Caring Conversations

Claire Day shares updates on how to manage a family member with dementia while worrying about coronavirus. Claire is Chief Program Officer for the Alzheimer's Association Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter.

Beth, who cared for her father, shares how she’s giving herself peace of mind as we worry about the impact of the coronavirus. Beth supports family caregivers through her business, Caregiving Pathways. She’s a Certified Caregiving Consultant, Educator and Facilitator and End of Life Doula. Connect with Beth on her website, https://caregivingpathways.com.

You can download your state's advance directive forms from the AARP website: https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/free-printable-advance-directives/

Sharon Hall will be joined by Nansi Gregor-Holt, RN, MSN, MPH, NP from UNC Neurology. Nansi will answer questions recieved through [email protected] we will take as many questions as we have time for during the broadcast

Ellen, our wealthness expert, will talk out how we stay connect to our coping strategies when we're faced with uncertain times.

About Ellen Rogin, CPA, CFP® and Abundance Activist®

Ellen has made her life’s work educating, counseling, and guiding people to grow their prosperity and to use it as a force for good in their lives and in the world.

She is the co-author of NY Times best-seller, Picture Your Prosperity: Smart Money Moves to Turn Your Vision into Reality.

Ellen speaks across the globe on creating success and abundance.

Chock full of “left-brain” credentials (MBA, CPA, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™), Ellen also walks on the “right” side, balancing values, big picture ideas, meditation and a sense of humor with her professional training. She’s as comfortable talking about the power of compound interest as she is the power of belief.

Ellen is a TEDx presenter, and her work has been quoted in such national publications as The New York Times, Money, Time.com, Forbes.com, and The Huffington Post.

Theresa Wilbanks, Certified Caregiving Consultant™, Certified Caregiving Educator™, joins Denise to talk out their plans for the unexpected, including the coronavirus. Theresa cares for her 98-year-old father and Denise helps her 88-year-old father and 85-year-old mother. 

Visit CareGiving.com and SustainableCaregiving.com for more insights and resources.

Sharon Hall will be joined by Rebekah Wilson, MSW, https://www.agingcarecoach.com/ to discuss the hard decisions we need to make in the care of those with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). When do I take away the car keys? When do I consider placement? How do I decide on when to call hospice? How do I brace myself for end of life decisions like when to no longer give antibiotics?

These are the questions that haunt us as care partners to those with FTD. We hope this podcast will give you some guidance and support in making those hard decisions. The emotions can be overwhelming and we second guess ourselves. This podcast will put those doubts in perspective.

Join our FTD Care Chat every Monday and Saturday at 7:00pm ET on caregiving.com to talk to other care partners.

When we feel like we're in the midst of a financial crisis, how do we find our calm? 

Ellen Rogin joins me to share tips to help us calm the panic when we're struggling to get enough.

Ellen wrote the New York Times bestseller on turning your vision into reality, Picture Your Prosperity. She’s an acclaimed speaker, TEDx presenter, blogger, a 20-year veteran of the financial services industry, and a Certified Financial Planner®. Ellen’s appeared on CNBC’s Nightly Business Report, ABC News, and PBS, and has been quoted in The New York Times, Money, Time, Forbes, The Huffington Post, US News & World Report, the Chicago Tribune, and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Denise’s guest is Angie Ardolf, who cares for her daughter, Ruby. In 2017 a video of Angie and Ruby went viral on Instagram which created a new role for Angie — social media disability advocate. Angie shares photos, videos and stories on her social media channels to help shift the narrative about disability issues and to make the world a kinder, more accepting and inclusive place for all.

Angie’s YouTube channel, Angie and Ruby, now numbers 164,000 subscribers.

At our Fourth Annual National Caregiving Conference, we awarded Life Solutions, the maker of ChuckMates, the winner of our Fourth Annual National Caregiving Technology and Product Pitch Event. Lauren Somma, President of Life Solutions, joins us to share about the inspiration for ChuckMates and her mission to help family caregivers and professional caregivers.

ChuckMates is placed under a cloth or disposable Chuck, which is game-changing when it comes to providing in-bed patient care. ChuckMates help prevent back injuries by significantly aiding caregivers while maneuvering all bedridden patients. Thus providing caregiver solutions far beyond helping with elderly care alone. ChuckMates create huge boost in caregiver confidence when it comes to  rotations, repositioning, and all other in-bed patient maneuvering. To learn more, visit https://chuckmates.com.

As the youngest of her parents’ 16 children, and the only one who went into the healthcare profession, Margaret Fitzpatrick was the natural choice to be a caregiver to both of her parents as they aged into their 90’s.

Additionally, Margaret is the healthcare POA for several of her siblings who are dealing with health challenges (end-stage Multiple Sclerosis, complications from alcoholism and heart disease).

Margaret has been a critical care nurse for over a decade and a nurse anesthetist with her Master’s degree in anesthesia for ten years. She is a leader in the movement to help patients and families to set individual healthcare goals that reflect their values for the last chapter of their lives. She is dedicated to helping people make better decisions, have less stress and to prevent suffering for themselves and for the loved ones for whom they are caring.

Mark Servais’ professional life has been about creating technical solutions for companies around content, branding, and marketing efforts. As a technology leader and a 5-time Sitecore Technical MVP, Mark has created solutions that fit customer needs and abilities. He current works for Humana providing guidance and expertise with the content managment platform.

Mark’s non-professional life consists of being a full-time co-caregiver to his son with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. For the past 16 years, Mark and his family have learned to adapt and find ways to solve challenges as Mark's son's condition has progressed.

Mark’s technical background along with his caregiver role has spawned effective solutions to challenges with daily activities using elements of home automation with his family needs to help assist in those daily activities of care giving activities.