Carefullist, The Podcast

Ethan Wechtaluk is no stranger to caregiving. His dad had Parkinson's. His grandfather was in a car accident and needed help afterward. He worked across Medicare, the FDA, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, helping untangle broken systems and make public services actually work for the people who depend on them. Now, he's running for a seat in the US House of...

Wynter Johnson watched her mom carry the weight of caring for her grandmother. Appointments were missed, communication was scattered, and when her grandmother was hospitalized, the family didn't know for a week.  When you're in the throes of caregiving, conversations often get stuck on day-to-day task updates rather than focusing on how your loved one is doing as a person. In this episode, we disc...

Nina Herndon (MA, CMC, CLPF) founded Sage Eldercare Solutions in 2001 as a solo practitioner dedicated to improving the quality of care of older adults. This came on the heels of her own caregiving experiences; first in her 20s while caring for her mom, who had cancer, and then again later in life when her dad developed dementia. She realized the importance of combining gerontology, social work, n...

Jennifer Levin was in her late 20's and living her dream in LA as a screenwriter working on multiple shows across major networks. Back home in New York, things were changing. Her dad was initially misdiagnosed and then correctly diagnosed later. The only child of divorced parents, she bore the decisions about his care. We talk about this aspect, along with how odd it can be for a young caregiver w...

Paul Wynn is a nationally recognized patient advocacy leader, healthcare communicator, author, and award-winning medical journalist. He is particularly passionate about telling stories about patients and caregivers, frequently drawing from his own experience as a sandwich-generation caregiver raising children while caring for aging family members. Paul's chapter in The Caregiver's Advocate Vol. 2,...

Lance A. Slatton runs a home care business, the All Home Care Matters podcast, and authored "The All Home Care Matters Official Family Caregivers Guide". Now, he's here to talk about his newest adventure- becoming President of the famed AlzAuthors organization. Join us in this special edition discussion about how AlzAuthors has served the dementia community for over a decade and what the future ho...

Kathleen Korpela worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies in the Pacific Northwest while caregiving for her dad and raising a family. Because of this experience, she founded Living Goldenwell and is building the first-of-its-kind global community and network for professional women supporting aging parents and navigating eldercare. Join us as she shares her personal story of successfully navigatin...

A medical crisis strikes, and you don't know what to do. Kimberlie Williams-Feth has been there before, helping patients as a social worker and then navigating the system on behalf of her husband. This episode is choc-full of helpful tidbits for dealing with insurance, finding affordable physical therapy, and the hospital discharge process. While based in North Carolina, Kim helps to problem-solve...

Michele Arnoldy was an emergency department nurse. Her husband, Chris, worked in finance. Following service to Afghanistan and some career upheaval at home, Chris was not the same.  He and Michele navigated his PTSD together. Unfortunately, he did not overcome his diagnosis. Michele shares their story with us from a caregiver's perspective. What is helpful, what isn't; what to look for, what she m...

Natasha Goldstein-Levitas, MA, BC-DMT is an Aging, Dementia, Care Partner, and Community Wellness Specialist, and Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist with nearly twenty- five years of clinical experience, in multiple healthcare and community-based settings, and in various capacities. She is the owner of EngAge, a person-centered, movement, and sensory hybrid approach, and she shares creative...

"If there's one thing worse than Alzheimer's, it's ignorance of the disease," says Martin Schreiber, former governor of Wisconsin. He joined us to share the story of his two Elaines- his wife before her Alzheimer's diagnosis and after. Marty was her primary caregiver and has since made it his mission to support and educate people about dementia. This heartfelt episode explores the changes we exper...

There are commonalities in caregiving, regardless of duration. With that said, long-term caregiving is a marathon, not a sprint. Beth Meek knows this all too well. She cared for her mother, who had Parkinson's and dementia, by flying back and forth from Western NY to Western Canada. She tells her story, and we discuss her program, The Burnout Breakthrough, to share snippets of care from a larger t...

Brian Bradshaw was, like many, an accidental caregiver. His mom developed a rare disease called Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), which is like having MS and Parkinson's at the same time. It is fast-moving and requires a lot of support. While his dad was the primary caregiver, Brian lived nearby and helped frequently. Their community came together to support this vivacious former teacher and her fami...

Kelly Baarley is a military wife who has lived all over the United States. As a result, she's held multiple jobs in healthcare and gained a broad perspective of the system- where it works and where we need to bridge the gaps. After her grandparents required care before and through the covid lockdowns, Kelly put everything she's learned into a program to help others navigate caregiving. Join us for...

Barry Jacobs and Julie Mayer are clinical psychologists, caregiving experts, and authors of multiple titles, most recently "The AARP Caregiver Answer Book". In this episode, we discuss their personal caregiving journeys and their professional perspectives on caregiving, including how to distinguish between depression and burnout. Their new book offers practical advice, coping strategies, and resou...

Erin Whalen's older sister, Gina, had severe cerebral palsy. Erin knew, in her bones, that she would outlive her. Gina died at the age of 45, exactly two weeks after Erin turned 40. That's forty years of anticipatory grief. Erin has spent almost 20 years as a facilitator, trainer, and actor, including extensive work helping medical professionals communicate more compassionately. She has been a pra...

Patrick Cawley served as Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee in Pennsylvania, meeting regularly with experts on the legal and financial threats facing older Middle-Class Pennsylvanians. Now, he owns Keystone Elder Law and works with clients to establish essential planning tools, such as the power of attorney, health care power of attorney, living will, and trusts. In this episode, we discuss...

Dr. Rachael Piltch-Loeb's day job is as a public health professor. She is an expert in public health emergency preparedness and response and risk communication.  She is the recent author of The Millennial Caregiver- a book inspired by her experience caring for her dad, who had early-onset Alzheimer's disease, while also being a new mom and a professional. Her goal was to create a resource for peop...

Life would lead Lisa McFarland on a journey shaped by profound loss and unexpected turns. The pain of experiencing the loss of her daughter Alexis, and later, the passing of her second son Emmanuel, along with the challenges of raising Zach, who was born with special needs, altered the course of her life in ways she could never have foreseen.  These heart-wrenching moments became the catalyst for...

Deanna Gerstel-Harris is a writer, director, and producer. Her latest project, When We Care- an animated short film, shines a spotlight on the caregiving and climate crises. Her caregiving story began with chronic conditions in both of her children, and then she developed one herself. Monica Lund is vice president and producer at MY Productions. She is working closely with Deanna and team on When...

Employee caregiver stress doesn't stay at home. It follows employees to work: driving burnout, absenteeism, quiet quitting, and turnover. Yet 87% of companies exclude caregivers from their DEI strategy. Following her mother's stroke, Chef Maria closed her bakery in Normal, Illinois and became a full-time caregiver for her mom. After her mother's passing, Chef Maria introduced Beyond Decadence as a...

Catherine Reynolds' interest in taking care of the body started when she was a kid, attending and interpreting doctors' appointments for her Deaf mother. This episode begins with an educational component about the Deaf experience in healthcare and ADA rights.  We then move to what Cat has dedicated her adult life to practicing as a wellness mentor and owner of Cat's Touch Massage Therapy. As part...

Dr. Cheri Hampton-Farmer is the CEO of Communicating Matters and a former professor of communication at multiple universities. She was a caregiver for her mom while raising her own family and living in another state. Coordinating care amongst her sisters was a key factor in their family's caregiving success. Throughout her career, Cheri has helped leaders and emerging leaders build impactful commu...

Kelly Ellis became a caregiver overnight when her son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of six. She shares their story openly to lend support to other families and educate the general population about this disease. Kelly's background in education helped to prepare her to navigate some of the challenges in their journey, and we talk about the importance of incorporating your strengths i...

Laura Anthony is a neuroinclusive leader, speaker, attorney, consultant, and caregiver. As an attorney and consultant, she works with employers and schools to prevent and resolve conflict, especially around civil rights and disability-related matters.  She also serves as a mediator, investigator, and hearing officer, using an approach that is informed by her background and studies of psychology, b...