Wisdom Wednesday: Aging Wisdom's Podcast

Uncertainty is scary. When we encounter uncertainty and change, the sympathetic nervous system is often engaged. This is what triggers “flight or fight.” 

The topic of moving may prompt your parent to bristle at the suggestion. They resist the idea for a myriad of reasons: Home is familiar.  They’re overwhelmed by all their stuff. Change is hard. The uncertainty is scary.

Sometimes the resistance stems from an outdated perception of a retirement community. They envision the old hospital-model nursing home. “You won’t ship me off to a home,” is a common response. 

Don't let an outdated view of senior housing keep the person in your care from exploring what could be a life changing and life enriching move.

Pack your patience, as this usually takes time and persistence, but it's always worthwhile in the long run.

A move to a retirement community, once it happens, often feels like the enormous burden of home maintenance, navigation of stairs, lawn care, grocery shopping and meal preparation has been lifted! We have seen this scenario time and again in our work.

And there's the added benefit of a safe community, with lots of opportunities for social, intellectual, and creative engagement.

But how do you get there? How do you move forward? Click here to Schedule A Call with one of our Certified Care Managers. This “Get Acquainted” call is an opportunity to learn more about your situation and determine whether our services fit your needs.

Additional Resources

• You may also enjoy these online courses offered through Aging Wisdom University to help you navigate the best solutions for your family's situation. 
• A Move to a Retirement Community Could Mean More Independence for Your Parent 

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Are your parents resisting the idea of a move to a retirement community? One reason may be they're overwhelmed by the thought of a move given the amount of stuff   they've accumulated through the years. 

It can also be anxiety-provoking to contemplate how you will help your parents organize their belongings and move from a single-family home or condo to an apartment or room at a retirement community. The challenge might even cause you to ignore or delay the issue all together. 

Planning ahead with a few simple steps can help you help your older loved ones make peace with their “stuff.” 

Check out these Aging Wisdom blogs for tips on understanding resistance to a move, managing belongings, and making a move less overwhelming: 

• Should It Stay or Should It Go? Making Peace with Our ‘Stuff’ 
• Uncertainty is Scary: Uncertainty Might Be Why Your Parent is Resisting a Move
• Getting rid of your stuff

Looking for guidance as you navigate resistance and managing "right-sizing"?  We are the experts! Click here to schedule a Get-Acquainted call today to get started.

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Our homes are more than shelter, especially as we age. They often hold our hearts, our memories. We are creatures of comfort, we love familiarity.

But what happens when our parents are older and no longer safe in their own homes? Why do some fight so fiercely to remain?

Lisa Mayfield, founder and principal at Aging Wisdom, reflects on "Home is familiar" as one of many reasons an older adult may be resistant to consider the idea of a move or refusing support.

It’s important to understand things from the perspective of the older adult in our care. Here’s one bite-sized insight.

Looking for guidance on how best to move forward? Our Care Managers are experts in helping navigate important conversations with older loved ones. 

Click here to schedule a FREE get-acquainted call today.

Additional Resources:

• Resistance to Care is a Common Challenge: What’s the Best Path Forward?
• My Mom Refuses to Accept Help! Lack of Insight May Be the Reason
• Uncertainty is Scary. Uncertainty Might Be Why Your Parent is Resisting A Move.
• Aging Wisdom University course: Should I Move Mom?

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Feeling truly seen and heard helps to build trust and relationship, and contributes to aging well, caring well, and living well.

Our Care Managers and Creative Engagement Specialists are incredibly adept at the powers of observation,  asking questions, actively listening, making connections, learning about the person in front of them, and being in the moment.  Each conversation provides opportunity to know a client more personally, find ways to add to their quality of life, and enhance well-being.

In this last segment of conversation between Tami Sandygren, Care Manager Associate, and Keri Pollock, our Director of Marketing and Communications, Tami reflects on her lifelong joy of discovery, listening to the life stories, and the lessons of older adults in her life.  She also reflects on how this benefits her abilities to better support clients.

Need guidance navigating care and the best options for a parent or partner? For 20 years, we've helped hundreds of families just like yours. Click here to schedule a get-acquainted call with one of our Certified Care Managers.

Resources and Additional Reading

• Thriving through life transitions 
• What is the Secret to Aging Well? 
• Father's Day and the Power of Story
• Aging Wisdom Services Brochure

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Our work as Care Managers may be focused on the well-being and quality of life of one person, our client, but it requires understanding and looking at the whole picture.

What is the whole picture? It includes everything in the client's life: health (and disability), family systems and dynamics, goals, preferences, personal history, finances, values, legal, housing, services & supports, and what brings joy and meaning.

Knowing the whole person, the whole picture, helps us to better guide families as they navigate options for aging well, caring well, and living well.

Additional Reading 

• What is Aging LIfe Care? 
• Get in the Lifeboat: Don't Float Alone! Key Supports You'll Want in Your Boat 
• Alzheimer's and the Family Caregiver 
• Medical Emergencies: Are you prepared?

Could you benefit from the guidance of a Care Manager who looks at the whole picture?  Click here to schedule a get-acquainted call and to determine together whether our services are a good fit for your needs.

This is an excerpt of a longer conversation between Laura Vaillancourt on her Life on Repeat podcast and Lisa Mayfield, Aging Wisdom's founder and principal. 

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Founded in 2003, Aging Wisdom was launched by Lisa Mayfield  as a sole practitioner of care management. This year we are celebrating 20 years as an Aging Life Care practice and a staff of sixteen!

And it's May, which is National Aging Life Care Month, a time for us to celebrate our profession.

Our Care Managers have all taken different career paths before finding Aging Life Care as a profession, including Lisa.

In this episode, Lisa reflects on her background and experience in community and mental health and how it lead to learning about and eventually practicing  Aging Life Care.

Aging Life Care as a profession became Lisa's focus when she saw how it had the opportunity to address the difficult and challenging issues that families often face when helping an older adult.

It was this help with the foundational challenges, such as addressing falls, cognitive changes, driving when it was no longer safe, for example, that was more effective at supporting older adults than counseling alone. Counseling, Lisa observes, still has a role once the older adults is safe and these issues have been addressed.

Families are often flummoxed by the myriad of changes and challenges, as well as  navigating the complexities of healthcare systems. Our role is that of advisor, guide, facilitator, advocate, or coach, depending on the client's needs and that of their family and supports.

Not sure what your next steps should be? We’ve helped hundreds of families navigate these changes and prepare for the future. Click here to schedule a get-acquainted call with one of our Certified Care Managers.

Additional Reading:

• Get in the Lifeboat: But Don’t Float Alone! Key Supports You’ll Want in Your Boat
• Lack of Insight or Awareness: When the person in your care doesn’t see the changes you see
• Seven Signs an Older Loved One Needs Help

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We have a lot to celebrate this month. In addition to May being National Aging Life Care Month and Older Adults Month, our colleague Wendy Nathan celebrates ten years with Aging Wisdom!

If you know our team, you know our paths to Aging Life Care are varied, but we share a mutual mission: To inspire hope through creative solutions so our clients live well, care well, and age well.

As Wendy shares in this episode of Wisdom Wednesday, she has had a rich career, starting as a hospital respiratory therapist and in research. She then went back to school to become a massage therapist and worked predominantly with older adults.

Her work with older adults prompted a fascination with how different people age, their attitudes toward aging,  and how massage and the power of touch allowed her clients to live more full lives.

This eventually led to pursing a Certificate in Gerontology through the University of Washington Professional & Continuing Education program and working at Aging Wisdom, first as a companion (what is now known as our Creative Engagement  program) and eventually as a Certified Care Manager.

Want to learn more about Aging Life Care and how it can be of benefit to you? CLICK HERE to schedule a FREE get-acquainted call to determine together whether our services are a good fit for your needs.

Additional Reading:

• 8 Tips for Aging Well: Make Your Plan Now for a Healthy, Supported Future
• What is Aging Life Care?
• Aging Wisdom Senior Care Services

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It’s National Aging Life Care Month, an opportunity to celebrate our profession.

What is an Aging Life Care?  What is an Aging Life Care Manager?

Aging Life Care is a holistic, client-centered approach to caring for older adults, dependent adults, and others facing ongoing health challenges.

Aging Life Care Managers®, sometimes called geriatric care managers, are strategic planners with key knowledge and expertise in health and disability, housing, family, crisis intervention, advocacy, legal, financial, and local resources. We work with individuals and their families to help navigate the complexities and issues that arise with a change in health.

We provide an unbiased, yet informed perspective.

As our professional colleague in Florida, Amy O’Rourke says: we have a Crystal Ball into the future.  Although each of us is an individual, with a unique history, there are some aspects of aging that can be anticipated as a result of certain conditions or circumstances. We understand the trajectory of a myriad of scenarios if left unaddressed. Our knowledge, experience, and expertise are the crystal ball.

We help families in the midst of “overwhelm” to navigate options for aging well, caring well, and living well.

• What is Aging Life Care? (a downloadable fact sheet)
• What is an Aging Life Care Manager? (an Aging Wisdom blog article)
• Alzheimer’s and the Family Caregiver (an Aging Wisdom blog article)
• Medical emergencies: Are you prepared? (an Aging Wisdom blog article)
• Aging Life Care Association

Could you benefit from the wisdom and experience of a Care Manager? CLICK HERE to schedule a get-acquainted call with Aging Wisdom to determine together whether our services are a good fit for your needs.

This is an excerpt of a longer conversation between Laura Vaillancourt on her Life on Repeat podcast and Lisa Mayfield, Aging Wisdom’s founder and principal. 

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"Transformation happens when someone feels safe and seen and heard. And when people are recognized as who they are rather than what they're living with or a diagnosis they've been given," reflects Tami Sandygren, Care Manager Associate.

Tami's insights in this week's Wisdom Wednesday podcast provide a thoughtful exploration of personhood, purpose, and ways to honor choice.

In his book Dementia Reconsidered: The Person Comes First (1997), Tom Kitwood first defined personhood in dementia as "a standing or status that is bestowed upon one human being by others in the context of particular social relationships and institutional arrangements. It implies recognition, respect, and trust."

Personhood in dementia is concerned with treating people living with dementia with dignity and respect, in a manner that supports their sense of self. It focuses on treating the person living with dementia as a person first and foremost. Supporting personhood in dementia is the key goal of person-centered care.

Adapting to a family member's memory changes gives you and your family a lot to think about.  Our Certified Care Managers are experts at helping families make sense of and navigate the changes that come with Alzheimer's and other dementias. CLICK HERE to schedule a call today to plan your best path forward.

Additional Resources

• Community and Dementia
• Creativity, Connection, and Dementia
• A Move Could Mean More Independence 
• Aging Wisdom University, your guide to aging well, caring well, and living well

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Every client has a rich personal history. As an Aging Life Care practice, our Care Managers understand the value of learning about each client as an individual. It aids us as we help clients and their families navigate the best options for aging, caring, and living well. 

Whenever there’s an opportunity to return to what brings a client joy, we’ll go there in some capacity. Quality of life and well-being are at the heart of our work.  

Listen as our colleagues Tami Sandygren and Keri Pollock explore what that looks like. 

Want a more personalized and tailored approach to long-term care? Click here to schedule a get-acquainted call with one of our Certified Care Managers to explore what that might look like. 

Additional Reading

• 10 Step to Set Yourself Up for Success in Your Retirement
• The Power of Planning: Taking Charge of Your Own Aging Journey
• Creativity, Connection, and Dementia
•  Communication and Dementia

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