Rethinking Aging Club Podcast

Laura Powell discussed Yomi, an FDA-cleared robotic system for dental surgery, highlighting its benefits in minimizing invasive procedures and improving patient outcomes.  Ken Deering introduced a device that prevents kitchen fires by automatically turning off gas or electric stoves if left unattended for too long.  John O'Brien presented Invisia, a line of aesthetically pleasing grab bars th...

This show focused on marketing strategies for aging populations, emphasizing the importance of empathy, user engagement, and segmentation.  Bonni Kaplan Dewoskin highlighted the need for irrational brand loyalty and shared five pitfalls in marketing high-growth startups, including neglecting strategy and aiming for perfection.  Subhashree Suku discussed leveraging video testimonials and webinars f...

This episode focused on digital skills training and inclusivity for older adults.  Michael Phillips introduced Suzanne from OATS, highlighting the impact of the COVID pandemic on older adults' digital connectivity. Suzanne Myklebust explained the ConnectED NYCHA initiative, which distributed 10,000 internet-connected tablets to older adults in New York City Housing Authority apartments, resul...

Innovations from the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including observations from organizers, industry experts, and leaders from companies with solutions that enhance accessibility, inclusivity, and at-home rehabilitation compliance. This show (recorded on January 12, 2023) included the following guests in the order they presented:   Steve Ewell , (Executive Director, Consumer Technology Asso...

Companies play an important role in providing support for employees who provide care for aging loved ones in their off-work hours – an employee segment representing 30% of every company’s workforce. The demand for “caregiver support” is growing across all life stages – from birth to end of life, and companies are rising to the occasion. Recorded on 12-22-22, this episode is part of our Workplace C...

Steve Farber from Health Hive discussed a virtual platform for coordinating care, emphasizing its free access for individuals and enterprise integration for revenue. HealthHive is a Public Benefit Corp. Howard Tischler explained EverSafe, a service protecting seniors from financial exploitation.   Costin Tuculescu introduced OnScreen, a TV-based video calling solution for older adults. Thank you t...

Elizabeth Magallon Fleury shared her business, Life's Encore Planning, which helps families navigate caregiving and aging.  Delon Canterbury is a geriatric pharmacist. GeriatRx is a Telehealth Concierge Deprescribing consulting service helping patients, providers, and senior facing businesses. Delon highlighted the importance of pharmacogenomics. Joyce Waterhouse PhD talked about the company...

Nearly 73% of employees now have some type of caregiving role (about 30% support an older adult). The resulting absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover cost employers an estimated $68 billion annually. Our guests expanded on what companies can do to ensure their employees who also give care while at home can do so in reasonable ways. Reframe and communicate continuously (Snelling) Caregiving is a...

Benjamin Surmi highlighted the loss of 400,000 nurses since the pandemic, with a need for 1.5 million more by 2028. We always love having Benjamin on the Rethinking Aging Club podcasts. He is a regular on our News for the Ages. Here is our NFTA 3-11-25 . Carol Fujiyoshi noted a 27% turnover rate in some hospitals and challenges in recruiting and retaining nurses on Kauai. Thank you to Carol Fujiyo...

As part of our recognition of National Family Caregivers Month (NFCM), we delve into a variety of products that support caregivers - while improving life for care receivers. We learned about easy-to-change sheets that save time and improve efficiency, fashion forward adaptive clothing, an innovative design for hearing aids that greatly improves ease of fit, a rollator that encourages greater flexi...

Steve Ewell described the five winners for the CTA Foundation's Accessibility contest.  Mary Furlong discussed the Washington, DC What’s Next Longevity Innovation Summit that was coming December 7-8, 2022 as well as her two podcasts.  Amy Stapleton shared updates on her Chatables free app. She was building narrative-driven interactive voice experiences and talking virtual characters to addres...

October is Physical Therapy Month and October 27th is World Occupational Therapy Day. We honored these topics with a discussion of products and training. Michael Phillips from AARP spoke about the importance of Digital Skills Training in the fields of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy during our introduction. Brett Adler won the Amazon Alexa skills challenge for his product Voice PT, which...

This Rethinking Aging Club Podcast episode focused on end-of-life planning and grief support.  Marisa Renee Lee shared her book "Grief is Love," emphasizing the importance of continuing bonds with the deceased.  Jim Parker, editor of Hospice News, explained hospice care, highlighting its benefits and the need for advanced care planning.  Kilie Crowley from Solace Cremation explained thei...

Streaming Film Entertainment and Edutainment is one of our favorite topics. This episode included the challenges and successes in producing films that address aging issues, such as Sky Bergman's "Lives Well Lived" and Susie Singer Carter’s latest project.  Joe Hausch discussed Photavia’s mission to create inclusive edutainment for seniors, highlighting their partnerships with Tranqu...

Michael Phillips discussed the "Fly Like an Eagle" report, highlighting that online training for older adults is twice as effective in combating social isolation than just providing broadband access.  Benjamin Surmi introduced Lindsay DeLong who shared her journey from creating YouTube videos to building a community on Instagram to provide occupational therapy tips and tools with EquipMe...

The discussion focused on marketing strategies for aging consumers, emphasizing the importance of avoiding negative terminology like "old" and "elderly," and using terms like "ageless" and "seasoned."  Michael Phillips highlighted that 56% of consumer spending in America is by those over 50, and stressed the need for inclusive workforces and marketing.  Bern...

We hosted a great discussion on sleep health with these chapters. Roger Anunsen gave us a sleep health overview pointing out the significant value of Matthew Walker’s 2017 book “Why We Sleep” and his 2019 Ted Talk “Sleep Your Brain's Superpower”. Dave Gibson provided a helpful description of what biological factors change affecting our ability to get the sleep we need as we age. Anunsen and G...

Ira Sobel PhD explained the five foundations of her “FinTech for Longevity”: client protection, longevity financing, retirement planning, end-of-life planning, and utilization of rights. She has since pivoted this service to a broader one called Longevity Academy. Reena Naor, who has a masters degree in gerontology, mentioned the unbanked population and the challenges they face in accessing financ...

Carol Chiang and Rebeca Sternbach were able to offer their perspectives as both occupational therapists and aging in place housing consultants as commentary on the Silvernest and Village to Village Network offering. Michael Skaff also offered his perspective. The leaders of Silvernest and Village to Village Network introduced their alternative senior living options.  This Living Choices episode wa...

Celebrating National Wellness Month, this episode focused on Self Care. We looked at the contribution of hearing and brain health. We explored several approaches that can help: writing, Joy Journaling, Ayurvedic massage, and a wide variety of online courses that combine “learning” with “community.” Recorded on 8-25-22, this episode is part of our Fitness and Wellness series . Speakers are listed i...

This episode focused on prioritizing self-care and wellness for caregivers, effective exercise programs for older adults, developing products and services that improve older adults' lives, and integrating wellness in home design. Our speakers emphasized the importance of addressing psychological and social factors in addition to biology, and highlighted the potential of technology to support...

Special Guest Benjamin Surmi introduced our PT OT topic. Paul Petitt: ‘The value we provide to the individual is to focus our services on prevention and proactively address issues that would otherwise interfere with the older adult.’ David Richards: ‘We have a tool called Performance plus which is like Peloton for an older individual.’ Gina Adams: ‘We developed the world's first foldable, por...

We enjoyed updates on a variety of topics including senior marketing, caregiving film making, consumer PT at home, neurological diagnostics for faster interventions, plus and minus of designing age tech running on platforms like Alexa, and peel away bed sheets. Recorded on August 4, 2022, this episode is part of our Project Updates Series. Speakers are listed in their order of appearance.   Keren...

Our episode focused on Ending Well with the Executive Director of End Well, her advisor and other experts in this field. Ivor Williams discussed the rise of "death tech" and the challenges of advanced care planning.  Kimberly Whiter introduced a guide for millennial caregivers.  Tracy Wheeler highlighted End Well's mission to change cultural conversations around death and dying.  On...

Bill Armbruster highlighted the need for middle housing and home sharing. Susan Ryan from the Greenhouse Project described their 371 homes in 32 states (as of July 2022), focusing on dignified, home-like settings.  Rebekah Churchyard introduced Canada's first dementia care farm, Green Care Farms, which offers outdoor activities and sensory engagement.  Jamie Gold discussed co-living and co-ho...