Help Choose Home

In today's episode we're joined by Sara Ratcliffe, Executive Director of the Illinois Home Care and Hospice Council. Sara is the former State Home Care Association Chair and serves on the board of directors of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.

In this episode we discuss:

• How to use the Illinois Home Care and Hospice Council to find reliable local home care
• How technology and creative division of labor are taking pressure off caregivers
• The importance of training family caregivers and offering them respite care

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Erik Listou , a certified living in place professional and home and accessibility trade specialist.

Erik is the co-founder of the Living In Place Institute , an organization that provides professional education to individuals involved in the housing industry. He is the former Executive Director of the Denver Habitat for Humanity and hosted and produced his own 125-episode talk radio show, "Build Responsible, with Erik!"

In this episode we discuss:

• How to prep your home for safe and comfortable aging in place
• Which rooms in the home are statistically the most dangerous
• Why accessible housing is the future of the housing industry, no matter your age

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Sheila McMackin , a licensed clinical social worker, founder of Wellspring Personal Care , and founder and past president of the Home Care Association of America.

Sheila has served on the Illinois Department of Public Health's Home Health, Home Services and Home Nursing Advisory Board, and on the board of directors of Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly, Chicago Chapter.

In this episode we discuss:

• How best to search for safe and effective home care in a post-pandemic world
• Strategies for tackling the industry-wide staffing crisis
• The centrality of relationships and personal trust to the home care industry.

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 4, Episode 3 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Edo Banach , JD, President and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization . He has worked as the Senior Advisor and Deputy Director of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Associate General Counsel at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

Edo has also served as the Medicare Rights Center's General Counsel, and has practiced health law at the firms of Latham & Watkins and Gallagher, Evelius and Jones, and clerked for U.S. Judge John T. Nixon of the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

In this episode we discuss:

• The history of the hospice benefit and why there's still plenty of room for hospice reform
• The importance of standardized, high-quality community-based palliative care.
• Strategies for raising consumer awareness about legislative issues related to hospice and palliative care, and tips for talking to loved ones about them.

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 4, Episode 2 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Bill Dombi, Esq., the President of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice , where he also serves as the Director for the Center for Healthcare Law, and the Executive Director of the Homecare and Hospice Financial Managers Association.

With nearly 40 years of experience in health care law and policy, Bill has been heavily involved with health care and hospice policy at the local and national level since 1975. He has advocated for home health care reform under numerous presidential administrations.

In this episode we discuss:

• Ways consumers can support congressional initiatives to provide more home care options.
• The future of care at home in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The history of how the initiative to make home care a more accessible option has bridged political divides and united the country.

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 4, Episode 1 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Beth Cavenaugh , a certified hospice and palliative care nurse and author of Some Light at the End , An End-of-Life Guidebook for Patients and Their Caregivers. Her book is an invitation to walk towards the powerful end of life instead of running away from it.

Beth has been a hospice nurse for 15 years and a nurse for 25 in home settings, in-patient units, and hospitals. She specializes in helping demystify death for patients and their families while cultivating an appreciation for the end of life. She also has a private reiki practice which helps support physical, emotional, and spiritual healing for adults and teens.

In this episode we discuss:

• How to work with hospice teams even when you're not emotionally ready to accept the end.
• The care at home support options available for those who wish to die at home.
• Ways to be radically present with your loved one as they approach death, and some small rituals you can use to mark the event.

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 19 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Dr. Fran Hoh , an Advanced Practice Nurse board-certified in hospice and palliative care and the founder and CEO of Palliative Rx. Palliative Rx offers live online programs in elderly health care education for families and patients who have been diagnosed with serious chronic illness, with special attention paid to the needs of families during the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Hoh has a robust background in palliative care, geriatrics, and critical care, and brings four decades of experience to her group and one-on-one classes. She is the recipient of a number of awards for her outstanding work in the field, including a Clinical Practice Award and a Geriatric Nurse Exemplar Award from the American Society of Pain Management Nursing.

In this episode we discuss:

• The differences between palliative care and hospice.
• How partnering with a palliative care nurse can empower you and your loved ones to make active decisions about elderly health care.
• The importance of discussing end-of-life wishes with your family as soon as possible.

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 19 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we're joined by Ken Albert , RN, Esq., president and CEO of Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice . Androscoggin is an independent nonprofit home healthcare organization in central Maine that has been serving about nine counties and 185 communities for the last 55 years.

Ken has a varied background in healthcare, law, and government. He was recently elected to the board of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. Ken has served as Director of Emergency Services at Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC), as the Administrator of the Occupational Health Center affiliated with CMMC, and as the Lewiston Site Manager for LifeFlight of Maine.

In this episode we discuss:

• The boom in telehealth during the COVID-19 crisis
• The future of American public health in a post-pandemic world
• The importance of educating primary care providers and consumers about palliative care and hospice care

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 18 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we welcome Kevin Heraty, Chief Development Officer of Cantata Adult Life Services. Originally founded as The British Home in 1920 and opened in 1924 by the Daughters of the British Empire (DBE), Cantata is a nonprofit organization that provides care for a diverse population and offers a variety of services to help seniors. Located in Brookfield, IL, Cantata offers a residential care facility, in-home caregiving services in private homes, handyman services, and a new Take 2 Neighborhood Care Program.

Kevin has a background in banking and finance and served on the Cantata board of directors before transitioning to a full-time employment role with the organization in 2012.

In this episode we discuss:

• The unique Take 2 Neighborhood Care Program model
• The ideal client for a neighborhood-based care program
• The benefits of a neighborhood-based care program

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 17 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we welcome Johanna Beliveau, DNP, MBA, RN, President and Chief Executive Officer at Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH). Serving the Upper Connecticut River Valley region since 1907, VNH is a nonprofit organization that provides nursing, rehabilitation, hospice, and personal care services in more than 140 towns in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Dr. Beliveau is an experienced healthcare leader with 25 years' experience in nursing practice. She holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Yale University, a Master of Business Administration from Rosemont College, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Fitchburg State College and a Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt certificate from the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College. Combining her educational background with her industry expertise, Dr. Beliveau is a passionate advocate for delivering health care at home, and she is especially focused on increasing care options for those in the rural communities that VNH serves.

In this episode we discuss:

• The importance of developing program-specific teams in order to deliver effective care at home
• How rural care is different from urban care
• The ways in which home care services provides greater access of services to those in rural communities
• What makes home-based care unique
• The importance of consumers advocating for care and ultimately driving change in the home care industry

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 16 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.