Answers For Elders Radio Network

Ageless Grace 's Denise Medved joins Suzanne to talk about caregivers and family members doing brain exercises together to improve cognitive health.  Denise says, "The program can help you maintain your cognitive health. It can help you improve your cognitive health and it can delay any decline that has already started. It won't cure it, it won't go back and fix it, but it will delay it. We've had...

Denise Medved at Ageless Grace shares three of her 21 simple exercises to do each day to fortify your brain. Denise says,  "Breaking out of your normal patterns of movement is important to firing new neurons and creating new neural pathways. Most people don't do new things. They do what they already know how to do, and they repeat it. Breaking out of that pattern is really important, to find new n...

Denise Medved joins Suzanne to talk about the Ageless Grace brain fitness program, 21 simple exercises to do each day to maintain brain health. Ideally, these are preventative measures, but if the signs of cognitive decline are beginning to appear, the Ageless Grace program can improve symptoms. Because Ageless Grace is performed in a chair to engage the brain, almost anyone can participate. Denis...

Denise Medved , founder and CEO of Ageless Grace , joins Suzanne to talk about the brain fitness program taught in 50 states and more than 30 countries. Brain fitness is an aspect of intellectual wellness, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a topic of this month's portion of The Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana . More than 3,600 educators have been certified to...

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about forgiving ourselves as part of Spiritual Wellnss , one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana .  Rev Kathianne says, "Get off our case earlier — we'll have less baggage, so that we can enjoy the last quarter or third or half of our lives. To be...

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about how to see that there are miracles in everyday life, an aspect of Spiritual Wellnss , one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana . Rev Kathianne says, "I'm really a miracle junkie. I think we've all had miracles. Most people have had something...

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about finding and reflecting our personal values in our lives as part of Spiritual Wellnss , one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana . Rev. Kathianne is Spiritual Director and Senior Minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle. Rev. Kat...

Reverend Doctor   Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about Spiritual Wellnss , one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana . Rev. Kathianne is Spiritual Director and Senior Minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle. Rev. Dr. Kathianne Lewis has inspired and served countless numbers of peo...

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 a...

Susan Vahlkamp, Executive Director of Era Living's University House Issaquah, joins Suzanne to talk about the company's executive director in training program, which offers employees an opportunity for advancement to become strong, knowledgeable leaders. Susan says, "It's something that happens periodically in the company. Just two are selected at a time to go through that training program. They  ...

If you’re considering senior living, it’s important to hear from residents who’ve gone through the process of transiting to a senior living community. Jeanne lives with her golden retriever/labrador retriever Joyce at Era Living 's Aljoya Mercer Island retirement community. Jeanne says, "I decided that I didn't want to live in my own home. I loved my house, and loved my neighbors, and my family. B...

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 se...

Working in hospice, United Methodist minister Michael Wuehler has helped with the grieving side of families in their spirituality, those coping with that end of life. Michael joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Michael says, "Grieving takes the rest of our lives. Sometimes people ask, 'When will...

We often forget to take the moments to connect with ourselves. Author and 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 describes some tools — ways to connect with ourselves. He says, "We're human beings, not human doings, and we tend to do — we mak...

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, k...

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to talk about his process of helping people find their life purpose and meaning in retirement. Larry explains, "I take people through nine stages to find their purpose and meaning in retirement. I call it, "What is Your Encore?" What are you going to do next? When people retire, say at 65, well, we're living a lot longer than the previous generation. I...

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to talk about finding your life purpose. Larry says, "Most of the people who come to me are about to retire or will retire within a year, and they ask, 'Is this all there is? I thought there would be more, I thought it would be more fun. I'm bored. Help me, I'm gonna go crazy.' I start with, 'Let's talk about a vision that you have for your dream retir...

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to continue their conversation, expanding on the advantage of seeking purpose and fulfillment in your senior years, rather than just personal pleasures. Why not live a life of multiple pleasures? "Not everything you do has to have purpose. But you're going to be missing something in your life, that you have purpose in doing something. I've had a client...

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to talk about finding purpose and fulfillment in your senior years vs just seeking pleasure – how you find passions and opportunities after your career. Jacobson sold his business, bought a boat, and sailed around the world for six years. He felt fantastic, but when he got back, something was missing — what to do now? He was looking for self-actualizat...

Abby Winter , a pharmacist and teaching professor at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy , joins Suzanne to talk about advantages that residents of Era Living retirement communities receive thanks to a partnership with the university. Abby says, "At Era Living, we will provide lectures about various topics, often ideas suggested by residents. Right now we're doing a campaign of health...

If you're thinking about senior living, wondering what the first steps should be, what to expect, what's the process like, questions can hold us back. Karla talks about the process of selecting the right community. It takes a lot of courage to pick up the phone or visit a community. Karla Clark is the Regional Director for Sales and Marketing at Era Living , and she talks about how a community rel...

Catherine Arendt is the At Your Service Manager for Era Living retirement community at Aljoya Thornton Place . She hosts downsizing workshops, a helpful tool to help work through the things in our homes. When people choose an apartment at Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington, she helps them figure out what they're going to bring to their new home. "I always tell them, I'm not a designer, I...

Said Hitti was born in Lebanon, studied economics in London and Oxford, and then moved to the United States in 1963 to work at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. Said now lives at Ida Culver House Broadview , an Era Living retirement community. He says, "I'm quite happy here. There is a preponderance of highly educated people from academia, from the business world, from other areas...

If you're considering senior living, it's important to hear from residents who've gone through the process of transiting to a senior living community. Kathy Swanson is a retired junior high and high school teacher, the oldest of four children. She started looking when she was 74, and only looked at Aljoya Thornton Place . She brought friends and other family members to check out the community. She...

Michelle Cornelius , VP of Memory Care at Cogir Senior Living , joins Suzanne to talk about the social wellness of those with dementia in senior living communities. This segment focuses on how senior living communities have responded after having had to isolate seniors during the pandemic. Michelle says, "We really have seen effects from COVID starting with families not wanting to have a person mo...