In today's episode of Help Choose Home, we welcome Michelle Woodbrey, CDP, CSA, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of 2Sisters Senior Living Advisors. Founded in 2011, 2Sisters Senior Living Advisors offers referral and coaching services to older adults and their families who are exploring aging care options.

Michelle, and her co-founder sister, Alyson Powers, have deep career experience in the senior care industry, both in administrative roles and in hands-on care. Michelle and Allyson grew up in the senior care industry, following in their father's, Mark Tobin's, footsteps. Mark had a distinguished career in long-term care administration and certainly planted the seed that grew into a passion and career path for both Michelle and Alyson. Together, Michelle, Alyson and the rest of the 2Sisters Senior Living Advisors team work to help families navigate the care options available for senior loved ones, empowering them to establish a plan that meets care needs and goals.

In this episode we discuss:

• How senior living advisors help families make important decisions about care
• What it takes to make aging in place a viable option
• The importance of both a plan and a support system
• The costs associated with aging care

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 15 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 Sara Wilson, president and CEO of Home Assist Health, Inc. A nonprofit organization which serves Arizona residents in greater Maricopa County, Home Assist Health, Inc. helps private pay and Medicaid clients pursue independent lifestyles in the comfort and familiarity of home.

An innovative leader in the home care industry, Sara is focused on modernizing home and community-based services to improve care experiences and health outcomes, and to reduce costs. Additionally, because of the anticipated labor shortage in home care, she seeks to access and prepare a new workforce that is interested in health and human service professions, for a career in the home care industry.

In this episode we discuss:

• Successfully navigating the pandemic in the home care industry
• How Home Assist Health, Inc. has supported the medical community during the pandemic
• The benefits of expanding the Medicaid service model
• Accessing a new workforce in order to keep up with anticipated staffing demands in the home care industry
• The myriad of tangible benefits of care at home

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 14 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 Steven Landers, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Visiting Nurse Association Health Group. With a history of bringing care to people for over 100 years, VNA Health Group is the largest nonprofit provider of community home health and hospice services in New Jersey. VNA Health Group also provides in-home care services in Ohio and southeast Florida.

A certified family physician and geriatrician, Dr. Landers brings a unique perspective to his role at VNA Health Group, particularly now, during the pandemic. Dr. Landers is passionate about providing access to high quality care at home, especially to the vulnerable elderly, and he has authored several articles on the role of home care in national medical journals.

In this episode we discuss:

• The status of the home care industry at this point in the pandemic
• Client safety and caregiver safety and training
• The ongoing demand for home care services in the future

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 13 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 Andrea Cohen, a social entrepreneur dedicated to transforming the way care is delivered to seniors at home. As the Founder and CEO of HouseWorks, her vision crystalized over 25 years ago when she took care of both her parents and made an unwavering commitment to redefine what it means to age.

As an innovator and thought leader in the home care industry, Andrea and the team at HouseWorks takes an entrepreneurial approach to service delivery that returns a sense of control to adult children and their parents. Andrea was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) and she also sits on the Board of The Commonwealth Institute, the Schwartz Center Leadership Council, and the Caregiver Action Network and serves as an appointee to the Massachusetts Women Forum.

In this episode we discuss:

• How home care is prepared to meet a wide variety of needs and promote senior independent living
• Specialized dementia care that benefits both clients and caregivers
• Suggestions for consumers who are seeking care for a loved one
• How home care remains a safe option for seniors during the pandemic

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 12 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 Rosalind Marshall-Jones, CEO and founder of Jacksonville's Best Caregivers. Roz has been in the caregiving field since 2009, assisting families both in Jacksonville and outside of her immediate service area through virtual caregiving support.

Helping families navigate the caregiving journey is one's of Roz's passions, and she provides a wealth of information and advice through her blog and via social media channels. As an advocate, crisis counselor and healthcare intervention specialist, Roz is driven by a deep desire to help families achieve success in their caregiving roles. During our discussion on Help Choose Home, Roz shares some of her important insight with listeners.

This episode focuses on the important role of family caregivers and we discuss:

• The need for support and a plan when caring for a parent or other family member
• Practical steps to make the administrative end of caregiving less overwhelming
• How support roles are just as important as the hands-on caregiving roles
• Knowing your limitations and what you have the capacity to do

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 11 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 Cheryl Hammons, CFE, CSA, strategic partnership director for Veterans Care Coordination, a business that helps qualified U.S. veterans and their surviving spouses access aid and attendance benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Aid and Attendance provides monthly payments to help cover the cost of care at home services for qualified veterans. Because the process to apply and remain eligible for this lifetime benefit can be confusing, Veterans Care Coordination works with veterans and their families to apply for the aid and partners with home care agencies to provide the needed in-home care services.

In this episode we discuss:

• An overview of Veterans Aid and Attendance
• Eligibility and screening process
• The benefits of the program

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 10 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

During today's episode of Help Choose Home, we welcome Jeff Bevis, founder and CEO of FirstLight Home Care, which provides non-medical home care through its franchises in 35 states, plus the District of Columbia. Jeff is passionate about providing the highest level of service in the industry, through client satisfaction, caregiver retention and low caregiver turnover.

In my discussion with Jeff, he highlights many of the ways home care agencies are meeting the challenges of the pandemic head on and how the status of home care has been elevated during these past six months, as more people learn about the industry and there is a heightened need for experienced, professional delivery of care in the comfort and safety of home.

A few of the topics we discuss in this episode include:

• The increasing demand for and benefits of at home senior care
• Why it's important to have a commitment to customer service
• Options to pay for home care services

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 9 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

In recent months, the value of care in the home has become more and more apparent to many families. As COVID-19 has swept through nursing homes and other facilities, older adults have been especially hard hit by the virus. Because of the high rates of infection in care facilities, many families have looked for alternatives for care for a senior loved one, and home care has provided the answers and safety needed during these unprecedented times.

To discuss more about the value of home care, Emma Dickison, CFE, CSA, president and CEO of Home Helpers Home Care, is my guest on this episode of Help Choose Home. With more than two decades of experience in home care both professionally and personally as a family caregiver, Emma brings an important perspective to her role at Home Helpers and in her recently appointed role as president of the board for the Home Care Association of America.

In this episode we discuss:

• How the pandemic has fueled an increase in hospitals discharging patients directly home versus to a care facility
• The role of technology in helping make home care more effective
• The future of home care in America
• The growth of home care and an increased need for caregivers

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 8 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

End-of-life care is a difficult topic of conversation for most people, a conversation that frequently comes too late, during times of crisis, or the decisions are left to the family to make on behalf of a loved one. According to Jan Jones, RN, BSN, recently retired CEO of The Elizabeth Hospice in San Diego, California, having conversations and outlining end-of-life care goals is an important gift you can give to your family.

In today's episode, Jan joins me to discuss end-of-life care at home and the important role of hospice. Hospice combines the expertise of doctors, nurses, social workers, spiritual counselors, home health aides and volunteers to create an intradisciplinary team that provides care for individuals and their families during times of life-limiting illness.

In addition, we discuss:

• The many benefits of hospice care
• How hospice care can help extend life and improve quality of life
• The differences between palliative care and hospice care
• How to have important conversations about death and end-of-life care

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 7 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.

John Olajide, founder and CEO of Dallas-based Axxess, the leading home health care technology company in North America, has a vision of making quality home health care options accessible to people all over the world. This vision is integrated into everything John does and shapes the corporate culture of Axxess.

In today's episode of Help Choose Home, John and I speak about his vision and the important role healthcare at home plays in helping people remain in the place that is most important to them: home. In addition, we discuss:

• The history and evolution of healthcare at home
• How cloud-based software makes healthcare at home safe and accessible
• The important role of leadership in the home health care industry
• Lessons learned about COVID-19

Be sure to check out Help Choose Home Season 3, Episode 6 show notes and our full library of podcasts dedicated to helping families learn more about professional home care options.