Answers For Elders Radio Network

Founder and CEO of Real Estate 55 Plus Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to kick off the topic of environmental wellness: surrounding yourself with an environment that brings you joy; being in an environment that supports you; living sustainably and being mindful of the world we live in. This is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, featured as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Juli Anne says, "Let's specifically talk about environmental wellness for seniors. Number one, our home is where we create family and community and connection. And as we age, we're gonna be seeing people leaving our homes coming back and returning to visit us. And we're wanting to have a space that feels comfortable, brings back memories and that's gonna honor the senior themselves. So we're working with someone who's currently in their home and they're moving someplace else. We want to recreate that space for them. So it feels like home because home is a feeling it's the people around you. It's not necessarily the house itself. And what and what we know about real estate is it really isn't about the houses. It's about the people, and the people are what create a home. And that's the fundamental basis of where we start with the senior and their families, is what their priorities are. So we can make sure we help them make good decisions on that journey for housing and aging."

Seniors have many options. "We teach Aging With Choice workshops, where we look at all the different options that are available to somebody. And there's a wide scope. Of course, we're gonna look at their financial, their emotional, spiritual, and physical, that's gonna help define really the base point of what they're gonna be looking for, and searching for, whether they want to age in their current home or move someplace else. The options are endless." 

Juli Anne adds, "When we sit down with somebody, we're looking at their uniqueness, and we're looking at what makes the most sense for them. Oftentimes you don't know what you don't know, until you sit down with us and we help you create that road map. Oftentimes people say, I wish that we had pulled you in a year sooner, because all of these resources we wish we had known about, because trial and error, we found our way. So we help seniors and their families create a road map, so that they can age and how successfully and have a sense of well-being, right? The home is the most important part of our lives, because it's where we live."

Learn more:
* Real Estate 55 Plus: https://realestate55plus.com/
* Juli Anne Gibson: https://realestate55plus.com/team/
* Call 800-964-1553 to speak to a live person

Hear more shows with Juli Anne Gibson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/juli-anne-gibson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonya Hilson at CarePartners Senior Living joins Suzanne to talk about how we can do better with our seniors to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. Tonya says, "So what sometimes we see happen often is that families um they become frustrated with caring for their loved one at home. So then they move to a senior community, they make sure they have everything that they need, they make sure everything is put in place before that arrive, and they welcome them there, and they kind of disappear. Not intentionally, but it's because of life, their own personal lives, they are caught up with building their own families, caring for their own families or they may be going back to school. They're trying to advance their careers or their business, need growth, or they're seeking their life purpose, but they become occupied, and they may call every now and then just to check on their loved one. But being there physically, or just even actually having the time to sit and have a conversation with them, sometimes it just doesn't happen."

"Put yourself in your loved ones' shoes. Let's reverse the roles. How would you feel if no one is visiting you, or making time for you? How would that make you feel? Just for a moment, just switch and say, no, you're not the one that's out here working. You're the one that's at the at home alone or in the retirement community or just feeling like you don't matter anymore. How would you feel? What type of actions would you want those around you that you love and you took care of for so many years? How would you want them to treat you?"

Tonya adds, "What we try to tell families is that, if they still have a pulse and a heartbeat, they want to still have you near them, whether they remember you or not. But your voice, that closeness, means so much to them. Some people just feel like they're not making a difference, but they really are. They are necessary, to be a part of that loved one's life."

"One of my personal just mottos for me in this industry is 'make a senior smile'. And if I could do that, that just blesses my heart. So I would love to see other people in our community just take the time to make a senior smile."

Tonya suggests, "Even going beyond the family members., let's say that you don't have a family member that's in the senior age. If you just have that time to volunteer — to help another senior who does not have anyone to come visit them, or someone to call them, or come and fix the puzzles with them — but you have some extra time on the weekends to volunteer or one day through the week, they don't have to be a loved one. Just say, you know what, here's a senior center here, or there is a retirement community. I want to go make myself available. Contact the director there and say, hey, I wanna make myself available for somebody who wants to have visitors, somebody who would love a bouquet of flowers, or make some cookies. They love sweets."

Regarding ideas on how people can help aging parents and loved ones know that they matter, Tonya says, "For me personally, my grandmother was in a different state, and I just still wanted her to know I'm here for her. I support her. So I would just even use Amazon to deliver packages to her. and that would just make her feel so special. So she knew every month that the UPS guy was gonna show up and knock on her door and bring something exciting. Even with Uber eats, you can send them something yummy. So there are so many ways we can just get on our cell phones, open the app, set up an order, and send it to them, and it'll make a world of difference for them for that day."

Tonya Hilson can be reached at (206) 412-3554.

Learn more:
* CarePartners Senior Living: https://answersforelders.com/carepartners-senior-living/
* CarePartners website: https://www.carepartnersliving.com/
* Tonya Hilson: https://www.carepartnersliving.com/your-admissions-team/

Hear more:
* Shows by CarePartners Senior Living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/carepartners-living/
* Shows with Tonya Hilson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/tonya-hilson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne to talk about honoring thyself, living your core values, as well as not overcommitting, not giving up yourself for someone else, being intentional with our lives, respecting boundaries, and knowing when to say no. These are an aspect of both spiritual and intellectual wellness, two of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Lori says, "This could be at work too, but in our personal relationships, if we're not setting those boundaries and honoring ourselves, we start building up hidden resentments. And I think a lot of women especially, and this could be men too, but we start building up these resentments towards the other person, they don't even realize what it's about. And then all of a sudden you're having a fight over, you know, the toothpaste tube or something, because you've got all these hidden resentments that you haven't laid out there your boundaries. And then all of a sudden you've got all these issues in your relationships. It's really healthy for relationships to set those boundaries."

Lori provides a list of tips, some of which are to know your values, be assertive, starting small, practice self-care, communicate directly, respecting your limits. To see the tip sheet, download the pdf file at this link (you may have to right-click and save the file to your device): Tips for Setting Boundaries.pdf
https://answersforelders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Tips_for_Setting_Boundaries.pdf

Lori is the owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in the state of Washington.

Hear more:
Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/

Learn more about:
Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/
The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
Humana: https://www.humana.com/
Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne to talk about brain health, an aspect of intellectual wellness, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Lori says, "One of the main things would be what's normal and what's not normal as far as our state of mind, our memory, things like that. As we do get older, there are some ... small declines in memory, a slower processing speed. That's pretty typical... reaction time, decrease speed in learning – it might take us a little longer to learn things. I talked about the difficulty of doing more than one task at a time, and difficulty ignoring distractions. Abnormal things would be being unable to remember recent events, forgetting how to use common objects — again, we're looking at dementia — getting lost in familiar locations, being unable to follow directions. Another is neglecting safety, hygiene, and nutrition, and decline in the ability to socialize."

Lori adds, "I know that it's important to utilize your brain in different ways, and to stretch the "muscles" of your brain to keep it active. Another thing is our diet and hydration. Hydration is a big one that I find with a lot of my clients is affecting their brain health. They're not hydrating – they're worried about incontinence issues. If they feel like I'm gonna have to get up and go to the bathroom five times during the night, they don't want to drink water. That causes UTIs, which actually can affect dementia and escalate it. Our diet can be a factor as well. So if you're eating TV dinners every night, that affect the brain health. And you think about the Mediterranean diet, or something like that, where they're eating a lot of oils and fats, our brain is fat. So if we're not getting those healthy fats, then that can really affect our brain health."

Lori is the owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in the state of Washington.

Hear more:
Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/

Learn more about:
Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/
The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
Humana: https://www.humana.com/
Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne to talk about our connection to people, particularly intimate connections. A lot of people over 60 may have lost a spouse, and they're at a time in their life where they haven't dated in decades. A core need of everyone is to have that sort of connection. This is an aspect of spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Lori provides a list of tips for navigating the field of dating in the 2020s for those over 60 years of age. Download the pdf file at this link (you may have to right-click and save the file to your device): Tips for Dating After 60.pdf
https://answersforelders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Tips_for_Dating_After_60.pdf

Lori is the owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in the state of Washington.

Hear more:
Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/

Learn more about:
Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/
The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
Humana: https://www.humana.com/
Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne to talk about how find something to be grateful for, no matter where we are in the world today. This topic is part of spiritual wellness, featured as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Lori says, "Especially in these times we're living in now, we're just bombarded with the news cycle, and you can really go down rabbit holes, and you can really look for some things to get to depressed or down about. There are strategies to really live having an attitude of gratitude, to find something to be grateful for no matter where we are."

Lori adds, "One of the best ways is just to get in the habit of looking for those things, and having a gratitude journal... You write what you're grateful for, what your intention is, and then what you're going to let go of. If you just get in that habit, the first thing is five things that you're grateful for. Sometimes it could be the same things you were grateful for yesterday, or it could be just the tiniest thing. And especially it you're going through a hard time, it could be that ou're grateful that you have a comfortable bed to sleep in, you know, the smallest things. Once you get your mind focused on that, then you start recognizing, and then it opens up to all these things that you just take for granted, or haven't noticed."

Lori provides a list of tips, which includes being mindful of living in the moment. Also, going out and looking at things like you've never looked at them before. Download the pdf file at this link (you may have to right-click and save the file to your device): Having Attitude of Gratitude.pdf
https://answersforelders.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Having_Attitude_of_Gratitude.pdf

Lori is the owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in the state of Washington.

Hear more:
Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/

Learn more about:
Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/
The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
Humana: https://www.humana.com/
Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founder and CEO Susan Black joins Suzanne to share some amazing travel stories from Wowzitude. Vitual tour visits is part of intellectual wellness — expanding our minds, learning — one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Susan says, "One of my favorite ones was for Anna. Anna was in her assisted living home and she mentioned to her activity director, because she knew we were going to Paris next week, that she loves Paris. She's been there many times. And as a matter of fact, her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren were going to be in Paris. What a coincidence. Well, we got to work with her activity director and guess what we did. We made sure that our guide Patrick was meeting with her family. And even though we had over 400 people, all of a sudden, we had a surprise for Anna, and there were her kids, and her grandchildren, all waving in the background, saying we love you Nana, and we're so glad that you're on our tour with us. So that was a wow moment. I have to tell you, the activity director, Cheryl, made it all happen. So we worked with people, and we try to make these wow moments. We're always connecting anniversaries, and birthdays, and red letter days, and doing shout-outs. So we're encouraging people to tell us before or during a trip what is meaningful for them."

Here more Wowzitude stories in the podcast and see more at https://wowzitude.com/travel-stories.

Podcast listeners are eligible for a special promotion. Susan says, "If you sign up before October 1st, we will give a free Christmas market special tour, to all of your listeners, and only your listeners, as a special promotion on this podcast. Sign up at https://wowzitude.com/."

Learn more:
* Wowzitude: https://wowzitude.com/
* Susan Black: https://wowzitude.com/susan-black%2C-founder
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Intellectual Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/intellectual-wellness/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making connections unites us all. Wowzitude's live-stream tours with licensed guides are able to zoom into areas that regular groups can't go to. Imagine going somewhere in real life with 40 people behind you and trying to hear what the guide is saying. You also have a front-row seat at every tour. Wowzitude's founder Susan Black joins Suzanne to describe some of the destinations. It's part of Intellectual Wellness — expanding our minds, learning — one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, featured this month as part of The Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Susan says, "Community is the most important thing for Wowzitude, it is this sense of connection. We want to mitigate social isolation. We want to connect people, whether it's intergenerational, whether it's people in our travel club... you hear the questions from the people all the time. You get to participate. It's all about connection, and we're connecting with our guides from all of these destinations, 140 destinations around the world in all. So we're connecting, to learn about what's education like. Every question you may ever have is a connection. It's a warmth. You see the guy's face and then he flips it around. So you see the beautiful areas we're walking in. So we are all about and community."

Susan adds, "It's so important to us to honor different cultures here in the United States. So for example, Black History Month, Women's History Month, all sorts of demographics, communities and groups, we celebrate them. We honor them. We believe in heritage, so we do a lot of heritage tours of every ethnicity and religion that we can think of. We tie it in and with celebration, so there's a greater understanding. But when you're connecting people and you're connecting communities around the world, that gives us such a great understanding of where people are from, and where they're coming from, and the background, and it just unites us all together."

Podcast listeners are eligible for a special promotion. Susan says, "If you sign up before October 1st, we will give a free Christmas market special tour, to all of your listeners, and only your listeners, as a special promotion on this podcast. Sign up at https://wowzitude.com/."

Learn more:
* Wowzitude: https://wowzitude.com/
* Susan Black: https://wowzitude.com/susan-black%2C-founder
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Intellectual Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/intellectual-wellness/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take virtual tours of 140 destinations at Wowzitude, expanding your mind through exposure to new cultures via immersive live-stream experiences. Founder and CEO Susan Black joins Suzanne to describe some of the destinations. It's part of intellectual wellness — expanding our minds, learning — one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

The trips come with trip kits. Susan says, "We love our trip kits. First we started with recipes. Each of our recipes is submitted by each of our guides, our, our 97 guides. So it's a family recipe, or it's a recipe that they have from one of the restaurants they bring us to. Can you imagine we actually go to a bakery in Porto, to see how they're making the very famous custards that they're known for? The baker has given us this great recipe to follow. So we try to tie this in, because who doesn't love to eat and tour at the same time? We have downloadable music, and by the way, the music can be upbeat or it can just get you in the mood, and we always start our tours with music, and slide shows, and everything else to get people in the mood. But we give that music in our trip kits. We also have book recommendations, so that you can do a reading group around it. You can have book club around it. We want to get groups together... movies. If you just want to have an immersion, that it's either filmed in that location, or it's about that location. And of course, fun facts. Some maps, and we love sustainable travel. So what that place is doing in terms of sustainability, and responsible travel, all that goodness in a single tour."

Wowzitude is working with research groups to assess the benefits to our wellness, our curiosity, and sense of purpose. Susan says, "We've actually done surveys and we're working with two different research groups right now to see what the benefits are, what all this good stuff means to people. Once they go on a live-stream tour, they're able to engage. Even if you listen to other people's questions — you don't just have to ask your own — oftentimes your question's being asked, but it's very immersive and engaging, and what that level of group engagement means to wellness, to your mood. We're in the process right now of doing a full evidence-based research about the effects, particularly on older adults."

Podcast listeners are eligible for a special promotion. Susan says, "If you sign up before October 1st, we will give a free Christmas market special tour, to all of your listeners, and only your listeners, as a special promotion on this podcast. Sign up at https://wowzitude.com/."

Learn more:
* Wowzitude: https://wowzitude.com/
* Susan Black: https://wowzitude.com/susan-black%2C-founder
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Intellectual Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/intellectual-wellness/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wowzitude Founder and CEO Susan Black joins Suzanne to talk about continuing to be culturally curious in our senior years, by taking virtual tours to 140 locations across the world. It's part of intellectual wellness — expanding our minds, learning — one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, featured this month as part of The Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Susan says, "These are live-stream guided walking tours. The way we work it is, our guides have a stabilizer called a Gimble and a camera, and everything that they see you see live, while it's happening. It's not a television program, it's not video. It is a live-stream walking tour. And to make it even more immersive, everyone can ask questions in real time. We only do group tours. We have the same people on our tours all the time, because it's a subscription service. We go to 140 different locations, places from cities that everybody loves. Rome, Paris, New York City, all the way to off-the-beaten-track. As a matter of fact, we're doing a tour to Machu Picchu. So if you didn't think you could climb Machu Picchu, we'll be in Peru doing that. So all the places that people have perhaps visited, and want to revisit, or places that they've always wanted to go, and ask questions about... And it's doing it with a group, so you're always hearing other people's questions. You're part of this great travel club and we meet twice every week. We do eight or 10 tours every month, whether it's four weeks or five week-months. We have trip kits that go with each one. So there's book, movie recommendations, recipes, maps, fun facts, all things to become even more immersive, but to really, really inspire you and get your mind clicking.

Susan explains how the trips stimulate our minds. "We always say, we really cater to the culturally curious, which never ends at any age, because we talk about food, and we talk about what it's like to grow up there, and we ask questions, and we're learning from the locals, and we're hearing them. And they're the questions that our audience wants to ask. No two tours are alike, they're all unscripted. So we are expanding the mind in terms of learning something new every single day. So every trip, you're always gonna learn something new: politically, what's happening with the economy... You might read about it in the papers, but isn't it fantastic to talk to a local about what's happening now?"

Podcast listeners are eligible for a special promotion. Susan says, "If you sign up before October 1st, we will give a free Christmas market special tour, to all of your listeners, and only your listeners, as a special promotion on this podcast. Sign up at https://wowzitude.com/."

Learn more:
* Wowzitude: https://wowzitude.com/
* Susan Black: https://wowzitude.com/susan-black%2C-founder
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Intellectual Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/intellectual-wellness/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.