Life Happens

“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...

“This idea of moving is really that inherent innate thing that all of us do. But it has real therapeutic power to it. And there are little tips and you know, strategies, you can have to get the most out of movement. And so, we like to talk about movement as medicine more than because it sounds catchy, but because we want movement to feel as accessible and inclusive as possible.” Amanda Rees Today...

I call the first category better body. So, this category refers to technology that might actually help your body be more able to do things than it otherwise would. I'll give you a couple of instances, there's a tool called my seismic, and what it does is it straps on your back and around your body and it uses electricity to provide strengthening to your core. So, if you're a person with back pain,...

I also saw this in schools where parents would be concerned about their kids or teachers were concerned about kids with behavior issues or falling behind academically. And one of my first questions to a parent would be, has anything changed in the home? And I can't tell you how many times I wish I'd taken data on this. But I can't tell you how many times the response was. Well, you know, my dad ha...

How you hear is with your brain. The ear is just a tool to get the information to your brain. And what happens over time is hearing loss as it goes down, that processing is affected. So essentially your brain once you can't hear will rewire itself to find information in other methods. I like to tell my patients that generally speaking, it's kind of like, they're always playing wheel of fortune. Th...

When you get into a Medicare advantage plan, you're really not in Medicare anymore. Medicare pays that insurance company each month and they're not going to pay original. Medicare is not going to pay your claim at all. So, you know, there are no do-overs with Medicare. ~Toni King- Medicare Specialist With Medicare open enrollment right around the corner, Kim thought it would be a good idea to brin...

Now, in all fairness, taking care of an aging parent brings challenges that no one's been prepared for. So, it's a highly emotional time. There's so much decision making and there's so much at stake. And really most of us don't do well when there's that much pressure. So, there's also the added pressure, there's family history dynamics, plus added pressure. And the fear of, you know, the margin of...

Well, what has happened is we have to remind ourselves that at one time, all of us are independent right now. We get to go to work, we get up, we go out and have fun with our families. We go to restaurants and movies, and then suddenly for whatever reason, we have someone that maybe falls and gets hurt. And then they start having issues, other health issues, and it is recommended that maybe they n...

Really look for activities that they've always enjoyed doing in the past and maybe that they enjoy doing now. Oftentimes that just really helps to give them a sense of purpose. So, if it's things, even daily activities, whether it's helping you to dry dishes, setting the table, even sitting and planning for a meal, talking that through, those are really wonderful things. They're normal daily activ...

I'm a clinician, so I'm a nurse for a really long time. I am a hospice nurse and I thought this is going to be super, I'm a dementia practitioner. And my mother-in-law has dementia. And I was like, oh, this is going to be cake. And what I realized is that the easy stuff is really hard. ~ Jennifer Prescott Before you make this big step listen to what Jennifer Prescott and Kim Hegwood have to say. I...

“I think we have to start with defining what is dementia, right? Dementia is a set of symptoms that affect our memory, our problem-solving ability, and our language. The Alzheimer's Association says that 50% of all residents that are living in assisted living have some type of dementia or cognitive impairment. Danna Barnes Making the decision to move someone with dementia is not easy. And choosing...

“Her nephew was doing most of the check writing. And during this process, he bought a boat, and he bought a motorcycle. Nobody besides a nephew was looking after this. So, he had a free checking account to do whatever he wanted to do.” ~Richard Claywell Kim Hegwood and Richard Claywell sit down to discuss scams and other types of elderly fraud abuse. Learn what to look for and what to do. Title: E...

“The goal here is for somebody to be able to go in there and it takes two seconds for them to figure out what information they need and how they can utilize it to help you when you're dealing with just going to a doctor. Does it matter if it takes you 30 seconds versus 60 seconds or a minute? No. Does it matter when the EMT shows up at your door and you're dealing with an acute or critical situati...

“There's a wide variety of activities. But focusing just on a senior activity as you mentioned, the dancing, the Tai Chi, those kinds of activities are very beneficial, especially for older adults living in assisted living facilities or things like that. So that's a form of physical exercise. But you know, in recreation therapy, we want the individuals to have fun and not think of it as therapy, b...