go to 140 different locations, places from cities that everybody loves. Rome, Paris, New York City, all the way to off-the-beaten-track. As a matter of fact, we're doing a tour to Machu Picchu. So if you didn't think you could climb Machu Picchu, we'll be in Peru doing that. So all the places that people have perhaps visited, and want to revisit, or places that they've always wanted to go, and ask questions about... And it's doing it with a group, so you're always hearing other people's questions. You're part of this great travel club and we meet twice every week. We do eight or 10 tours every month, whether it's four weeks or five week-months. We have trip kits that go with each one. So there's book, movie recommendations, recipes, maps, fun facts, all things to become even more immersive, but to really, really inspire you and get your mind clicking.

Susan explains how the trips stimulate our minds. "We always say, we really cater to the culturally curious, which never ends at any age, because we talk about food, and we talk about what it's like to grow up there, and we ask questions, and we're learning from the locals, and we're hearing them. And they're the questions that our audience wants to ask. No two tours are alike, they're all unscripted. So we are expanding the mind in terms of learning something new every single day. So every trip, you're always gonna learn something new: politically, what's happening with the economy... You might read about it in the papers, but isn't it fantastic to talk to a local about what's happening now?"

Podcast listeners are eligible for a special promotion. Susan says, "If you sign up before October 1st, we will give a free Christmas market special tour, to all of your listeners, and only your listeners, as a special promotion on this podcast. Sign up at https://wowzitude.com/."

Learn more:
* Wowzitude: https://wowzitude.com/
* Susan Black: https://wowzitude.com/susan-black%2C-founder
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Intellectual Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/intellectual-wellness/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne speaks with Phillip George, an elder law and estate planning attorney from Safe Harbor Legal Solutions at 360-746-7169. This segment focuses on what makes a successful retirement plan – it sets up your family so they know what to do, with explicit instructions for any given situation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adult children and their aging parents have wildly differing perspectives on moving. In this segment, Rebecca Bomann, the CEO of SASH Services, and Suzanne Newman talk about building a bridge to understanding each others' perspectives when it comes to the senior loved one's pet, which befuddles many adult children.

Adult children are thinking of a monthly budget, trying to make funds last as long as possible, and are concerned about how that's affected by an animal's daily care, walks, feeding, medication, and vet care. They think that Mom could have moved to one community for $3,500 a month, but she's going to spend $2,000 a month more so she can keep her dog, and they have trouble understanding why. They think: why not go without the dog and spend less money?

Mom, however, sees the pet as a family member who gives joy, love, companionship, and comfort. Moving already means giving up everything else — home, neighborhood, rose bushes, vehicles, plants, porch. If moving means parting from my dog or cat, my heart will be broken, so I'm never moving.

Don't fight parents on this – it is too important to your senior loved one.

Rebecca founded SASH Services (Sell a Senior Home) in 2005 as a blend of real estate, senior care, and social work to provide seniors and their families with home-sale options that are not typical, that are designed around their needs. SASH provides specialized services that lift the selling burden off the senior homeowner and their family while maximizing what can be earned from the home. SASH serves most of western Washington in the Pacific Northwest. If you're out of state, they can steer you to a qualified professional in your area. Find more at the SASH Services website or call 888-400-SASH.

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Suzanne Newman joins Yolanda Morgan, President of the Sea Hawkers, the official booster club of the Seattle Seahawks, to talk about this year's events for the Twelve Days of Goodness. Answers for Elders gears up each December to touch the hearts of seniors with Seahawks Legends in Puget Sound.

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Suzanne is joined by Ignacio Lopez III, CDP, dementia resident expert at MorningStar Senior Living's new community, MorningStar at West Valley in San José, California. They have a dedicated art studio, fitness studio, living areas, two dining rooms, and a sky terrace. The Lavender Sky approach is to serve them, enter their world and embrace them where they are. The community is set up for person-centric care. 

They are scheduled to open in January and taking reservations, with Founder's Club members having many perks. Learn more at https://www.morningstarseniorliving.com/communities/memory-care-san-jose-west-valley/. Their information center is located at 3920 Williams Rd, Suite B in San José.

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Kitty Norton, creator and producer of ''Wine, Women, and Dementia,'' joins Suzanne to share three tips for caring for a loved one.

Kitty says, "Number one is community. And if people are disappearing on you in this dementia journey, on you and your dementia person, then go elsewhere, find them elsewhere. Get on the forums. Alzheimer's Association has a great forum, Alz Connect, our society in England has a great forum. A lot of support groups have gone permanently online now because of the pandemic. The daughterhood, they have support virtual support groups you can sign up for, see if you like the people in them, see if you see if it clicks with, just find people. Do not do this alone... My solution to not being able to join them for wine was to have a Zoom wine night. They might be together. We all might be on our laptops in our separate houses, and we just pour a glass of wine, and we'd still have our girls night out.

"Number two is creativity. This is a journey that you cannot sit in one solution for very long. So just be creative, don't say to yourself, 'I can't do this. My person won't go to day centers. That's never gonna be an option for us.' It may be an option later. They may be more progressed and it may be fine. In the meantime, figure out what you can do to get some of that time to yourself in a different way. You just have to be creative every day. Some of the most frustrating parts for me as a caregiver were real: We just solved that problem a month ago — a month ago we figured out a new way to get the meds in, and now that's not working. And I just wanna bash my head against a wall. Don't go there. Just open your mind up and think about how else to get it done. Everything, everything is an option in dementia.

"Number three is you're the expert. I think all of us start this journey thinking the people that we expect to have the answers, the medical community, are going to somehow be helpful. And while I think they're trying to catch up, they are not the expert. Do not put up with doctors who will not work with you, do not put up with doctors who are dismissive of you or your dementia person. Move on, go to someone else. When you have an issue, tell the doctors your solution is not going to work. Do you have another solution, or do I need to talk to someone else? And it takes a while to get there. We're pretty used to them being the authority. But eventually you're going to understand that you're the one who knows the most about your dementia person."

Learn more:
* Wine, Women, and Dementia: https://www.winewomenanddementia.com/
* Kitty Norton: https://www.winewomenanddementia.com/the-filmmakers

Hear more:
* Podcasts celebrating caregivers: https://answersforelders.com/category/saluting-caregivers/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Practical takeaways from global studies aim to reduce our risk for developing Alzheimer's and dementia. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk more how to apply these recommendations to our everyday lives. One 20-week lifestyle plan was developed by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention Intervention and Care. The plan has four components that focus on diet, exercise, stress management, and support groups.

There's a 30% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment by changing to whole foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts. Break down the diet to 14% total fat, 16%-18% protein, 63-68% complex carbohydrates. A Mediterranean diet checks all the boxes: a lot of fish, a lot of nuts. Hydration is also important.

30 minutes of walking per day, even broken into chunks, is the best overall exercise you can do. Strength and resistance training three times per week is essential, even if you're just lifting soup cans from the pantry. Other whole exercises, such as stretching, flexibility, meditation, in a home exercise program is recommended.

Dr. Weiss says, "The last two things were: one, stress management and meditation, yoga, flexibility exercises, breathing strategies. And then the last one was the support groups, and they broke those support groups down into three times per week and they exercise together. They did stretch management techniques, they did straight support group talks, and lectures and education in those three times a week. At Senior Health and wellness.org, you can find some great information and other videos that I've done."

Learn more

• Lancet Commission 2020 report
• Shawn Weiss
• Senior Health and Wellness website
• More podcasts about physical wellness
• More podcasts with Dr. Shawn Weiss
• More podcasts about dementia

Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

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Tam Katzin and guests from MBK Senior Living talk about Aging in Place.

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Veterans Interview: Former Seattle Seahawk Dennis Boyd talks with Lt. Colonel Dan Wassestrom, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, at Patriot’s Landing in DuPont, Washington.

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The book "Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You" is a daily devotional book centered on a Bible passage for each day. Michael Wuehler wrote it as if the holy spirit is responding to the reader through the passage, in first person. Retired United Methodist minister Michael Wuehler joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Michael says, "I'm all over the internet. You can buy the book in paper format, but I also have "Spirit Calling" in different formats on YouTube as a video, and also something called "Chicken Soup for the Spirit" [on TikTok] which is a short prayer that I do in English and then translate into Spanish. And then I have a Daily Bible Quiz and an inspirational Daily Bible Verse [on TikTok], and a podcast that you can get at any place you download podcasts, Apple iTunes or whatever. So I realize not all people are going to sit down and read, not all people are gonna watch a video. Some people like to have their devotionals through their headphones while they're walking jogging, or whatever. So I try to reach people in every format that I could conceivably bring up."

He adds, "The driving force behind all of this is connecting to people. That's why I went into ministry. I loved preaching, I loved small groups, Bible studies, whatever. I always made sure that I had some way to connect to the community. So I always had groups, and helping people in those — Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts — just some way of helping people grow. And it's not all religious based, but it's helping people find themselves and in finding themselves, they will find that spirit.

"Luckily, God hid our spirits in plain sight. They're not hard to find, but God gives us some aha moments that help us out. You know, we step into situations in life when we realize that all of our life experience, our education, our physical abilities, aren't enough to interpret that. That we need of a larger sense of self and divine being within us."

Learn more about:
* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477
* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more:
* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/
* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008
* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a lot of senior living programs out there, but it's important to understand that they're not all the same. Some of them stand for something, and during this hour Brittany Fleshman, VP of Culture and Program Development at MorningStar Senior Living, joins Suzanne from the corporate office in Colorado to talk about what sets MorningStar apart, with the principles and values of their organization. But they don't stop there. This segment focuses on local outreach, communities giving back to their own local communities. All of their communities are asked to get involved with a local charity of their choice. The home office in Colorado, for instance, helps with the Denver Children's Home. Giving back locally is very important to them.

Learn more about MorningStar, their culture, and find more of their podcasts here and here.

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What does a family do when faced with having to pay for a senior loved one to move into a senior care community? Emily Schwarz with ElderLife Financial joins Suzanne to talk about solving this financial conundrum, courtesy of MorningStar Senior Living.

"A family might have a home to sell, maybe they're eligible for VA benefits, maybe they have a long-term-care insurance policy. They have ways to pay for the community of their choice, but they don't have the funds available today. What ElderLife does, when a family contacts us, is provide a free consultation and review everything that might be available to that senior, kind of like a financial aid office at a college or university, and will help them with resources to pay for the community that they want and need.

"ElderLife Financial is a one-stop shop to help families understand their financial resources to pay for senior living. They speak with a financial concierge who will work with them from start to finish. And they go through a whole menu of things that a family could use to pay for their community. Selling a home, VA benefits, taking the maximum advantage of their long-term-care insurance policy. Maybe it's a reverse mortgage of one part of the couple's remaining at home, selling a life insurance policy, if they're gonna lapse it. And we also educate about tax deductions, and personal loans. So there are ways to pay for senior living that maybe the family's never thought of.

"We help them with a loan that helps bridge the gap from the time the senior needs the care to the time the senior can afford the care. The Outer Life Bridge loan will actually allow the family to include moving expenses, perform home repairs, staging, whatever you need. We can provide those funds directly to family, and then we can also add in the initial senior living community fee. All of that can get rolled into the bridge loan, and then you don't have to ask a family member for that loan. When the home sells, you use the proceeds to pay off the loan, without having all those difficult family conversations."

Suzanne describes the situation she had faced with her mom, who had to sell her house to pay for senior care, and having to go to a family member for a personal loan on her behalf to pay to get the house ready to sell, which was paid back from the proceeds of the house sale. Emily explains, "In your family situation, what we could have done is, we would have talked with your mom and we would have talked with you, and we would have established a line of credit for that, essentially a life bridge loan. We would have provided the money that she needed for however long it took to sell the home. We could provide the money that she needed to pay for the community, to bridge the gap between her social security and the cost of the community."

Hear much more on today's podcast. For further information, call their financial concierge family line at 888-228-4500 or visit ElderLife Financial's website. Courtesy of MorningStar Senior Living.

Lead image © Can Stock Photo / dolgachov

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Suzanne Newman joins Dr. Cherian Verghese, Principal Researcher at the forefront of Alzheimer's disease at Keystone Clinical Studies LLC in the Philadelphia area. This segment focuses on types of clinical trials and what's involved in participating.

In the phase of informed consent, participants and trial partners are appraised on details about the medicine, that it’s voluntary, outlines potential side effects, not charged to insurance, that participants can withdraw at any time, and that they can also talk to the ethics committee at any time. A trial partner spends time with the participant, a family member, friend, or neighbor — conducting the study needs someone who can tell us about how the participant functions at home with their activities of daily living.

There are prevention trials, for people who have beta-amyloid proteins in their brains but show no symptoms, which are to remove the amyloids and counteract them. The most important area of research is for those with mild short-term memory problems, people who repeat the same story, forget mundane everyday things, and rely on a cell phone for reminders. Athira Pharma's study, for those with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, is for a drug that's intended to help regenerate the brain, deal with the damage that's already being done.

If you know of someone with Alzheimer's, there's probably a trial available for them. For those interested in a trial, visit Lift-AD Clinical Trial to learn more. You can learn more about Keystone by calling 610-277-8073 or visiting Keystone Clinical Studies LLC.

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Director of Capital Projects Kristina Chalfant joins Suzanne to talk about the environmental factors/design considerations that enhance resident quality of life at Era Living. Kristina says, "I'm responsible for a team of project managers and a project coordinator, facilities team, and a procurement coordinator. Our team is responsible for doing renovation projects, keeping the communities fresh and safe and clean, and for taking care of emergency repairs, like if the roof is leaking, or if there's a pipe burst, or something like that, if the boilers stop working. We've got painters that go and keep the paints touched up and fresh-looking in the communities."

When somebody new moves in, Kristina says, "The maintenance team does inspections to make sure everything's working properly, and they should be introducing themselves. And get to know the new residents, welcome them on board, and let them know that if anything comes up during their stay in our communities, they're going to be there to provide support, whether it's replacing batteries or light bulbs, but also the bigger picture things, making sure the resident feels confident that they don't have to worry about. You know, maybe the siding needs to be repaired in a few years, or maybe the roof is gonna need to be replaced or, you know, we're making sure that the gutters and down spouts are cleaned, making sure the landscaping is maintained. There are a lot of things that are taken care of that hopefully are invisible to the residents."

Kristina adds, "We try to keep accessibility in mind, and make everyone feel included. We want to make sure there's room for everyone at the table. And if you're in a meeting room, that you can hear — so there might be some sort of hearing assistant devices that we put in."

Hear more podcasts from Era Living at Answers for Elders, including conversations with other residents, at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/

Learn more about:
Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.
Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/
Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Larry Nisenson, SVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Genworth Financial, joins Suzanne for this show to discuss Genworth's trailblazing help for family caregivers. Nobody plans to be a caregiver – you're suddenly thrust into this role when you least expect it, and Larry has been through it twice. In this segment, Larry introduces Genworth, which originated long-term care policies more than 40 years ago. These policies help provide a way for people to finance their own aging. It takes the financial burden away, but it doesn't take the emotional burden away for caregivers.

Larry's father had a long-term care policy but was still struck by all the other challenges. When he joined Genworth, he looked for what more the company could do for caregivers to provide help, education, and awareness.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On behalf of Humana, gold sponsor of the Vitality Revolution Podcast Series, Lori Hutson joins Suzanne. Lori is owner of LJ Hutson Insurance LLC in Washington state.

This segment addresses dental health benefits available through Medicare Advantage programs. Dental health impacts our overall health and becomes more important as we age. Unaddressed oral infections can progress into your bloodstream and throughout your body to become something more serious. If you have to be treated for some condition, it's possible doctors will put off treating that if you have a dental problem, and have that treated first.

Lori says, “If you have original Medicare, you do have some coverage for a medical appointment, very limited. If you have something like a tumor in your mouth, or mouth cancer, things like that, that will be covered under original Medicare. I had an example, a member I was working with, she fell and she broke off all of her bottom teeth. Well, getting the teeth removed, that was a medical appointment, so that was covered under her medical, but the restoration wasn't covered. Then she needed a bridge, or implants, and that was not covered. So the Medicare Advantage plans, they will add in benefits, and dental is a huge issue right now, almost all of them now cover the basics. So they're gonna get cleanings, exams, X-rays, a couple of fillings. That's pretty standard, but then some of the plans — depending on your eligibility, depending on where you live, what's available for you — they will cover root canals, crowns, those types of things as well."

Contact Lori through her website LJ Hutson Insurance LLC.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elder Law Attorney Jim Koewler talks about the dynamics of the legal side of elder care. Your elder care attorney can be your greatest asset. Jim talks about some of the changes that have happened during the pandemic. For instance, It's easier to stay on Medicaid and easier to get on Medicaid, but the general lack of ability to pay for long-term care hasn't changed.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allison Fine, Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Chronic Illness, explains why you need a social worker.

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Suzanne Newman joins Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living to provide a plan for starting the decluttering process for a transition to senior living. Once you've got Mom settled in her new senior living community, you still have to go back and sort through the rest of her things. This segment talks about three piles you need to make while sorting through her things: sell, donate, trash.

For selling things, first check online. Is her china selling? If those coffee cups from 1962 are worth $10 each, sell them on eBay or save them for an estate sale. For jewelry, try an estate jewelry organization or store and get it appraised. Go to an antique jeweler who will be honest about what it's worth.

For donations, will your feelings be hurt if you see it at the salvation army priced at $100? If you're not going to make money on it, there are many charities to donate items which others would be grateful to have, such as immigrants or refugees who have very little. Also, bring close friends and family over (or FaceTime) to see if they'd like any of these items.

Throwing things away: be sustainable. Make sure in the final stages to recycle what you can. Shred old paperwork to protect identity information.

Kelley suggests to talk with your community coordinator first. Don't get rid of anything that you assume can't be brought. You may be pleasantly surprised and be able to accommodate your loved one.

SASH Services and Bee Organized can help with these processes.

See our infographic here for some decluttering tips.

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Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements talks about new transitions as things are opening up from the pandemic. A lot of families are thinking about how to being the transition from living at home to a senior living situation. Take this one step at a time. Have these conversations sooner than later, before there's an emergency, is commendable, as it can take six months to a couple of years of conversations. Lots of matters should be addressed early, such as having legal documents in order: power of attorney for medical and legal matters, who's the executor of their will, and so forth. It's important to have input from decision makers while they still can make those decisions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the job description of a family caregiver? In this segment, Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements focuses on the legal side of family caregiving and what Daphne sees when they're dealing with legal aspects.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pillars of health are all connected. Nutrition, stress, sleep and other factors affect our ability to maintain mental capacity. Our nutritional needs change as we age. Consider whether you are eating a balanced diet and getting the right nutrients such as calcium and iron. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about Intellectual Wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series.

• More about Dr. Shawn Weiss
• Book a free consultation with Dr. Shawn
• Book an appointment with Dr. Shawn
• Thrive over Sixty: Dr. Shawn's 60 days to optimal health program
• Senior Health and Wellness website
• Rockstar Wellness with Dr. Shawn
• Hear more podcasts with Dr. Shawn
• Vitality Revolution
• More podcasts on Intellectual Wellness
• Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

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Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about home maintenance, which not only keeps a senior safe, it can defer expenses, or increase the value of our home. Maintaining a home can help seniors aging in place in their homes for as long as they can. Juli Anne is the founder and CEO of Real Estate 55 Plus.

About maintenance, Juli Anne says, "It not only keeps the senior safe, but it also can defer expenses, or it can increase the value of your home. Oftentimes if we're coming in, doing an assessment, there's been lack of maintenance on systems and the property itself, which are gonna cost a lot more money than it would have had they been preventative. And as we age, we don't see smell or hear things that we might have when we were younger. They're giving us clues that there's an issue in our home. 

"The furnace is probably first, because we're going into the fall right now. Having your furnace checked is super important. You make sure that it, it's working properly, so you have adequate heat coming on. But you also want to make sure that you have your air ducts cleaned out, for two reasons. One is if your air ducts get clogged, especially your dryer, that can start a fire. Number two is, if you have allergies at all, and it's clogged in your air ducts or in your vents in your bathrooms, that can cause all kinds of havoc on your breathing.

"With the roof, if you have an area that has a lot of moss, it's just ugly to look at, but it expands and contracts, and that's what causes the shingles to deteriorate. So having moss removed, having someone inspect your roof, looking for either cracked shingles, or flashing, or a rain cap that's missing. So that helps with any leak prevention, coming into your home. They can also take a look at your gutters and make sure that they're not full. Full gutters cause water spills. What do water spills do? They wreck havoc on siding and windows and intrusion into basements.

"As far as walking with moss, it becomes very, very slippery and slick when it's wet. So making sure that someone's coming in and removing the moss from your sidewalks, and your stairs, and your decks, is super important to make sure that you have a clean space to be able to walk."

Learn more:
* Real Estate 55 Plus: https://realestate55plus.com/
* Juli Anne Gibson: https://realestate55plus.com/team/
* Call 800-964-1553 to speak to a live person

Hear more shows with Juli Anne Gibson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/juli-anne-gibson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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Kitty Norton, director of the documentary Wine, Women, & Dementia, joins Suzanne to talk about her movie's premiere on PBS. Kitty talks about caregiving for her mom, blogging about everything that she and her sister were going through, using humor to cope and surrender to the moment. She became friends with people across the world who enjoyed the blog.

Wine, Women, and Dementia premieres November 2 on PBS. Watch at PBS Online or download the PBS App to stream from your favorite devices. Check your local PBS Member Station for air dates and times in your area. See a list of upcoming local broadcasts here.

* Hear more podcasts with Kitty Norton
* Hear more podcasts about caregiving and caregivers
* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

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Venetia Dela Cruz from CarePartners Living joins Suzanne talk about senior wellness and how the senior living world fits into the quality of life for seniors. Venetia is Business Development Manager and works closely with the Community Relations Director. Soon AFE will be launching a program series on the Eight Foundational Principles of Wellness, and this hour touches on four of the principles.

Emotional Wellness is at the core of our being, where we're most able to adapt to changes, and is our sense of well-being, feeling as if we're fit to take on the day, and also a willingness to nurture and be nurtured. It's key when moving into a senior living community, because, yes it is a change, but it's a change for the better. Instead of feeling isolated, watching TV at home all day, or be in a community that surrounds you with that kind of love and acceptance.

CarePartners Living currently has a move-in special that waives up to $2,000 in charges, based on your spend-down. They're encouraging families to try them out. With respite care, you can stay anywhere from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks at a flat, daily rate. If you're on the fence, but you want to try it, give Venitia a call at 425-919-4006, or visit the CarePartners Living website.

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Elisa Hawkinson, founder of How2GetOrganized, shows us how to organize for safety.

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Rebecca Bomann talks about the process of using SASH Realty, serving the entire Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest.

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Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living provides a COVID-19 update.

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Senior Concierge Advisor Kathy Kappler with Concierge Care Advisors talks about Discharge Planning.

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Dementia family coach Faith Marshall joins Suzanne to talk about a hard subject, what happens to those in early stages of dementia.

Faith says, "I have one client specifically that is on the internet a lot, checks his email. He's recently retired. And so that's always been something that's been part of his routine, but one of the things that does happen in dementia that is helpful is a sense of paranoia can set forth where they start to not trust some things that are happening. So at least he asks me when he gets some strange email with a link. Ask me about it, we talk about it. Sometimes I'll log on and, and help him work through it. But he gets emails that are saying his antivirus is out of date. You need to log on and pay this. So sometimes he may think that's a real thing and he'll reach out to me and say, can you help me pay this? And my mind immediately goes: wait.

"And just with the few situations that I come upon, it makes me realize that it really is happening daily. I don't know how many per minute, but it's continual. And with someone that has dementia, telling them not to click in a link in an email is a recurring conversation, and putting up firewalls and things like that. We've taken those steps with computers so that we've go IT helping to monitor what's going on, and it's just such a big threat as well as them feeling like someone is helping them. That's the pattern between all of these — the brake fluid, all the things that they're actually believing that someone is there to help them. "Oh my gosh. My, my antivirus is expired. I need to pay this right away." They create a sense of urgency in whatever the scam is doing. "Your computer is not working. You need my help. I need to buy parts" or whatever the case may be. I need to go buy lumber to fix the porch over the roof.

"So it creates this need for communication with family on all, all levels. And you don't like we talked about, you don't want to feel like you're crying or spying, but you do have to listen. And what, what happened with my own family was my mom would say "don't tattle on me." Faith Marshall: It's like she felt bad. "I sucked into it again." You know, don't tattle on me. And she didn't want us to worry. But yet we needed to be part of those conversations to alert the authorities and reach out to the AARP and the local police department, and be more educated about it, and be more mindful. And neighbors again can be helpful with all of that, because they're the ones who may be in conversation with your loved one over the fence. You know, next door saying hi.”

Suzanne says, "The most important thing that you can do with your loved one, being a family caregiver, is to establish trust with that parent or with that loved one. If you're a spouse, you're likely trustworthy. But, I see too often that there is a division between the adult and the adult child because there's that trust factor, that the adult child isn't around very much, they're not engaged very much with that senior loved one. They may live out of town. The other thing, I am really a strong believer in starting to have dialogues where you don't have elephants in the room. You know, it's ok to start having healthy, difficult conversations early and, how you do that in my world is start speaking about your own fears, your own concerns. You know, mom and dad, I was laying in bed last night and I couldn't fall asleep because I was thinking about this."

Faith hosts caregiver support groups. "I think it's really important for people to feel heard and feel part of a community, find their tribe. I do an introduction to group coaching the first week of every month. Having someone to talk to when you're going through this, that truly understands, it can be so supportive, and we all need our community and we need to be heard. A lot of people use Facebook groups for that. But just having someone that maybe you could go have coffee with in your own local community that is also dealing with the the 36-hour-day is a key. Everybody is on a different step in that journey, and some that have been there can help advise those that are going there, and vice versa."

Faith hosts group coaching meetings online. Having fellow caregivers to talk to who truly understands what you're going through can be very supportive.

AARP's Fraud Watch Network Helpline is at 877-908-3360. Learn more at Faith Marshall's AFE page and at dementiafamilycoaching.com. You can email Faith at faith@faithmarshall.com or call her directly at (855) 363-2484.

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If you're wondering about what you might do after you retire, check out retirement coach Larry Jacobson's free retirement tools.

The first tool is a retirement wheel to assess how you're doing in eight areas of your life, and connecting the dots shows how well balanced you can be in your retirement. The second tool helps decide what you might choose for your encore The third tool is a passion quiz, 30-35 questions that dig deep into what you like doing and what you're good at doing, then has you review your answers, checking for patterns in your answers. The forth tool is an e-book revealing the top five retirement secrets. The fifth tool is the first segments of his self-guided video training course, Sail Into Retirement.

Through this special offer with Answers for Elders, you can get whole course for just $95, including a 90-minute coaching session with Larry, a $350 value. Check out the tips and offer at https://larryjacobson.com/5-free-gifts.

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In this special four-part episode, Chuck Olmstead speaks with Suzanne Newman about the Top Ten Advocacy Principles as well as what Answers for Elders stands for.

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Elder law attorney Steve Waltar joins Suzanne to talk about the Corporate Transparency Act, a new federal law made to thwart money laundering, but has overreaching implications for owners of new and existing small businesses and their legal agents across America.

Visit the Legacy Estate Planning website at waltar.com for beneficial articles, resources, and webinars.

• Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/
• Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/
• Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/
• Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/
• Find an attorney in your state at https://www.aaepa.com/
• Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

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This segment focuses on medical diagnoses for Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's. The field is rapidly changing. We now have biological markers for Alzheimer's: mis-folded proteins in the brain is the common thread for all degenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, and frontotemporal degeneration Pick's Disease. Being able to visualize these in PET scans (Positron Emission Tomography) lets us make a definitive diagnosis 15 years before someone begins having memory problems.

Suzanne Newman talks with Dr. Michael Mega, Director of the Center for Cognitive Health in Portland, Oregon. The center helps patients maximize their cognitive function as they cope with Alzheimer's disease and disorders of thinking.

Blood tests are also being developed to measure the amount of these proteins in the brain that leak out through cerebral-spinal fluid into the blood, which will identify people on the Alzheimer's trajectory.

Many types of treatments are being developed to stop the mis-folding and deposition of plaque in the brain, as well as the mis-folding and deposition of tangles in the brain. The goal is that people would be able to take a blood test during their yearly physical, and if they're identified as being on the trajectory, we could then institute disease-modifying drugs to keep them from getting Alzheimer's if they haven't developed memory problems.

Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's look the same in terms of the mid-folded proteins. It's where the proteins are deposited that produces different manifestations of these diseases. If these proteins are deposited on the brain stem or subcortical structures, and produce damage, those manifest as slowness in moving, tremors, as well as gait and balance difficulty. If they proteins are primarily deposited on cortical structures as well as the brain stem, that produces more cognitive issues, resulting in problem-solving difficulties, visual-spacial issues, hallucinations, as well as fluctuations in attention. If they have three of the following — a REM-behavioral sleep disturbance where you act out your dreams during your sleep, visual hallucinations while awake, fluctuations in attention or alertness, and neuroleptic sensitivity — as well as a family member who says the person cannot safely live alone, we would diagnose Lewy body dementia. That's different for Parkinson's patients, where only 50 percent will develop a thinking problem where their family says they no longer safe. Most patients don't have thinking problems in the beginning stages of the disease. So the clinical distinction is stark even though the pathology is due to the same mis-folded protein.

Learn more at the Center for Cognitive Health. Visit shapetrial.com to learn about a trial for Parkinson's Disease Dementia. Visit lift-adtrial.com to learn about the LIFT-AD Alzheimer's Disease trial. You can also learn about trials taking place at the Center for Cognitive Health in Portland. Brought to you courtesy of Athira Pharma.

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Kelley Smith from CarePartners Senior Living joins Suzanne to add insights and advice to the fifth and sixth of Teepa Snow's six tips for making holidays successful for those who have Alzheimer's and dementia, providing advice and insight.

Tip 5: Accept General Comments. Kelley says, "If mom and dad have some memory issues, help them. Teepa gives an example, if you're Jewish, of setting the menorah on the mantle, but she says Mom might not understand the word menorah. So maybe what you do is, you pick up the menorah. 'Mom, would you like me to put this over here?' and show her as you're doing it. Mom, do you like the green lights of the white lights? Maybe you show her the lights. A lot of times with dementia, the detail is what becomes missing. Grandpa might not be able to describe things specifically, like when you're helping him get his dinner plate together. Sometimes it's very general. They might say, I want the bird. I don't want that yellow stuff. Show Dad the cranberries, this cranberry sauce. 'Dad, do you like this, you used to like this.' And don't make him describe it to you until he wants it, help him. And that's kind of what she's getting at with that. Keep it simple."

Tip 6: Give Room For a Getaway. Kelley clarifies, "I'm a grown up. I can go get in my car and I can drive away, and I can go get away from everybody if I need you. If I have dementia, I can't do that. So if you're gonna have mom or dad over, do you have a room that has a bed, that's on the first floor, easy to get to, that's a quiet space, if they are overwhelmed and they just need to get away from everybody? They're not ready to go home yet, but just need a break. Do you have a quiet spot where they can just go reconnect for a minute? Take a nap, be able to put your feet up for a minute. Sometimes that's all they need, a little bit of quiet time, and they can come back and join the rest of the family recharged again."

Suzanne adds, "Make it a kid-free zone, too. Let the kids know, grandpa's just gonna go be quiet for a few minutes. Leave him alone for a little bit. Give them that opportunity to recharge. There are many of us in this world who need that, and don't have dementia yet. Now put somebody who's having a hard time keeping up with the conversations, who can't describe how good dinner was because they can't find their words, and that's exhausting. Think about how tired they are, you know. So I love that advice, give them some space."

As an alternative to having everybody together in one big event, spread out the holiday. Kelley says, "It depends on where they're at with their dementia journey. Depending on the type of work that you do, many people are off this week. If you have that kind of time, why cram everything into one day? They're not gonna remember half of it if you do that anyway. You can have dinner at your house and have lunch with mom a day later. If taking her out is too much for her, there are other things you can do. If you've got family coming in from out of town that they'd like to see, if they live in assistant living, call the community, check visiting stuff, see if they've got anything going on — some of them have holiday dinners that you can sign up for. Lots of places like ours, we even have private dining rooms. You could come in, and bring the kids from out of town to come see mom, and spend an hour or two. Or on Christmas morning, have family show up at different times at the senior living community, bring them some goodies."

Learn more about CarePartners Senior Living at their website.

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In this hour, professional photographer Dana Chrysler from Bella Vita Creative talks about the importance of seniors being "present" in photos — how to be your authentic self in front of the camera, as hard as that can be for some. Dana talks about providing a legacy for your loved ones through family heirloom photography. Get a free consultation at at bellavitacreative.net.

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Suzanne speaks with Phillip George, an elder law and estate planning attorney from Safe Harbor Legal Solutions at 360-746-7169. As we get close to 2022, it's time to talk about some key issues. No matter if you're 45 or 95, one of the most daunting issues is starting retirement planning. This segment focuses on why it's important to star retirement planning and to set goals. An elder law attorney specializes in helping people create plans as well as helping people if a crisis has struck. Planning ahead of time makes everything so much easier, both for you and your family — so do it for your family.

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What is the job description of a family caregiver? In this segment, Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements focuses on changes in financial management in senior care. The costs of senior care is skyrocketing.

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Dennis Boyd interviews Gordon Schulthies, who served 38 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, serving in Korea and Vietnam.

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Elder law attorney Jim Koewler joins Suzanne to talk about setting up your estate plan and the people needed to complete various documents, such as powers of attorney, wills, living wills, revocable trusts, and irrevocable third-party trusts. This segment covers wills.

Living Will

• Person to receive phone call (that Principal seems to have suffered traumatic brain damage): Probably spouse
• First alternate person to receive phone call: Person most likely to take in Principal (person signing the Living Will) if Principal needs long-term care (same for Powers of Attorney)
• Second successor agent: Person second-most likely to take in Principal if Principal needs long-term care
• Etc.

(Note: The person listed on Living Will to receive the phone call doesn't have any "power," but many families don't know that. So, to avoid "power struggles" among family members, it is prudent to list the same people in the Living Will as are named in the Powers of Attorney.)

Will

• Executor: Spouse first
• Backup Executor (if spouse not able): Person who gets stuff done, meets deadlines, and doesn't buckle under pressure from other heirs

Listen in to hear details and explanations. Learn more about Jim Koewler at Answer for Elders or at his website, and look here to see a list of all of Jim's podcasts.

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Kevin Church, Chief Science Officer of Athira Pharma, joins Suzanne to provide an overview of what happens in a trial, how long they last, and the different kinds of clinical trials. In this segment, Kevin talks about how to find clinical trial locations, as well as what sorts of things the doctors are looking for in a participant.

Talk to your doctor or neurologist, or a specialist at a clinic, check clinicaltrials.gov for trials in your area, and for Athira Pharma trials see https://www.lift-adtrial.com/. You don't need a doctor's referral.

If you're a caregiver or an adult child, if you're interested in participating in a clinical trial, talk to a specialist to see if it's appropriate. Talk to your doctor or neurologist, or a specialist at a clinic — visit clinicaltrials.gov for trials in your area, and the LIFT-AD Clinical Trial website for Athira Pharma's trials. See AFE's Alzheimer's and Dementia page and AFE's Athira Pharma podcasts page for more shows about these topics. Courtesy of Athira Pharma.

Suzanne closes out the show with Lucy's story looking forward to springtime.

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Allyson Schrier, founder and CEO of Zinnia TV, joins Suzanne to talk about how those with dementia and Alzheimer's are affected by different colors in their environment. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Allyson says, "We'll talk about specific colors. We'll also talk about colors in general. People who are living with dementia have challenges seeing contrast. An example, the bathroom at my house has a white floor, white walls, and white toilet. My husband [who had dementia] would go into the bathroom and he would shut the door and he would urinate on the wall. Why couldn't he see the toilet? Because it's the same color as the floor, same color as the walls. So what do we do? We replace the toilet seat with a bright-colored toilet seat.

"As far as colors themselves go, red is a color that's associated with warmth. And it's also an appetite enhancer. It is the most common color of a plate that is used in long-term care settings – it creates contrast, and because it enhances appetite. So if I give somebody a white plate and on that I put some white pasta or rice, it's very hard for them to actually see the rice or the pasta or the plate. Therefore, a contrasting color is really helpful. 

"Blue by comparison is considered an appetite suppressant. So maybe I wouldn't want to have blue plates. Blue is also a color that promotes peace and calm, and can lower blood pressure and anxiety. So if I'm going to have a snuggly blanket that I'm going to cover somebody with, if it's a red blanket, that kind of promotes thoughts about warmth. If it's a blue blanket, then maybe that would promote a sense of ease and calm.

"Which is something that the color green also does. And I think that it has to do with the fact that these are the colors in nature, right? If somebody runs to high anxiety, maybe I want to dress them in colors that will promote calm and soothing. Maybe a green top, for instance, with patterns. Lime green green is a color that draws lots of attention. If I'm going to put labels on cabinets, for instance, or I want to put instructions next to the coffee maker, maybe I use lime green paper or lime green sticky notes."

Learn more about
* Zinnia TV subscriptions, with a two-week free trial: https://www.zinniatv.com/
* Allyson Schrier: https://www.zinniatv.com/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more
* Podcasts with Allyson Schrier at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/allyson-schrier/
* Articles and podcasts about Environmental Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

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This hour, Suzanne Newman talks with the late Seahawks Legend Nesby Glasgow's adult children Brandon, Nesby, and Nicole. Learn more about the Nesby Glasgow Essence Award, which will be awarded on Wednesday December 22 to someone who has made tireless sacrifices in the care of a senior. Nominate a deserving caregiver here!

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Carol Rosenstein, the founder of Music Mends Minds, joins Suzanne to talk about Rotary programs and other ways you can get involved with the program.

Carol explains their partnership with Rotary International: “If you're a Rotarian, please give me a call. We can talk about you creating a music group through your club as a community outreach program, and you will take that into an adult community services organization like Culver City Senior Center, and you can sponsor a music group, bringing music to the seniors in your neighborhood. Rotary is very busy in the Washington state area. We must have eight or ten different music groups already that are sponsored by rotary clubs. You can go onto our website and look to see where our music groups are located, scroll through and find those that are in the Washington area.”

Suzanne says, “Please go to https://www.musicmendsminds.org/. Check out what they do. This is an organization that makes an incredible difference in hundreds of thousands of lives. And if you consider making a donation, it makes all the difference, because this can transform the lives of those suffering from neuro-generative diseases, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, dementia, depression, loneliness, you name it.”

For more information, email Carol at info@musicmendsminds.org/, call her at (818) 326-0500, and you can donate to keep them growing at https://www.musicmendsminds.org/.

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