Navigating the World with Your Aging Loved One

As families, we trust senior living communities, healthcare providers, and care environments to prioritize the well-being of the people we love. But what if the products being used to clean those spaces are contributing to the very health concerns we're trying to prevent? In this episode, I sit down with Daniel Lawson, Co-Founder and President of Business Affairs at Viking Pure Solutions, to explo...

Exhausted, burned out, and wondering how much longer she can sustain this role of caregiving, Robin Weeks, Founder of My Pivotal Point, knew she had to take action. Her own struggles inspired her to help others feel prepared.   Seeking a solution, she put boundaries in place and created a caregiving coaching method called My Pivotal Point, Caring for Caregivers. This holistic approach helps caregi...

Family caregivers often assist their loved ones with a variety of activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, meal preparation, household tasks, doctor's appointments, and medication management. However, at times it can feel overwhelming and it's common to struggle with finding ways to be efficient.   I'm delighted to introduce today's guest, Consuela Marshall, founder of Finding A Foot...

As we age we want to remain independent, keep our active lifestyle, look stylish, and stay safe. My guest today is Mara Perlmutter, founder of Trelawear and senior fashion and jewelry executive. What began as a passion project, solving an issue that hit close to come for Mara when her mom refused to wear any of the unattractive generic personal emergency response devices.   Mara's mom said, "Mara...

Finding freedom, redemption, and revealing all of those things that we typically don't share with others in our caregiving- that is the mission and the movement behind Brutally Beautiful.   Brutally Beautiful was co-founded by Heather Zoccali.   She is also the founder of No Barriers Caregiver Program. She is a survivor, storyteller, author, retreat innovator, and podcast co-host.   As my guest to...

How do we keep track of our health information stored in multiple locations? Numerous health records and documents need to be collected from various doctors and providers when overseeing our loved ones care. My guest today is Jean Ross, she is the co-founder of Primary Record. Primary Record is a safe and secure way to organize, discuss, and easily share your health information with those that mat...

Resilience. That is the word that comes to mind when I think of my guest today, Kandis Draw. Kandis was 30 yrs old when she found herself in a full-time role caring for her mom and also her younger siblings. Kandis shares her story, her caregiving challenges, her resilience, the ways she is rebuilding her life after caregiving, and how this has fueled her mission for advocacy.   Kandis and I had t...

We want to feel confident when we are making medical decisions for our loved ones. Today, my guest is Dr. Brittany Lamb, a board-certified emergency medicine physician, dementia family educator, and advocate.   Working in the ER, she experiences many family members needing to make decisions for their loved ones aging and those living with dementia.     Dr. Lamb is here to bring caregivers a messag...

How we navigate conflict and communication with our siblings and family members can play a role in how we care for our loved ones. At times, those dynamics can stem from our childhood and influence how we interact and show up for our family members in caregiving.   My guest this week is Michele Magner. She is the founder of MicheleMagner.com and the host of Inspired Caring Podcast . Michele offers...

There can be a communication and engagement gap between the majority of the population and older adults, people with disabilities, and people living with dementia.   Mainstream technology is not always serving these demographics but with intentional design applied to the development of products and services, we can bridge this gap.   This is the mission of Sociavi,   a platform specifically design...

What do we do when we learn our loved one has a new diagnosis of dementia? What questions do we ask? Where do we go to learn how to support our loved ones?   Today, my guest is Leslie Fuller, she is the founder and CEO of Inspired Senior Care. Her goal is to bring interactive education to families and senior living communities to create sustainable cultures of care. As a social gerontologist and s...

How do we create time to care for ourselves while we are juggling all of our caregiving responsibilities?   Today, my guest is Elizabeth Miller, founder of Happy Healthy Caregiver. Elizabeth created a place to feel supported as a caregiver when you feel isolated or overwhelmed by all of your responsibilities. Elizabeth's caregiver responsibilities were elevated when she cared for her mom and dad w...

Memories can bring us happiness but they can also be a constant reminder of the loss that we've experienced. Grief can change and evolve from moment to moment. No one can predict how we will experience grief and how others will respond.   My guest today is Patti LaFleur, she is a former care partner for her mom, Linda, who had mixed dementia. Eventually, Linda came to live with Patti, and the two...

How do we support caregivers in all of their caring responsibilities? It's essential that we solve real problems for our family caregivers. There can be so much coming at us, from organizing care, trying to find help, managing daily tasks, and then communicating all of the logistics with others in our life.    My guest today is Michele Houck, family caregiver and VP of marketing for CircleOf . Cir...

Currently, there are about 40 million working caregivers in the United States. What does this mean? In America, $68 billion dollars a year is being lost by US companies. We are losing money with absenteeism, presenteeism, and retaining our caregiver workforce. How do we support working caregivers?  My guest today is Debbie Howard, she is an author, speaker, and founder of Aging Matters Internation...

Did you know that 70% of the world's aging population lives in economically developing countries?  My guest today is Stacy Shewey, the founder and CEO of Hands 4Life Inc. This non-profit serves developing nations by pairing orphan children with orphan seniors to create a beautiful new family. Stacy felt called to bring hope and support by creating intergenerational homes, and providing community o...

How do we manage it all as a caregiver? As Amy Goyer states, "I can do anything but I can't do everything". With support, we are able to learn, adapt and adjust. Having access to information and tips from other caregivers we are able to fill supported so we can feel successful.    Today we are doing just that. My guest today is Amy Goyer, author of AARP's Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving . She...

The end-of-life does not need to be filled with the fear of the unknown. Today we are normalizing conversations around the end-of-life and end-of-life planning. The Love Always Project is a movement that is promoting constructive conversation and the value of what preplanning looks like. Today my guest is Kim Medici Shelquist. She has spent nearly a decade on the leadership team of Hospice of Cent...

Does our role as a caregiver or a care partner end when our loved one moves into a senior living community? How can senior living communities support and educate families during this time?   My guest today is James Lee. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bella Groves, an education based dementia support organization. For a long time, I have valued James' leadership and voice in the aging services spa...

What is your unique purpose? How do we build resilience? How do we activate our joy in the midst of caregiving? Caregiving in a way is a massive loss of control and how can we gain a semblance of that control back?   Today my guest is Anna Hall, Founder of The Purpose Equation . The world is a better place because of this beautiful human. She is sharing her message today and it's an honor for me t...

How do we bring children and families into our interactions with our loved ones and maintain those positive relationships during difficult times? The inspiration behind Mackenzie Meet's Alzheimer's Disease Educational Program is based on the true story of the interaction between Alder's eight-year-old niece and Alder's mother who had Alzheimer's disease. Alder realized that there was a lack of res...

Today I have the pleasure of diving into a few various topics with someone I respect. My guest is Michael Mann, Managing Director of Tachyon Insights. I always value his insights into what is happening in the world of caregiving. Along with his personal story, he is passionate about bringing tools and tech to older adults that are socially isolated.    Michael serves healthcare providers, homecare...

Being drawn to the arts from a young age and having a mother that's an art teacher brought Cailey Massey to attend art school. She had the vision to bring Artfull Enrichment to life and bring about a vision to provide creative programming to enrich the lives of older adults with high-quality sustainable art programming. Through these innovative approaches, we can shift our perspective on what agin...

As a young couple at the age of twenty-three, Kris and his wife purchased their first assisted living. They spent the next three years living and caring for their residents all while renovating their space. This led to his mission to positively impact the lives of over 10 million older adults. Kris Chana is the Founder and CEO of ActivAge Adult Day Clubs . He is on a personal mission to give senio...