We are so grateful to Donna Gibson, Staff VP Benefits at Elevance Health, who joins us this week for a standout episode of the I Am Not Alone podcast. While there is so much buzz around the need to support family caregivers in the workplace, Elevance Health remains dedicated to innovation, ensuring every associate has exactly what they need to feel supported and successful. By relying on data to inform decisions and determine the types of support associates need, Elevance Health has identified caregiving as an integral part of its innovative and inclusive benefits strategy. Listen to the full episode to hear why Elevance Health believes now is the moment to support working family caregivers, and why ianacare remains the best choice for the organization.

While this podcast has covered many important aspect of caregiving, we have not discussed long-term chronic care journeys like special needs. This week, we shine the spotlight on Dani McCauley, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience Leader, Aon. Dani is making real waves in the way employers provide the right benefits to support their employees. She’s also a mom who cared for her son Sean for over 20 years. She will share what this journey taught her, how it affected her career, and how it changed the way she thinks about her work in empowering employers to care for their employees.

This week, Jessica brings on her big sister Jennifer Choi to discuss all things family dynamics. Family dynamics are unique, challenging, and can change over time. But they are a common part of caregiving that every family deals with. They discuss how they each handled caring for their mom during her battle with cancer, to managing their dad’s more acute care needs today. Jen and Jessica candidly talk through what went wrong, what went right, and how they choose to be intentional as they move forward through their shared care journey. You’ll come away with insights and actionable takeaways you can apply to your own family dynamics.

Steve Straus came to ianacare when he was caring for his wife, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Steve shares how Pam’s diagnosis thrust him into caregiving, and how his journey over the 100 days that followed taught him to trust himself and stay present in the moment. In part 2 this week, Steve shares the moments in caring for Pam that would change him forever, and the positive things he hopes to take forward from this experience.

Steve Straus came to ianacare when he was caring for his wife, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Steve shares how Pam’s diagnosis thrust him into caregiving, and how his journey over the 100 days that followed taught him to trust himself and stay present in the moment. In part 1 this week, he'll share the story of Pam's diagnosis and the days that followed, when he first realized he would become her caregiver.

When taking care of a loved one, and especially as a primary caregiver, you will face responsibilities and situations you haven't been trained or prepared for- with clinical staff, and even other family and friends. Allison Breininger, a caregiver to her husband for more than 10 years, knows the moments of uncertainty and doubt advocacy can bring, but speaking up and advocating on behalf of your loved one will ensure they receive the best care possible. Aliison shares her advocacy experiences and practical ways to act as an advocate on behalf of your loved one, so you can rest assured you’re asking the right questions and getting them the best care.

00:03:00: Allison’s caregiving story

00:07:15: Allison’s intro to care advocacy

00:11:00: What gave Allison the confidence to speak up and advocate for the first time

00:18:50: Advocacy in non-clinical settings (financial, insurance, etc.)

00:28:25 How to advocate thoughtfully (not overpowering your loved one’s voice)

00:30:53: Advocating with family & friends (during COVID)

As we all prepare to take 2022 head-on, we want to share a unique approach to balancing work, life, and care- something we call the Three Day Rule.

Listen as Jessica shares how this shift in thinking helped her realign her priorities to ensure she was present as an executive, as a Mom of 3, as a wife, and as a family caregiver.

Christine Gutierrez is a successful businesswoman, mom of 3, wife, and breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed at the height of COVID, her care journey was made even more complicated when her and her entire family contracted COVID. These unique and extreme circumstances forced Christine to rely on the community around her for support to get through it, and allowed others to turn the tables and care for her.

Article referenced on the "lulls": https://www.self.com/video/watch/grace?fbclid=IwAR0iqwSep2EhQV-5jsxOViz1UK-5DznlAXIOUNg9ZVUAjQyYZ-YjSjHTAB8

We’ve all read and heard about The Great Resignation, work-life balance, etc. But we need to dig deeper into WHY these are such important movements, and why they haven’t yet been solved. How can we create systemic change in the workplace that better supports women and care needs? Jessica & Meghan Keaney Anderson, CMO of The Wanderlust Group & former VP of Marketing at Hubspot, discuss how the culture of work needs to change to support every part of an employee.

Kate Washington is the acclaimed author of ‘Already Toast’ and a champion for caregivers everywhere. She has dedicated her work to representing and magnifying the realities caregivers face, and the changes that can help communities and systems better support them. We discuss her own caregiving experience, as well as the types of workplace, culture, and policy changes she’d like to see.

Connect with us directly on social media @ianacare. We love hearing your stories, answering your questions, and sharing this journey with you.