Navigating the healthcare system can be overwhelming and confusing, and making informed decisions can be a daunting task. Because of this, we have people like Aileen Gerhardt. 

Aileen is an independent, board-certified patient advocate who can help make sense of it all. In this episode, Aileen will explain how patient advocacy can help people make informed decisions, how it differs from geriatric care management, and how a patient advocate might assist a client who is preparing for an elective surgery. She will also discuss why it is important to create a “micro board of directors” for support and how to find a patient advocate. 

Additionally, she shares her experience in working with solo agents, offers advice for putting together a “Go Plan” for potential medical emergencies, and provides advice for finding a patient advocate (and why she suggests using the Patient Advocate Certification Board).

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on patient advocates)?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Our healthcare system is always evolving and changing—which means that doctor’s recommendations are too. It’s important to stay on top of these to keep our body in tip top shape, particularly as we get older.

Dr. Michael Berry is the Vice Chair of the US Preventative Services Task Force and a leading authority on health and aging. He is a board-certified family and preventive medicine physician, with training in integrative medicine, and specializes in primary care. Dr. Berry has dedicated his career to helping people understand how to improve their health and wellbeing through preventive measures. He has been a guest lecturer at medical conferences, a featured speaker on podcasts, and a contributing author to medical publications. Dr. Berry has an extensive background in preventive services, with a particular focus on the latest health recommendations for aging. He has been a part of the US Preventive Services Task Force since 2008, and currently serves as its Vice Chair. He is passionate about helping people practice preventive medicine and live longer, healthier lives. 

On today’s episode, Dr. Berry explains the importance of aspirin for people between the ages of 40 and 59 (and why those over the age of 60 should not start taking it), he explains the importance of lung cancer screening, colon cancer screening and much more.

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on changing medical recommendations?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

With 2 out of every 3 adults over 70 experiencing hearing loss, it’s something we all need to think about—odds are it will happen to us or someone we know. Unfortunately, up to 23 million adults are left untreated for hearing loss. Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon. 

On today’s podcast we talk to Shelley Stein from Access HEARS, a Baltimore-based 501-C3 nonprofit. Access HEARS provides low cost, high quality over the counter listening devices and resources directly to individuals. She discusses how Access Hears provides a hearing device that is easy to use, making better hearing available to more people of different income levels. 

If you or someone you know has experienced hearing loss, get the resources you need to understand how you can stay connected to your hearing and the people you love.

Learn more at accesshears.com.

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on hearing loss?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

We’ve all heard of the dreaded “midlife crisis”. But what if it didn’t need to be a crisis at all—but a motivating awakening?

Michael Clinton is a former Hearst Magazine publisher and bestselling author. He is best known for his book, ROAR, which encourages people to develop new identities and personas for themselves beyond the roles of partner, parent, and career. Clinton had an epiphany that led him to make changes to his life in his mid-forties, such as taking flying lessons, starting a vineyard, and becoming a marathon runner. He is a strong advocate for lifelong learning, rejecting the traditional notion of retiring, and replacing words such as “midlife crisis” with “midlife awakening.” Clinton has also conducted research at Yale University that shows that people with a positive attitude towards aging live longer and spend less time and money in the health care system.

On this episode, host Cathleen Toomey interviews Michael about the concept of life layering and how it can help people live a more meaningful and fulfilled life. Michael encourages people to pursue lifelong learning and reject the traditional notion of retiring. 

Michael also discusses research conducted at Yale University that shows that people with a positive attitude towards aging live longer and spend less time and money in the health care system. He believes that the Boomer generation will lead the charge in changing old-fashioned attitudes towards aging. He also encourages people to start a counter-culture movement against ageism.

Learn more at roarbymichaelclinton.com or get his book ROAR into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It's Too Late).

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on having a midlife crisis (or rather, a midlife awakening!)?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Guest Info:

LinkedIn- Michael Clinton

Twitter- Michael Clinton

Facebook- Michael Clinton

LinkedIn- ROAR

Twitter-ROAR

Instagram- ROAR

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Let’s face it, living with a disability can be isolating, but one man is doing something about it. Todd Hansen, an award-winning architect and disability advocate, is working to create an accessible and equitable world for people of all abilities. 

Todd cares for the needs of people he designs for and has experienced first-hand the difficulty of being mobility challenged and being physically prevented from being part of the community. After being diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis, Todd founded the nonprofit organization Access Navigators with the goal of providing an up-to-date online guide to accessibility for others. Access Navigators is crowdsourcing accessibility, helping businesses find new ways and small tweaks to make it easier for people to navigate and become more welcoming to a wider range of potential customers. Todd shares how he has worked towards creating a more inclusive and equitable world for people of all abilities—and encourages people to reach out to him if they want to bring Access Navigators to their town. 

Find out more at AccessNavigators.com.

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on accessibility?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

On this episode of Seniority Authority, Nancy Davis Kho talks about her book, "The Thank You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time", which she wrote to encourage people to write thank you letters to those who have impacted their lives. She discusses how writing gratitude letters can help cultivate happiness and strengthen our positive recall bias. She also explains how writing letters can help us take responsibility for our actions and lead to forgiveness. Nancy also shares stories about the impact of writing thank you letters, such as a woman who wrote 100 letters in 100 days and her friend who wrote 50 letters for her 50th birthday. 

Nancy also talks about how writing these letters made her feel calmer, more centered, and relaxed, and how it changed her attitude towards life. Lastly, Nancy talks about refraining from posting photos on social media when it is not her news to share, her guilty pleasure, her favorite healthy practice, her favorite source of laughter, the last book she loved, and her favorite escape. 

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on gratitude, and specifically thank you letters?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Today we are joined by Rabbi Jeffery Wildstein, founder of Kavod Daily Money Management. Jeffrey discusses his experience as a former attorney and college administrator and why he chose to become a Daily Money Manager. We learn about the services a Daily Money Manager provides, which includes going through bills, mail sorting, tracking insurance claims, and more. We also hear about the process one must go through to become a licensed or bonded money manager, and the importance of having a money manager who is a member of the Alliance of Daily Money Managers. 

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on finances as you age?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Have things felt a bit stagnant in your life? Many seniors feel that way too. But sometimes, it can be due to our own decision making.

In this episode of Seniority Authority, Cathleen interviews Dr. Michelle Rozen, a change consultant and PhD in Psychology from NSU who has written a book called Two Second Decisions. Dr. Rozen explains that craving change in life can lead to amazing things and that fear of change is largely physiological. We’ll talk about how she suggests making specific and granular changes and repeating them for 30-45 days to create a neural pathway in the brain—and what that can do to our decisions.

Dr. Rozen also encourages people to find their special purpose and passion in life and how to use the “two second decisions” technique to make quick, winning choices!

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on embracing change?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Find out more about Dr. Rozen or get her book on her website!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

"I just tell them, like, you need to pick your lane, because not everybody is the same here, and they have very different outlooks on their future, and you need to understand that before you start trying to talk to people."

David Stewart is the founder of AGEIST, an agency that specializes in marketing to older adults. He is also a world-renowned photographer and has been featured in Vogue, New York Times Magazine, and other publications.

This is David Stewart's story...

David Stewart was a world-renowned photographer who began to notice a disconnect between the way older adults were being represented in the media and the way they actually looked and felt. He decided to start his own agency, AGEIST, to change the way businesses thought about and marketed to older adults. Now, businesses come to AGEIST for help understanding how to correctly communicate with and develop products for the 50+ population. Stewart and his team have identified a small group of 18% of this population who they feel are the most open to new ideas and who they focus their messaging on. Despite the fact that this group is not representative of the entire 50+ population, Stewart believes that by changing the way this group thinks about aging, the rest of the population will follow.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. David Stewart's experience as a world-traveling photographer and how it led him to notice a disconnect between how older adults are represented in the media and advertising, and how they are actually living their lives.

2. The challenge businesses face in understanding and marketing to a highly fragmented population of older adults with diverse backgrounds, interests, and needs.

3. The importance of expanding people's imagination of what is possible as they age, and how this can lead to positive changes in attitudes and perceptions about aging.

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on positive aging and ageism?  Share them with us at [email protected]!

Learn more at ageist.com or listen to the SuperAge podcast!

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Rico Caveglia is a certified personal trainer, nutritionist, and athlete who has dedicated his life to promoting wellness through his consulting company in San Diego. He is the author of the Ageless Living book and podcast, which has many hundreds of followers.

"Our natural state is to be healthy and energetic all of our lives."

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How to stay fit at any age

2. The benefits of living a purpose-driven life

3. The importance of nutrition in overall health and wellness

What's Next?

What are your views, comments or questions on staying fit as we age?  Share them with us at 

[email protected]!

Get Rico’s book, “Ageless Living: The Ultimate Lifestyle for Health Vitality Longevity” on Amazon. Listen to his podcast, Fearless Aging, wherever you get your podcasts.

Stay Connected

Get in touch with our host Cathleen Toomey on LinkedIn

You can also find Seniority Authority on Facebook, on Instagram, or you can connect with us on our website!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts.