The Agewyz Podcast

Millions of Americans rely on the direct care workforce to care for family members and friends. But this workforce is among the lowest-paid in the nation, the hours are often inconsistent and training can be hard to come by. The nation’s leading advocate for this paid caregiving workforce is the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI). In today’s show, PHI President Jodi M. Sturgeon talks about how the aging of America is putting pressure on the labor pool, her concerns over repeal of the Affordable Care Act and PHI’s just-released policy recommendations for the Trump administration. Jodi also talks about caregiving in her own family, the Institute’s “60caregiverissues” initiative and why it’s important to find solutions to America’s growing caregiver crisis. PHI website: https://phinational.org Find out what the direct care workforce looks like in your state: http://bit.ly/2o9bJN1 PHI 2017 recommendations: http://bit.ly/2o8uccG 60caregiverissues initiative: http://bit.ly/2kHpdiQ Referenced NextAvenue article by Jodi: http://bit.ly/2kNvRWZ Music: “Discovery” by Jon Luc Hefferman | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

Life was humming along for artist Rolando Chang Barrero, until one day he went to sleep and didn’t wake up for three weeks. A middle-age, openly gay man, Rolando always thought he would die of AIDS. Instead he was diagnosed with brain cancer. That was fourteen years ago. In today’s show, Rolando shares the physical and emotional stages of his disease and he explains how his life has changed as a cancer survivor. He talks about the path his art has taken, how the roles in his Cuban family are shifting as his parents age and his advocacy work with transgendered youth and people battling addiction. Rolando also offers his perspective on the benefits of being single, and he tells us how he’s preparing for older age.

Learn more about Rolando’s work and gallery: http://bit.ly/2mws7WJ

Upcoming show in West Palm Beach: http://bit.ly/2mNsDSd; http://www.haroldscoffee.com

Music: “Coco” | Radio Jarocho and Zenen Zeferino Huervo | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive

Author Julie Saeger Nierenberg believes that although death is an inevitable part of life, how we choose to be with the dying and the bereaved is up to us. In today’s show we talk about her book, “Daddy, This Is It: Being-With My Dying Dad,” about how Julie chose to move through the end of life issues presented by her father’s metastatic cancer. Shuttling between her home in Toronto and her dad’s bedside in Oklahoma, Julie learned to think differently about hospice care, how to say goodbye in a healthy way and why the last chapter of life is as important as each chapter along the way. Why are conversations about death so hard, despite the popularity of movements like Death Cafe? All this and more in today’s episode. Julie’s book: http://amzn.to/2mpE9V1 Explore her website: www.createwriteenterprises.com What is metastatic cancer? http://bit.ly/2nasE2p Music: “Always Late” by Ketsa | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive

New Yorker Jennifer Levin talks about how becoming a caregiver for her father at age 32 changed her and why she wrote about her experience in Cosmopolitan digital. She reflects on why her social media posts remained cheery even as she struggled offline with caring for her father, who had the degenerative brain disease Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), and the stark difference between being a Millennial or Gen-X caregiver versus caregiving as a baby boomer. Jennifer also explains why she was reluctant to join a support group and why being a bossy New Yorker is helpful advocating on behalf of caregivers.

Jennifer’s article for Cosmopolitan digital: http://bit.ly/2kpgfoG

The challenges of his political career were nothing compared to the steep learning curve faced by former Wisconsin Governor Martin J. Schreiber when his wife Elaine was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and he plunged into the role of spousal caregiver. In today’s show, Schreiber opens up about his climb up the rocky Alzheimer’s mountain and he discusses his new book, “My Two Elaines: Learning, Coping, And Surviving As An Alzheimer’s Caregiver.” From what he learned in counseling to the value of therapeutic fibbing and why ignorance of Alzheimer’s is worse than the disease itself, Schreiber offers sage advice for his fellow caregivers and a rallying cry for policymakers to address the looming crisis of dementia care. “My Two Elaines” website: http://mytwoelaines.com “Living With Alzheimer’s” article by Martin Schreiber, Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel: http://bit.ly/2l1mFKI Alzheimer’s 24/7 Hotline – 800-272-3900 Music: “Roll On” by Ketsa | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive

As a little girl Peggy Grande was obsessed with presidents, but she never imagined she would end up working for one. In today’s show Peggy talks about her ten-year tenure in the Office of Ronald Reagan after he left the White House, when she was the president’s personal assistant, and about her new memoir, “The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons From Ronald Reagan’s Final Years.” She tells us how working for an iconic senior citizen shaped her views about getting older, and she speaks candidly about juggling motherhood with staying three steps ahead of the president while also caring for her own father, who had colon cancer. Peggy also talks about Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease: the early signs, how she and the staff reacted to his diagnosis, why the Reagans went public with it and how Mrs. Reagan adjusted to her role as the president’s caregiver in the pre-Internet era, when Alzheimer’s was barely discussed. Peggy’s book: http://amzn.to/2lWCFhX Music: “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copeland | US Marine Band

For the past fifteen years Kim Schofield has been living with Lupus, a disease her employer didn’t accept because Lupus is an invisible disability. In today’s show, Kim talks about how her life changed after her diagnosis, from getting fired for having a chronic disease to meeting with her Senator and becoming a social justice activist with the organization 9to5: Winning Justice For Working Women. Kim also talks about the current status of Georgia’s Family Care Act, which she and 9to5 are working to get passed, the legacy she wants to leave for her daughter and why she’s mobilizing to be part of the solution not the problem. Blog post by Kim mentioned in the program: http://bit.ly/2kPdKzY About 9to5: http://9to5.org/home/ Georgia’s Family Care Act Fact Sheet: http://bit.ly/2jZjgLZ Wake Forest Study on Benefits of Workplace Flexibility: http://bit.ly/2kjncIu Federal Family and Medical Leave Act: http://bit.ly/2en7FnI More about Lupus: http://bit.ly/13NZ73q Music: “Halves and Quarters” by Dlay | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive

For nearly two decades, pediatrician Dr. Nicole Rochester has had an insider’s view of the way hospitals work. In today’s show she shares her knowledge, explaining how the doctor-patient relationship has changed over the years, how the fast-paced nature of hospitals affects care and what she’s learned from advocating on behalf of her own family members in hospital settings. Dr. Rochester also talks about the loss of her parents, her concerns over repeal of the ACA and why she started her website aimed at helping families navigate the healthcare system. Tune in for this lively chat with tips and tools from a caring physician. Connect with Dr. Rochester: www.yourgpsdoc.com www.facebook.com/yourgpsdoc www.twitter.com/yourgpsdoc Music: “Spins and Never Falls” | Blue Dot Sessions | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

AARP local offices have their work cut out for them in the state of Florida, where the percentage of residents age 65 or older is higher than anywhere else in America. And as retiring baby boomers flock to the Sunshine State, that percentage is expected to grow and give rise to challenges facing all older adults in our rapidly aging nation. In today’s show Jeff Johnson, State Director of AARP Florida, talks about AARP policy priorities in the state and the fate of long-term care and Medicaid if Tom Price (R-GA) is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Jeff also talks about aging in America vs. other cultures, what you don’t know about AARP and his side project: the Love Not Fear Movement.

AARP Florida

AARP FL on Facebook: FB

AARP Livability Index

Make your voice heard! Find your state Representative

More about the Love Not Fear Movement

Music: “Barbara” by U.S. Army Blues | Public Domain | Free Music Archive

As the daughter of career UN diplomats, journalist Jay Newton-Small grew up all over the world. But her world was upended when, on top of grieving her mother’s sudden death, she had to adjust to a new role as primary caregiver for her Alzheimer’s-stricken father. In today’s show, Jay talks about adjusting to that new role, the agony of moving her father into an assisted living facility and why she formed her startup, which is transforming care with the help of writers like her. Jay also shares why she chose to follow her bestselling book “Broad Influence” with a project that’s been percolating for years: a “joint memoir” about her father’s life in his prime and her experience of caring for him in the years before he died. On the eve of the Trump inauguration, we also discuss the cost of long-term care and what it will take for Congress to come up with a plan for addressing this crisis that is bankrupting families.

Link to Jay’s book, Broad Influence: http://amzn.to/2jBjVqu