Answers For Elders Radio Network

Derek Larson and Amanda Krueger join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about a new program for senior living residents with Alzheimer's and dementia. The program is at Chateau Gardens, part of Chateau at Bothell Landing in Bothell, Washington. Derek Larson is Executive Director, and Amanda is Vice President of Health Services, at Chateau Retirement Communities. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington.

Amanda explains, "We really wanted to bring a program together that looked at the resident and not the disease. And so what did that, as far as the care part of it, was the individualized care plans, the staff training, and then also making sure the staff is really taking the time with the residents. And so it took a lot of work.

"One thing that we implemented was a lower staffing ratio with our expansion at Bothell. We have that down to a 1 to 7 for just our caregivers, and that just allows for that resident and and staff person to really develop a bond, so that way they can still get their input as best they can. Maybe it's not verbally, but maybe it's through action, seeing their eyes light up when music plays."

Suzanne asks, "You and Derek have both talked about treating the patient rather than the disease. How does that differentiate when it comes to care?"

Amanda answers, "I think it just allows the resident to be who they are, and to still allow them to be as independent as they go around. And having the staff trained well enough to understand that just because they have dementia, that doesn't mean they can't still wash their face, something simple where, let's have that staff give them a washcloth, and then kind of mirror the action of washing a face, and still allow that resident to be as individual and independent as they can and promote that."

Suzanne says, "Derek mentioned a little bit about how the family is more engaged. How does that happen in the care plans?

Amanda replies, "Letting them give us information. You know, maybe Sally has a hard time bathing, but that the family members let us know that she likes bananas. So let's [have] a banana before we take a bath, and then that helps make it more individualized. So, taking as much data that we can from our family members, or our staff too, because our staff spends a lot of time with our residents. All the little tips and tricks, and making sure then that everybody knows what it takes, to make sure that residents care for them."

Derek adds, "We had something really cool happen at Bothell kind of organically, I think as we got more relationships built with our residents and their families. A lot of the spouses actually created their own groups within our space at Chateau Gardens. So every week they would sit down in our outdoor courtyard, and they would just hang out. Talk, as if things were just as they are, meeting each other in the journey. And the spouses could also kind of relate to one another at the same time. And it just it was really cool to see that organically just grow from having that space, just be welcoming in that way."

Chateau at Bothell Landing is located at 17543 102nd Ave NE in Bothell, Washington 98011-3787.

Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.

Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement Communities Executive Director Derek Larson joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to give an overview of the Alzheimer's epidemic and how it's affecting caregivers. Chateau Retirement is launching a new program primarily for senior living residents with Alzheimer's and dementia at Chateau Gardens at Chateau at Bothell Landing in Bothell, Washington. Derek talks about the program came about and how it's going. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington.

Derek shares his family experience. "My mom was diagnosed with dementia really, really young. She was only 51 when she passed. And as a 16-year-old kid, I didn't really know how to process that very well. And it was really challenging. Taking care of her was one of the hardest things ever did in my entire life. And was one of the most isolating times in my life. And so, going full 360 to being here today and having this opportunity, it means the world to be able to give back to the people that really need that love, and care, and that don't need to have less than a life just because they have this disease."

He adds, "It's just such a under-served population that we really, really felt the need to meet those people's needs as best we could. And so we decided to fully revamp the programs we were offering. And we created a task force to work on revamping that as well. As a team, we interviewed tons of our own staff. We interviewed some of our senior leadership. We toured many communities around the area to see where memory care units and communities were really knocking it out of the park. We did tons of research.

"Through all of that, we came to the realization that we wanted to create a space where people feel like it's home. They belong. They're at a place where they can be happy, healthy, live long lives. They can be engaged in whatever ways they want. It's just harder to do in that space, because people are not as able to vocalize their wants and needs.

"The biggest surprise is that it was really simple. It's not easy, but it's really simple. What people need is understanding who we are serving. It's just such a simple thing that just gets missed because people are so stuck on treating dementia and Alzheimer's instead of treating the person in front of them.

"We can see it quickly, even though we're still in the process of implementing everything we would like to. It didn't take long to just get a sense when you walk into a place of the way it feels. There's an energy, and you get an energy from the residents where you see them engaged, you see the staff engaged, you see smiles, you see family getting more involved. You see the rest of the community who have friends in memory care that had the stigma against it, and now feel like they feel empowered to be there and they want to be there. What we strive for is to be a community."

Chateau at Bothell Landing is located at 17543 102nd Ave NE in Bothell, Washington 98011-3787.

Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.

Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Bonnie Brindle, The Anxiety Avenger, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about strategies to reduce anxiety. This segment focuses on coping with grief, "tire-swinging seniors,” and essential support for caregivers.

Bonnie says, "There's actually a prescription. It's called the nature pill. You can go to your primary and be prescribed 20 minutes a day in nature to help yourself re-ground to your surroundings. Way better than medication in most cases. I help people with creating wildlife imagery. Not everybody can get out into nature in the situations that they're in, but in our minds, we can go anywhere we want to and we can communicate in any way we'd like to. Wildlife imagery has helped me be able to do things like sit in an MRI tube for 35 minutes while I'm completely trapped and listening to all kinds of noise. A lot of things that I struggle with, animals have helped me get through."

Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!

Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your Anxiety

Is it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025.

Links:

• Bonnie's website
• Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease Anxiety
• Order a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code
• Receive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the Menagerie
• Interested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHub
• Bonnie at LinkedIn

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Mentioned in this episode:

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

The Anxiety Avenger, Bonnie Brindle, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show share her top five tips for self-care. As she explains, "You can't be anxious and grateful at the same time." Also, "Respond [to triggers] by backing off... Flight attendants tell you, put your mask on first. It makes sense everywhere in life, your mask goes on first."

1) Breath work.

2) Meditation.

3) Hydration, a couple liters a day is a good average for everybody.

4) Movement, whatever you're capable of.

5) Take a few moments for gratitude.

Bonnie says, "At night I put a glass of water next to the bed. Sometimes I might get thirsty at night. I'll have some, but in the morning first thing to hydrate. Seniors do not hydrate enough. As we age, seniors have less [sense of] thirst, less feeling for thirst than when we're younger. We may not even realize it, but if we're having headaches, or feeling dizzy, or feeling at risk of falling, or we pinch the skin in our arm and it doesn't bounce back immediately, we need to hydrate."

Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!

Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your Anxiety

Is it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025.

Links:

• Bonnie's website
• Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease Anxiety
• Order a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code
• Receive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the Menagerie
• Interested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHub
• Bonnie at LinkedIn

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Mentioned in this episode:

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

The Anxiety Avenger, Bonnie Brindle, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about the rollercoaster of emotions brought about for seniors facing senior living transitions. She identifies signs that your senior loved one is in need of assistance, such as cleanliness changes, dizziness, feeling sluggish, and avoiding contact. Then she provides advice on how to approach a conversation with your loved one about their anxiety.

Bonnie says, "You're noticing something that's making you feel uncomfortable, or maybe you're worried or anxious. That's not the time to approach a conversation. When you can center yourself and get your own breath quieted, and ask questions — do not make statements or demands like you shouldn't- This isn't- whatever. [Ask] questions: how you're feeling about, what you've been up to lately? Are you feeling well? How can I help you right now in the situation that you're in? Asking questions is always a softer way to approach someone than starting to tell them what you think they would do."

Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!

Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your Anxiety

Is it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025.

Links:

• Bonnie's website
• Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease Anxiety
• Order a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code
• Receive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the Menagerie
• Interested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHub
• Bonnie at LinkedIn

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Mentioned in this episode:

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

Bonnie Brindle joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about how to recognize and reduce our anxiety. She explains why she calls herself The Anxiety Avenger, and how that informs her work. She shares about recognizing anxiety in its many forms: anger, frustration, withdrawal, and depression. With a heart for healing and a toolkit full of transformational strategies, Bonnie Brindle shares her personal journey from anxious to empowered—and how she’s now guiding seniors and caregivers to do the same.

As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. If you've ever felt like anxiety is running the show in your golden years, this is your backstage pass to reclaiming peace and purpose.

Bonnie says, "When I was in my teens and twenties, I dealt with debilitating panic disorder and agoraphobia, and I have since — over these decades — figured out how to let a lot of that go, because anxiety is just trapped energy, to let that go safely and without medication. So I completely transformed my own life. And that's what I want to share with others so they can let go of what's holding them back."

Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. She is a psychotherapist, author, licensed educator, transformational coach, and international speaker. Incorporating alternative modalities with talk therapy and evidence-based energy practices, she’s created a path for anyone struggling with anxiety (like she used to) to find personal peace. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!

Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your Anxiety

Is it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025.

Links:

• Bonnie's website
• Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease Anxiety
• Order a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code
• Receive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the Menagerie
• Interested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHub
• Bonnie at LinkedIn

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Mentioned in this episode:

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

Award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist J Kele Murdin joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about some assessments that she does to test older people for their risk of having a fall. One in every five senior falls results in a serious injury, such as a broken bone, or head trauma, or a broken hip. Avoiding falls is paramount.

Kele says, "I want to share a few assessments that we do, because I think they are light bulb moments for people who've never really stopped to think about what's putting them at risk. And as a physical therapist, that this is the kind of thing we do all the time. When I have a patient come in to be assessed for falls, these are the kinds of tests that I would do, and also what you should be able to do.

"[Sit] in a chair, stand up and sit down with without using your hands five times in less than 10 seconds. If it takes you more than 10 seconds to stand up and sit down five times, that's indicative of weakness, or some kind of impairment in your legs that's increasing your risk of falling. The prescription for that would be, do that. Keep working on sits and stands, because it's such a functionally critical movement. That would be the exercise.

"I would say there's a lot of folks that can't stand up without their hands, and — especially as we get older — that's fairly common. So for those folks, I would have them do their sit-stand on the arm of the couch, because it's usually a little higher, right? It's not 18 inches. It might be 24. Or from the edge of their bed if it's higher. And now from a higher surface, I can do a stand without using my hands. And that's where you would do your exercises."

Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Fall prevention gets started by us all keeping ourself in better health as we age. Want top three ways to start getting yourself into optimal aging? Award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist J Kele Murdin joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to share her top tips to start small and build.

1. nutrition (hydration, protein, eating enough calories during the day, diet, etc)

2. move more, sit less (aerobic strength and balance)

3. carving out the time, reserving time for exercise (and what does that look like for you, do things that bring you joy or keep you interested)

Kele says, "Move more, that's the basic premise of what you're trying to do. And in that movement, let's think about aerobic activity. Sustained movement over time. That's what aerobics exercise is, strengthening, doing something to build muscle tone, because muscle atrophy is a real thing as we get older, we have to combat that. And balance. What are you doing to stress your balance? Like something to at least narrow your base of support. Narrow your feet and challenge yourself a little bit. So move more, sit less, with those three areas of exercise."

Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

How do you know if you're aging optimally? J Kele Murdin, an award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about how to tell if you are aging optimally.

Kele says, "I think this is such a common question for older adults. On the physical therapy world, we have a lot of tools to measure things. So if I wanted to look at your posture, I could ask you to stand against the wall. Can you get your head against the wall with your heels, against the wall and your bottom in your head? You should be able to touch. Do you have an extension in your upper back? Touch your head. And if you can't, that puts you at risk for fractures in your spine. That there are all these tools and measures we can do as a physical therapist that can measure posture, flexibility, endurance, things like that."

Kele adds, "How much activity do we need to be doing to keep it running smoothly? Well, at least 30 minutes, five days a week of moderate exercise. So when we talk about aerobic exercise, it's like a six out of ten on the scale. You should be able to talk, but it should take some effort. You wouldn't be able to sing at that effort level. I think that level of intensity is what's missed. You know, my aunt takes her dog out, who's thought to go to the bathroom 15 times in her 15 minute walk. And that's not hard enough. That's not enough to get her heart to get stronger. It should feel like exercise and it should be intentional exercise. Subtle things, like how long, how hard, I think really makes a difference in people's awareness and understanding of what optimal aging could look like."

Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

About one in every four adult older adults aged 65 and over fall every year, and this translates to over 36 million falls in the United States annually among among seniors. Falls are one thing, but one in every five results in a serious injury, such as a broken bone, or head trauma, or a broken hip. Hip fractures alone cause over 300,000 hospitalized patients every year in the USA, and they are followed by a decline in physical function, independence, and even mortality. Award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist J Kele Murdin joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about fall prevention.

Kele says, "If you ask a cardiologist what's optimal aging, he's probably going to talk about cardiorespiratory fitness. Right. Because his world is full of chronic diseases in the cardiac space. Family doctor might talk to you about someone who doesn't have a lot of chronic diseases like diabetes and other things like chronic diseases that are going to really affect you. I’m a physical therapist, I'm going to talk about the physical aspects of optimal aging. So posture, flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, those are kind of the five areas of fitness for me personally, that's in my wheelhouse. So I think optimal aging is a difficult thing to define because, again, your optimal aging path may be different than someone else's. So I think vitality, independence are two key, those words can can capture it, but they can look different for different people."

“Just being over 65 puts you at an increased rate of fall by 30% just because of the age changes that happen with joints and tissue and aerobic systems that you're already at 30%. So if you have an ankle injury on top of that, that's going to increase your risk even more."

Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

Mentioned in this episode:

Legacy Estate Planning

Legacy Estate Planning

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement