Life Happens

“Now, I wish that the businesses that employ them, the people we elect in Washington, were doing more. But until they do right, we can control only ourselves. So I would say expect that you will be a caregiver if you're not already. And even if you're in the throes of it, whether you're in the middle of the creep or the crisis, there are still things you can do to be organized and to control.” Liz...

“We literally built a wall around the set of spiral stairs and made them disappear to her. She no longer knows that those spiral stairs are there. They bring her up to her upstairs kind of apartment through an elevator. And we've put locking gates on the two back sets of stairs to allow her to be able to be in her space. But that's her home is upstairs now, and she no longer knows those stairs are...

“Once it was tied to the money hospitals started paying attention. Because Medicare said, I'm going to pay you, but I'm not going to pay you the whole thing because something went wrong.” Anna Reyes-Dedicare Home Health Title: How to Prevent Hospital Readmissions Talking Points: 1. What is considered a "hospital readmission"? 2. Does Medicare cover readmissions? 3. What are the choices of someone...

“They'll be assigned a remote care coordinator. And this is a virtual 24-7 emergency dispatch, which is almost like a caregiver, actually a medical team. And then we set up also a fall alert device. It's non-intrusive.” ~Sojourner King- Home Care For The 21stCentury Title: Combining Hands-On Care with Technology Talking Points: Your company does something different. You offer Tele-Health Monitorin...

Dementia doesn't play by the rules. The rules I'm referring to are the three areas that I look for to tell me if a person has entered the dying process. I don't even have to know someone's diagnosis. I'm going to ask what's their eating habits. What are their sleeping habits, and what are their withdrawal habits? Like I said a little bit earlier with dementia, those three things don't apply becaus...

And what their research shows is study after study that in sexual health and sexuality and sexual expression exists in nearly every nursing home, nationwide or long-term care community, nationwide. And to the rates where sex acts are occurring. And sex talk is occurring in more than 85% of long-term care communities. - Dr. Regina Koepp Title: Dementia and Sex: Let’s talk about it Should people wit...

“Yeah. I mean, you can use the old-fashioned pill box, right? Set it up every Sunday. And that works for seniors who just take their pills. You know they're going to take them. You trust, they're taking them. What if you don't know if they actually take their pills or not? What if they need to be reminded and you don't want to have to call them every day, three times a day about what they're going...

I have a client who wanted to go see her sister in Florida. She could not go to Florida by herself because she couldn't do the airplane and the driving afterward and things like that. So we went to Florida, I went with her, and I took her to her sister, and they had a family reunion in Florida. Wendy Hoggatt Title: Leaving Your Way- End of Life Have you heard of an End-of-Life Doula? Kim Hegwood v...

Baylor College of Medicine a number of years ago said that I think it was like 85% of all, illnesses begin with the body overloaded with stress. And so sometimes we're stressed even when we don't know we are. Because we're breathing shallowly or holding our breath and the body interprets that as stress. And so in laughter yoga, the stress levels of cortisol, which is one of the main ones, go down...

“The elder never sees the app. The family has the app. The family posts, pictures, and messages all week long. And then on Monday, mom gets a magazine in the mail with all the pictures, all the messages. Here's what's going on in the family, a beautiful magazine that she can hold onto and read all week long and keep it forever.” Benjamin Surmi 1. How important do you feel it is for seniors to have...

Sometimes they get up, they just come in and they're like, No, I don't think it's for me. Like they hear the word dancing and it's like, No, this is not for me. But they didn't hear the music. The combination of music and movement and the styles. And they're like, oh wait a minute, this is fun! Paloma Ladejobi Title- Dancing with Seniors Paloma Ladejobi teaches dance for seniors with Parkinson’s a...

And making sure that perhaps you have social connections in your life. Because again, if you are mentally well and happy your heart and your brain tend to fare better. Lharissa Jacobs- The American Heart Association In celebration of Heart Month, Kim Hegwood has a conversation with Lharissa Jacobs with the American Heart Association about what it takes to keep your heart healthy. How to Get More I...

But sometimes I will have a spouse that will pass and the other one says, Well, I'm not going to bother probating because I'm going to stay in the house. And then they pass. So, then we have to track down will and airship affidavits and you know, death certificates and everything else. So, if they don't have a will, I usually end up having to do exactly what I said. I usually must involve an attor...

“When we think of safety. We think about avoiding wandering. And I think we'll get into that. But we think of medications, we think of falls, etc. But one of the big ones is financial safety. Because if that's not in place, you can have all the safety features in the house, but you're going to lose your house. Right? You're going to lose your house. You're not going to have anybody to be able to t...

“You must look for places that can be creative. And you know, just kind of look for the individual needs of that person. Because not everybody's going to want to play bingo, you know.” Amanda Bailey- Senior Advisor With Amanda Bailey’s years of experience working in memory care communities, this conversation with Kim Hegwood is one you do not want to miss. Learn what you need to observe and what q...

You can ask for consults. If you think there's an infection going on, you can ask for an infectious disease consult. You can ask for physical therapy if you think that would help your loved one, get moving again in mobility. If they're having trouble swallowing or anything like that, there's speech therapy, you know, occupational therapy. Certain things, if they're going home, that they might need...

If we do think of someone being a solo ager, we're thinking of someone who's never been married, who has never had children and yes, that is your main solo ager. But we also, those of us who are married and maybe have not had children may one day as well, become a solo ager. If, and when our spouse dies, if they proceed to us in death. So that is another example of a solo ager.~ Elizabeth MaGallon...

I want to start with bigger is not always better. You know, I know in Texas, it's always, everything is big in Texas. So, you know, it's just very Texas, just saying. But in assisted living industry, bigger is not always better. If you are needing a higher level of care, a lot of medical attention, a smaller assisted living facility that preferably has a nurse that rounds or is owned by a nurse li...

“How do you pull up at a table in some of these electric wheelchairs? It can be very difficult. How do you get in out of the car, etc.? So, some of the companies that are trying to give us the power offer some motor-powered mobility. But make it discreet, make it sleek, make it less heavy, make it easier to get in and out of a car. Make it easier to get in and out of a house.” Benjamin Surmi 1. Wh...

I remember my mother, she used to always love coming to her grandchildren's events at school. And even when she didn't really know what was going on, she still just really enjoyed it. Until one day she just didn't enjoy it. It was confusing. The clapping was loud, it was dark. She just wanted to leave. And I think when those types of setbacks happen and your loved one has progressed more in the di...

When you see them starting to have trouble with the instrumental activities of daily living. The IADLs, things like paying bills on time, things like tripping a little bit, maybe not walking as well as they used to. Maybe they're having trouble with a little accident here and there when they're driving, you know. When you see things like that, you need to get your antenna up and pay attention. ~De...

My father was an air force pilot, so he thinks he can fly the plane. Okay. It's been 50 or 60 years since you flew in the air force and you're flying little bomber jets. These are massive commercial airliners. And we must make sure that it's a direct flight. ~ Barbara Barrielle If you have ever considered traveling with a family member with dementia you will need to listen to Kim Hegwood’s convers...

“I think more of where I come from, is not focusing on a specific tool. But focusing on the decisions that need to be made to select the right tools. So, we'll mention some tools. But first I think what's important is for families to look at a few key questions. The first question is, what am I trying to solve? Am I trying to know when mom falls? Am I trying to know that she's okay because she can...

“Everything I do is on the honor system. There's no contract with me for families that call me at the time of death. My fee is 20% of whatever they think I saved them compared to what they were going to do. If I can't save any money, there's no fee. If they're calling me before death, my fee drops to 15% of whatever I save them. And then if I save them over $5,000, I've got a 10% program with what...

“What happens when the caregiver is unable to provide that care? When my grandmother had her diagnosis, her sister was helping her. She felt very ill and passed away. So, we had to come in. My father and I took over the caregiving responsibility for her. And luckily, we had a plan in place.” Leslea Stock-Lopez Both Kim Hegwood and her guest Leslea Stock-Lopez agree that having a solid financial pl...