All Home Care Matters

All Home Care Matters is honored to welcome two incredible individuals as guest to the show and the Co-Founders of Mirador Magazine, Nikki Jardin and Tavé Fascé Drake.   About Nikki:   Nikki Jardin has meandered down a variety of paths throughout her life, resulting in a somewhat haphazard but ultimately rewarding work history. She loves traveling, being in nature, playing music, and sharing the wonder and beauty of the world through words and imagery.   About Tavé: Tavé Fascé Drake is an artistic director, writer, entertainer, and optimist. Having a mother who was diagnosed with MS at an early age informs much of her work, including earlier breeding and training of companion, therapy, and service dogs. She is also the proud mother of two grown daughters, speaks 4+ languages, and has ADHD.   Summary of Mirador Magazine:   Mirador Magazine is an ad-free, age-appropriate online and print publication for neurodivergent communities. Their growing readership includes those with various stages of dementia and people of all ages recovering from brain trauma such as concussion, TBI or stroke. They also have readers who experience chronic symptoms from autoimmune disease and people with autism and ADHD.   The pages include short features on nature, science, history and the people who make our world wonderful. Mirador Magazine is about making connections within oneself, with others and building community. Each page and online offering can be enjoyed alone or with family members and friends cross-generationally.

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome two remarkable guests, Peter Berry & Deb Blunt. They are cyclists, authors, and dementia advocates helping to raise awareness for dementia.   Peter was diagnosed with early onset dementia eight years ago, when he was 50. Before his diagnosis, Peter ran a successful timber business. After a period of depression following his diagnosis, Peter made the decision to live well with the condition. He is very keen to help others understand his experience, both of the condition and the diagnosis process. When he’s not delivering presentations, Peter spends his days cycling around the Suffolk countryside, being the embodiment of his own doctrine of living well with dementia.   Deb is a retired social worker. She took early retirement and moved from London to Suffolk five years ago. The friendship with Peter has helped Deb to fulfil one of her main life ambitions: to be a published author. But this friendship has also taught Deb has to re-evaluate her own life and to try to live in the moment and to appreciate the joys that life has to offer.   Peter and Deb have written two books: “Slow Puncture, Living Well with Dementia” and “Walk with Me: Musings Through the Dementia Fog”.

All Home Care Matters is honored to welcome Dr. Jennifer Stelter, Psy.D., CDP, CADDCT, DCS, DCSCT the Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Creator of the Dementia Connection Model©, and Dementia Expert as our guest to the show.   Dr. Jennifer Stelter, also known as The Oil Doctor, Psy.D., is a Clinical Psychologist, dementia expert, and Johns Hopkins Press author, who specializes in dementia care. She has 20 years experience in the healthcare field and over a dozen in the senior living industry.   Dr. Stelter is the co-founder and CEO of NeuroEssence, LLC at the Dementia Connection Institute and the innovator and creator of the Dementia Connection Model© and a Master Trainer for the Dementia Connection Specialist Certified Trainer (DCSCT) Certification Program. Also, she is the author of The Busy Caregiver's Guide to Advanced Alzheimer Disease.   About the Dementia Connection Institute:   The Dementia Connection Institute provides education, training, consultation and resources for dementia healthcare providers and family caregivers. Our mission is to bring innovative ways to educate others on dementia and approaches to care that are non-pharmacological in nature, unique, empowering, and successful, based on the Dementia Connection Model©.

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome Professor and Author, Cindy Weinstein as a guest to the show.   Professor Cindy Weinstein was born and raised in Verona, New Jersey. She received her B.A. in English and American Literature from Brandeis University, after which she went to UC Berkeley for her Ph.D. in English.   She is currently the Eli and Edythe Broad Professor of English, and has been at the California Institute of Technology since 1989, during which time she has published three monographs on American literature, edited several volumes, and taught classes on Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Women’s Fiction, and Black literature.   She has had several administrative roles at Caltech, including Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer. In 2018-19, she was an Atlantic Fellow in the Global Brain Health Institute based at UCSF and Trinity College Dublin, where she studied neurology with an interdisciplinary group of scientists, artists, social scientists, and physicians.   During this time, she worked with Dr. Bruce Miller on "Finding the Right Words", which has been awarded the Memoir Prize for Books.

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome Nicole Will as a guest to the show. Nicole is helping to share and discuss the issues that matter to you and your loved ones.

Nicole Will is a passionate advocate for our aging community, equipping older adults, family caregivers, and eldercare professionals with valuable information and resources. As the founder of willGather, she enlightens and expands people's awareness of leaders and initiatives in the care economy space through the willGather Podcast: Navigating the World with Your Aging Loved One.

Nicole Will brings helpful resources, valuable information, and practical tools that will encourage and give hope to caregivers as they navigate the aging journey with their loved ones for a more meaningful and fulfilled life.

In honor of her grandma, she also founded Gigi Betty co. by willGather, a boutique gift shop raising funds and awareness for family caregivers. As a collective, we are a powerful force for good.

With over 20 years of experience in aging and senior living services, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services: Social Gerontology and is actively certified with NCCAP. She spent years as a Director at a well-respected senior living community overseeing the Therapeutic Recreation, Volunteer, and Spiritual Care departments.

She also served on the MAPA board and as an adjuvant faculty member at the University of St. Catherine and continues her hands-on approach and advocacy with a deep understanding of family caregiver needs.

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome, Mr. Kevin Jameson as our guest to the show. Kevin is the founder of the Dementia Society of America, as well as the Volunteer President and Chairman.   Business Executive. Starting as a young entrepreneur from the age of 18, and having launched several start-up businesses in the security industry, Mr. Jameson carried on his career as a sales and marketing executive, which has included over 35 years with major corporate divisions of ADT, BOSCH, and Honeywell International.   Author, singer, inventor, and patent holder, Kevin has traveled to Europe, Asia, India, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America, and throughout North America to see how the world really lives. Kevin also has a personal story and connection to Dementia. His first wife, Ginny, together for 32 years, died from Dementia, and thus he leads the fight against all forms with thoughts, words, and deeds.   In 2016, Jameson was awarded a Doctorate of Public Service, Honoris Causa (DrHC) for his life's work, by his alma mater. His establishment of the Dementia Society is a mission in the making.   Mr. Jameson also serves on the Board of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce. About the Dementia Society of America:   Dementia Society of America® (DSA) is the nation’s leading volunteer-driven all-Dementias awareness organization. DSA provides an information hotline (1-800-DEMENTIA®), many online resources, and an easy-to-use, web-based locator, which can help families and individuals find valuable support near to them.   DSA underwrites through its Ginny Gives® Program, non-medical activities focused on: music and singing; dance and movement; the visual arts, touch, and sensory stimulation.   The Dementia CARER™, Dementia SMART®, and Dementia QUEST® Programs provide recognition to those who serve the Dementia community through meaningful care, innovation and research respectively.   Whether as a Volunteer Board Member or Advisor, if you believe you have the skills, connections, and a "passion for making change happen," please let them know.   The Dementia Society of America is here to help!

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome Marilyn Raichle the Executive Director of Maude's Awards and prior Maude's Award winner, Marigrace Becker as guests of the show.   The Inspiration Behind Maude's Awards:   Maude Ferry, matriarch extraordinaire, brought a long and lasting gift of love for all who walk in her path. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend with a big and generous heart. Loyal, thoughtful, encouraging and wise in her words and actions, she inspired joy and purpose.   After the birth of their sixth child, her husband Richard co-founded and led Korn Ferry International to become the world’s premier provider of executive human capital solutions. Yet even with the growing success and demands of her husband’s company, Maude never lost sight of her values and her faith. Maude was a loving and supportive spouse—silent partner, goodwill ambassador, corporate wife, community volunteer and dedicated mother to their children as well as twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.   Throughout the years, Richard and Maude were passionately engaged in their community and have supported numerous civic and charitable causes, with a focus on the Catholic Church, education and health care.   In 2013, Maude was diagnosed with dementia and Richard continued their shared journey as a loving caregiver and tireless advocate. Together they are built a Legacy of Love. Maude’s Awards for Innovation in Alzheimer’s Care carries their commitment forward—encouraging, celebrating and sharing innovations that will enrich the quality of life for persons living with dementia and their caregivers for generations to follow.

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome a Christina Keys as a guest to the show.

Christina Keys chased the American dream. She had a successful career, traveled, was financially stable, healthy and happy then on March 16,2013 at 3:42 everything changed. Her mother had a life changing stroke and was given 1% chance to live. She instantly went from career woman to caregiver. Within 4 years of caregiving for her mother she was financially, emotionally, mentally and physically bankrupt.

The doctors told Christina She would be lucky to live 6 months if that. Her body was literally shutting down from the stress of caregiving and trying to do it alone. She had a choice to make, figure out how to change her life and live while caring for her mother or give up and start making arrangements on how her mother would be cared for after her death. She chooses to live and not only change her life but now helps to change the lives of caregivers who struggle while caring for loved ones.

She is also a caregiver for her Ex boyfriend. Turning a mess into a message and making it her mission to make sure caregivers everywhere are seen, heard valued and appreciated and are Never Alone through her local work with Loving Them Forward the Non Profit she founded and the national work she is doing with Caregiving.com

Watch the national documentary highlighting what life is like for family caregivers called "The Love of Care.":

https://youtu.be/fLvQQ1NEPT4

Visit Caregiving.com to apple to become a caregiving.com Champion: https://www.caregiving.com/about/champions/join

Visit Non-Profit Loving Them Forward:

https://www.lovingthemforward.org

 

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome the host and founder of Connecting Caregivers Radio Linda Burhans as a guest to the show.

 

Linda Burhans is a national speaker and radio show host dedicated to the mission of caring for caregivers. As she says I am the gal who cares for caregivers with love, laughter and lessons learned.

 

Her caregiving journey began in 2006 when her mother moved from New York to Florida. Shortly after, her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. This was not the plan and this is something Linda hears from caregivers daily.

 

As an expert in Caregiver Advocacy, Linda has facilitated over 1500 support groups, speaking engagements and workshops for caregivers. She shares lessons learned and coping tools with thousands of caregivers who attend her events or read her work. Her weekly radio show, Tips for Caregivers and blogs provide expert guidance on resources and best practices for caregivers all over the United States. 

 

In her book, Good Night and God Bless, Linda welcomes readers to join her on her emotional, rewarding, and sometimes frustrating journey as caregiver to her beloved mother, Jo McCauley, during the final 18 months of her life. The book offers inspirational messages of unconditional love, loss, joy, sorrow, and a healthy dose of humor for those caring for aging parents. 

 

Linda describes those 18 months as the most rewarding and eye opening of her life. She discovered that there were no centralized sources of information and support for caregivers. She took on the challenge in becoming an expert on resources for caregivers. She learned about different support agencies, benefits, and helpful organizations available locally and nationally.

 

Armed with the knowledge, Linda set on a path to share these resources and provide support to caregivers everywhere. She speaks with electrifying energy, humor, infectious enthusiasm and contagious inspiration.

 

She is ever awed by the strength, resilience, and commitment of the caregivers she meets and seeks to remind them that they are not alone. Help is available and it is okay to accept that help. Caregivers that seek to take on everything on their own often decline in health. The most important thing she teaches is that caregivers need and deserve the time and space to take care of themselves.

 

Whether you read her books, or meet Linda in person, you will quickly realize that she truly lives by her mission: “To acknowledge and appreciate all caregivers as they care for those who can not care for themselves. It is my intention to empower the caregiver, ease their burdens and help them find the joy in the journey through education, comfort and support”

 

Linda lives in Seminole, Florida and travels throughout the U.S. to speak to audiences to share her story and support caregivers.

All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome the founder of The Caregiver Chronicles, Sarah Stelmach-Brown.

 

Sarah Stelmach-Brown is a caregiving advocate with a major focus on autism, neurodivergence and Alzheimer’s disease and the host of the podcast, “Caregiver Chronicles” and “Autism Out and About.” She is the mother of two boys on the autism spectrum. Sarah worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Certified Medication Technician at assisted living facilities, nursing homes and in-home care before leaving in July of 2021 after experiencing caregiver burnout.

 

She is raw and passionate as she speaks about her experiences as a caregiver in both personal and professional settings. Sarah is unafraid to tackle serious topics but also uses her wit to bring levity to almost any situation. She uses her podcast to help caregivers from all walks of life connect to others and get their messages out about making the world a better place for those we care for and those who care for us.

 

About Caregiver Chronicles Podcast:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah experienced caregiver burnout. She wanted to share her story to help anyone else who may have been experiencing the same thing. With the help of her husband, Jeremy, the pair of them started “Caregiver Chronicles” in their truck, recording episodes on a cell phone. “Caregiver Chronicles” has grown, allowing Sarah to connect with other caregivers from all walks of life. What started as a podcast by a single caregiver experiencing burnout has become a way for family caregivers to connect, learn and grow. The podcast has covered a wide variety of topics, from autism awareness and acceptance to dementia caregiving to education and assistance in applying for services. Sarah is not afraid to discuss any issue that a ects caregivers and the people they care for.