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What happens when MacGyver meets Wonder Woman in the world of human services? In this episode, Dr. Mike Strouse and Ivo Ivanov sit down with Veronica St. Cyr, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Navigating Life. Together, they explore how private social platforms can foster connection, build trust, and transform care for individuals, families, and communities. From GoodLife’s award-winning Neighborhood Network to the bold vision of creating new “blue zones,” this conversation is all about redefining what’s possible with creativity, technology, and heart. 

Episode Links:

• Who is MacGyver?
• Watch our Video Episode: Noel's Quest for Independence
• Explore the Navigating Life app
• Explore GoodLife's Expanded Neighborhood Network for Aging Adults
• Explore the active "Blue Zones" and learn about the history of the concept.

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What happens when you combine the wisdom of the world’s healthiest communities with a vision to reinvent how we age? 

In this episode, Dr. Mike Strouse and co-host Ivo Ivanov take listeners from stories of synchronicity and small-town magic to a bold plan for creating America’s first “Blue Zone” without walls. Learn how logistics, technology, and purpose-driven living could help people age in place, stay connected, and live longer, healthier, more meaningful lives.

Episode Links: 

• The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle

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Watch this Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jG4M1him8Hk?si=4qKdXTWneqaS5y3o

Watch this Episode on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/goodlifeu/quest13?share=copy

About this Episode:

In this special video episode of The Quest for the GoodLife Podcast, Dr. Mike Strouse travels to Arkansas to meet Noel—an insightful, passionate young man with cerebral palsy—and Whitney Garrison, Director of Regional Services for GoodLife.

What unfolds is a deeply personal, eye-opening conversation that lays bare the realities of support systems for people with disabilities. Noel shares his experiences navigating Arkansas’s fragmented care landscape, his struggle to remain independent, and the emotional toll of unreliable staffing, limited transportation, and bureaucratic complexity.

With humor, grace, and wisdom beyond his years, Noel reminds us what it truly means to live a “good life”—not just with support, but with friendship, dignity, and the freedom to contribute meaningfully to one's community.

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In this episode of The Quest for the GoodLife, Dr. Mike Strouse and co-host Ivo Ivanov welcome Todd Lewis, VP at IMA and a passionate advocate for those who care for others. Together, they unpack the complex world of ICHRAs—Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements—and why these innovative benefits are gaining traction across the caregiving industry.

With over 400% growth in recent years, ICHRAs empower employers to offer flexible, individualized, and portable healthcare options for employees—especially critical for the hourly caregiving workforce. Todd and Mike discuss how these plans can break the one-size-fits-all model, ease the financial burden on staff, and stabilize a workforce under strain.

If you’re a CEO, HR leader, or policymaker navigating rising insurance costs and caregiver retention challenges, this episode offers a fresh perspective—and a path forward.

👉 Learn how to customize benefits, contain costs, and truly “take care of the people who take care of people.”

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Is your workforce strategy stuck in the past? In this episode, Dr. Mike Strouse and co-host Ivo Ivanov dig into the hidden traps of traditional scheduling in the care industry. Through powerful analogies and data-driven insights, they explore how rigid five-day workweeks, fragmented part-time roles, and outdated scheduling models are driving workforce instability—and what you can do to fix it.

Listeners will learn:

• Why your “stayers” might be hurting your hiring pipeline
• The measurable impact of schedule design on recruitment and retention
• How to transform scheduling from a liability into an incentive
• Why a 3-day workweek might be your secret weapon for workforce sustainability

Whether you're a leader in healthcare, disability services, or just curious about human-centered operations, this episode offers fresh perspectives and practical frameworks to help you pivot with purpose.

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In this episode, Dr. Mike Strouse and Ivo Ivanov sit down with Lewis Walton—attorney, tech innovator, longtime board member, and one of the most respected professional family teachers in GoodLife’s history. Together, they revisit the pivotal years between 1999 and 2002, when the seeds of remote support, professional family living, and the three-day work week were planted—years before the rest of the field caught on.

Lewis shares his unique path from philosophy student to tech leader to extended family caregiver. You’ll hear behind-the-scenes stories of GoodLife’s first analog-to-digital transition, the birth of the extended family model, and the invisible infrastructure that has supported some of the nation’s most innovative care models. The trio also dives into professional wrestling, podcasting, neighborhood networks, and why some lives—and careers—just don’t punch in and out.

🎧 Tune in to explore what happens when care becomes a lifestyle, not a shift—and how technology, relationships, and purpose are transforming what’s possible.

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This week on The Quest for the GoodLife podcast, Mike & Ivo honor the legacy of Diane Bannermen Juracek, the first employee of GoodLife, and explore how her pioneering spirit still fuels innovation today. Dr. Mike Strouse, Ivo Ivanov, and newly-appointed Executive Director Megan McKinney Todd reflect on the roots and future of GoodLife U—a bold, evidence-based initiative tackling workforce stability and technology-driven service models.

You’ll discover how the “coaching tree” of behavioral science mentors continues to inspire transformative leadership, how teaching family models evolved from KU to Boys Town and beyond, and why implementation science and mentorship remain at the heart of building lasting systems change.

This is more than a podcast—it’s a call to pioneers in healthcare, disability services, and human services to forge forward and “wrestle dragons” together.

Episode Links: 

• Diane Bannerman Juracek Obituary
• All About Gregg Popovitch
• Who is Phog Allen?
• Boys Town
• Make a Meaningful Difference

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In this episode of The Quest for the GoodLife, Dr. Mike Strouse is joined by Beth McCoach and David MacDonald—GoodLife’s leaders in operations and tech innovation—for a compelling conversation on how smart technology is reshaping the way we support independence, safety, and connection.

Together, they explore:

• How iLink is evolving into a national platform for care that’s simple, responsive, and privacy-forward
• The role of neighborhood networks in creating belonging and interdependence
• Why technology must be both powerful and invisible to truly serve people well

Plus, hear insights from a thriving off-the-grid community, the philosophy behind “one button, one finger” design, and why duct tape might still be the ultimate survival tool.

🎧 Please note: This episode includes a few sections with reduced audio quality due to technical difficulties. We have the transcript available if you need it! Thanks for your patience—and your curiosity.

Link from Episode:

EastWind Community

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In this heartfelt and visionary episode of The Quest for the GoodLife, Dr. Mike Strouse and co-host Ivo Ivanov explore the power of real communities—what makes them work, why they matter, and how GoodLife's Neighborhood Network is redefining intentional, inclusive living. From memories of small-town Missouri to the story of a remote Alaskan building that houses an entire town, Mike and Ivo reflect on the deep human need for connection and interdependence. Learn how professional neighbors, purposeful design, and organic supports can build what Dr. Strouse calls “Powder Blue Zones”—places where everyone belongs and everyone contributes.

Links: 

Whittier, AK & City of Whittier

Smith Center, KS

Roger Barta

Norman Rockwell Museum

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In our typical candid manner, Dr. Mike Strouse, Ivo Ivanov, and Lauren Vohland dive into the systems behind success in care services. From zeroing in on medication error rates to designing personalized health dashboards and embracing tech-driven remote care, this conversation reveals how performance metrics and system design fuel real outcomes. Discover why good systems—not JUST good people—are essential in an industry plagued by turnover, and how culture, accountability, and unconventional thinking create measurable impact. 

What you’ll hear about:

• Why individualized care still needs standardized systems
• Why agencies fear change—and how to move forward anyway
• What Yellowstone, Uber, and behavioral analytics all have in common

Whether you're leading a care organization, managing a team, or just love learning how great systems empower great people, this episode is your roadmap to rethinking performance in the care services sector.

Links & References:

• The Showrunner
• The Four Sixes
• Landman
• 1923