Answers For Elders Radio Network

Why do your values matter when it comes to senior care? Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show talk about finding your senior loved one's values and then how to go about asking whether a senior care provider can meet those values.Suzanne asks, "What is what are Pinnacle's highest values?"Daphne says, "The number one value that Pinnacle' holds is, when we are working with a client and a family, that client does not have to move again. And how do we make that happen? How do we make sure that we can support that number one value? And it comes through us gathering information about our client and discovering their highest values. And from that, it behooves me to know communities of care well enough to know can they support the family's values."So let's give an example. It just happened recently that I was asking a lot of 'nosy questions' and I hadn't even met this woman yet. The daughter is in Kingston, Washington and mom is two and a half hours away. And so we're having this conversation. And I'm getting to know the history of this woman and I'm getting to know a little bit about her personality. And my next step is to meet her face-to-face and to be able to get a sense of who she is, what things really matter to her. Does she want to have someone that's constantly over her and guiding her every day? Does she want some autonomy? Does she want to have the independence to be able to make her own decisions? Does she want to hear a loudspeaker come on and tell her it's 2:00 and there's bingo in the lobby. Does she want to have somebody that just sees her across the room and she's trying to stand up out of a chair and just needs a little elbow help, but not have to push a button to wait for somebody to help her. Who is this person that I can help find her next place to live to her last breath."That takes a lot of work to find out everything about location, about finances, about who's the family support, where her doctors at, what are her interests. Do I know something about her interests that's happening in another community? And so that's how I go through upholding my highest value."Now, you as a family, you're going to them identify some highest values. And some of them that I hear are something like: I want the place to be clean, and it needs to smell good, and good Food would be important... Those are kind of standard... But your family member is leaving their home. Your family member is not going to know how many steps it is between the back of the couch and getting to the door of the bathroom if they're furniture walkers. How much is trust important to your family member in order to function? Or are they trusting in themselves? Where are they at in the spectrum? What is their personality like? And so these are some of the values that you have to think about..."How do you even ask questions? If you're going out and you're looking at — let's start with assisted living — questions such as: how many people are on the floor from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.? And how quickly does that person that's touring you around that community know the answer? Who's there between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., and how will my parent get help if they need it?"Learn more:Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for EldersAbout Daphne DavisHear more podcasts with Daphne...

Finding our a senior care organization's highest values is key to assessing whether they're a good fit for a senior loved one needing care. Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about how to find out what those values are.Daphne says, "As families, you need to first identify the values, and I'll help you with that. As a senior advisor, I will help you identify what that looks like. And it would be my job then to find the communities that that mirror your values."If you're working by yourself, it's your job, then, to think of the questions... If my value is that my mom doesn't have a fall again, or we want to mitigate falls, that's a value. My mom's falling in our own home. What kind of questions do you ask of a community? And they can't be, yes/no, they need to be open-ended questions, to really get to the heart of how does this play out in a community of care. It doesn't matter if it's a small one or a big community of care, but how do I ask the questions of finding out the truth? Because everybody can give you the canned answer, but there's the art form of finding out what's behind the canned answer, And that's where the trained professional can help you. So I will advocate for that as a placement advisor. And there is a place for us — more than ever — for the consumer to not do this by themselves."Suzanne adds, "Way back when when I worked for Tony Robbins, he did a program called Date with Destiny. And one of the things is, is we prioritized our highest values. What does that mean, what does that value mean? My number one value was contribution. I felt like I needed to be giving something. Well, guess what? That's probably why I'm not a millionaire as I did my job. But the thing that's interesting is that when we look at, you know, how do we identify our highest values, we have to understand what is that value mean to you and how do you how does that play out in a community?"Learn more:Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for EldersAbout Daphne DavisHear more podcasts with Daphne Davis

Chateau Retirement cares about residents and employees equally. They were committed to making investments to demonstrate this value. How did the relationship begin, and why Reverb? Where was Chateau as an organization and what led them to pursue external support? Emily Senff, Reverb’s Practice Director for People Development, and Leadership Coach Anu Aurora join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio show.Emily says, "All of our coaches and consultants are very seasoned leaders who have organizational expertise, who have led businesses, teams. And so they really understand the complexity of it, what it means to build and develop healthy teams who can communicate and collaborate and support each other. So we're very lucky to have such a talented team."Suzanne adds, "And we as a community in the Chateau world, and as far as seniors go, we're very lucky to have somebody like you helping us develop the staff that care for our most vulnerable."Emily Senff is Reverb’s Practice Director for People Development. She is responsible for the strategic leadership of Reverb’s leadership development and coaching services. Her superpower is building relationships with clients to understand their pain points and needs, and matching them to Reverb’s exceptional team of consultants, facilitators, and coaches. Before Reverb, Emily was a seasoned leadership development and talent management leader and also worked in nonprofit.Anu Aurora has over 25 years of experience developing leaders at all levels as an industry leader and leadership coach. Anu coaches leaders to identify core issues, make the complex simple, move them past their blocks, and create transformational results. Anu brings with her international experiences from 3 continents; industry skills from aerospace, high-tech, defense sector, and corporate engineering management background as a Director in a Fortune 50 company.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit Chateau on the web or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.Learn more about Reverb Consulting at Reverb People.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Chateau's commitment to its people helps the families they work with. At Chateau Retirement, leadership development and coaching services make it all better. Tamra Godfrey, CEO of Chateau Retirement, and Emily Senff, Reverb’s Practice Director for People Development, join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio show.Emily says, "Tamra and the leadership team and everyone at Chateau is thoughtfully thinking about support at every level of the organization. Sometimes with organizations, that type of personalized, tailored support is often at a senior leadership level. That's different here at Chateau. They want to make sure that the support and the commitment is felt at every level of the organization. It matters to families and residents because they feel like employees are really well treated. They're taken care of. And when you feel really well-taken-care-of and happy, and feel like you're getting support, you exude and represent that in the work that you do."Emily Senff is responsible for the strategic leadership of Reverb’s leadership development and coaching services. Her superpower is building relationships with clients to understand their pain points and needs, and matching them to Reverb’s exceptional team of consultants, facilitators, and coaches. Before Reverb, Emily was a seasoned leadership development and talent management leader and also worked in nonprofit.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit Chateau on the web or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.Learn more about Reverb Consulting at Reverb People.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

This week, Answers for Elders is talking about people development at Chateau Retirement Communities. This is important to anyone that is seeking a senior living community, or any kind of provider that instills trust. You have to trust them. How many organizations actually talk about how they develop their people? And it should be important to everyone that is seeking senior care. These are important questions to ask, about the people development of an organization. Tamra Godfrey, CEO of Chateau Retirement, and Anu Aurora with Reverb People join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio show.Reverb helps Chateau to grow their leaders so they can be more strategic in their work and outlook. In a time when residents (and employees) have more needs, Reverb supports Chateau leaders to focus critical thinking, curiosity, empathy, and social skills. Ultimately organizations have to not only nurture and develop these skills, but also figure out how to look for these skills in hiring. A growth mindset is so important for organizations to thrive. Chateau continues to show investment in this work, their people and residents.Anu says, "A lot of my coaching is strengths-based and value-based. Part of the initial work I do with the clients is understanding what their personal values are, and what are their superpowers, super strengths. And I always feel that if individuals can align their work along those two, that everything else falls into place. "They come because they believe in this work. They come because they have very high compassion, their sense of belonging and commitment. And those are their values. For most of them. I share those values, and their superpowers might be different, very mixed. That's why we are better together, because one person brings one superpower, the other one brings another power, and they start to see that, yeah, I am bigger with this person because this is what I bring and this is what the other person brings. And to recognize that we complement each other."Anu Aurora has over 25 years of experience developing leaders at all levels as an industry leader and leadership coach. Anu coaches leaders to identify core issues, make the complex simple, move them past their blocks, and create transformational results. Anu brings with her international experiences from three continents; industry skills from aerospace, high-tech, defense sector, and corporate engineering management background as a Director in a Fortune 50 company.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit Chateau on the web or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.Learn more about Reverb Consulting at Reverb People.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

What makes the lives of senior living residents flourish? At Chateau Retirement, leadership development and coaching services make it better. Tamra Godfrey, CEO of Chateau Retirement, and Emily Senff, Reverb’s Practice Director for People Development, join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio show.In the USA today, families are more overwhelmed and confused than ever when trying to find the right resource for their senior loved ones. Since COVID, so many organizations have cut corners—reducing staff, compromising values, and lowering the quality of care.Chateau Retirement has remained steadfast for the past 25 years—holding true to its values and continuing its commitment to both their employees and the residents they serve. That commitment is not just something Suzanne has heard about or observed from afar, but rather personally experienced as a daughter when her mom lived at Chateau.Emily says, "I think values also is like less about what people say or what's up on the wall and how they actually, like, treat and interact with others. And so to be able to witness, you know, employees at Chateau and how they partner internally and Cross-functionally and then in turn see how they serve their residents, I mean, I think that speaks volumes. That's how you know."Emily Senff is Reverb’s Practice Director for People Development. She is responsible for the strategic leadership of Reverb’s leadership development and coaching services. Her superpower is building relationships with clients to understand their pain points and needs, and matching them to Reverb’s exceptional team of consultants, facilitators, and coaches. Before Reverb, Emily was a seasoned leadership development and talent management leader and also worked in nonprofit.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit Chateau on the web or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.Learn more about Reverb Consulting at Reverb People.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Residents are sharing what it's like to join a senior living community. Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast is joined by Judith, a resident at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. It follows conversations with resident Ann and her daughter Jen.Judith says, "I was born and bred in South Africa. My family had been there for a few quite a few generations. So I left there, and I was married and had two children, one son, one daughter, and eventually that broke up. After my daughter finished university in Johannesburg in South Africa, she moved across London to do a two-year sabbatical, which was the fun thing to do for graduate at that stage. And one Friday night at the pub there, she met this American guy who was there on vacation. So one thing led to another, and of course, he came back. He lived in Portland, Oregon, at the time. But they exchanged life stories via email and so on. And a few months later, she was planning to go and vacation to the U.S. anyway. So she included both in dinners, they and his mother when he met her. His mom would say to him, If you don't want to lose this girl, you'd better ask her to marry you. "And he did... so long story short, I visit her a few times from South Africa. Visited a few times here. And eventually she moved to Seattle. When her son was born, I came over to meet my new grandson. And that's when she said to me, Mom, what are you doing all on your own in South Africa? Why don't you come and live here in Seattle? I thought that was an excellent idea. Why not? That was 19 and a half years ago."If I had wanted to practice psychology here in the US, I would have had to go back to school, and I didn't feel like doing that. So I got a great job at the University of Washington in a specific department working with postgraduate students and guiding them, that sort of thing. And I was with UW for 15 years until I retired. And shortly after I retired, I had been living on my own in an apartment. And so after a while, my daughter said, Mom, maybe it's time for you to move into some sort of community, because she didn't think it was very safe for me to drive any longer."So she did find another place for me, where I moved in. And after I was there for one day, I said, 'You get me out of here. I can't stay here.' The complex was like buildings, with long rows of rooms in a particular corridor. And all the people in that particular section would sit and have dinner together. So every time you had a meal, it was with the same people. And the food, the food was brought in. You had no choice of food. If you didn't like what they served, you went hungry type of thing. So I said to her, 'I can't stay here. Find me another place.' So I was there for exactly two weeks, because she had done a lot of Internet searching."And she found this place, Chateau Pacific. She said, 'Mom, Let's go and have a look at Chateau Pacific. That can accommodate you.' And the minute we walked through that door at Chateau Pacific, I felt like, 'Oh, this is the place for me. Yes.' And everybody was so friendly, and they treated us to a meal and we saw that they had various choices. If you don't like what’s the special of the day, you have many alternatives to choose from."So we decided this is the place for me to stay. And I was here maybe three or four weeks, and somebody suggested that I would be the perfect person to be the president of our resident society. So I might as well... So I was voted in."Judith adds, "When I first moved in here, I had signed up for three meals a day. But breakfast here is at 8:00 in the morning. So I had to set my alarm for 7:30 in order to get up and get dressed. I'd go down and have breakfast at 8:00. And then after a few weeks, I decided, Good Lord, I am retired. I do not have to get up with an alarm clock every morning anymore. So I canceled the breakfast thing. I get up around about, I don't know, 10:00 or so. I make myself...

This week we continue to learn what senior living is like from residents. Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast is joined by Jen, daughter of resident Ann at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. Jennifer McKassan is agency owner at Apples to Zebras Insurance in Lynnwood, so she works within the industry where people are investigating long term care planning.Jen says, "People drive too long, or they keep their houses for too long, and they keep that responsibility for them for too long. And for whatever reason they do it, it ends up putting everybody involved into a place of of crisis. When it does come to the point where everybody involved realizes, oh, dear, it's time. And it was probably time about a year ago. I've seen families where they were dealing with degenerative illness, and they just didn't want to accept that that was the the next phase of life. When you own the timeline, you can control the timeline. And what I've seen was people who didn't do that ended up with a more expensive experience, a more traumatic experience, and a more damaged relationship with their families. I didn't want that with my mom. I wanted to be my mom's daughter all the way to the end of her life."Jen described her mom's journey after retirement. She had been staying temporarily with Jen and her husband. "Mom had stopped driving, and she didn't know how to use paratransit yet. And my husband and I are both active professionals. We didn't have that flexibility in our days to really give mom the life that she wanted as a retired person. That active life, the 'hey, I want to go to a museum on a Wednesday' and I'm like, 'boy, would that be fun. I have to work. I have five appointments today,' and having to say, 'No, mom, I can't do that.' It takes its toll. And it turns you from a daughter to kind of a gatekeeper to fun. And I don't want to be the gatekeeper on my mom's fun."But having those conversations is difficult. Suzanne pointed out, "We don't necessarily know how to have those conversations with dad or with mom, when the talking isn't matching what's happening. You're not fine, Dad, and you're not able to get up, you're a fall risk. You're going to have a bad fall. A lot of us as adult children don't know how to have the conversations or we're in a situation where we feel like it's not our place."Jen replied, "It is our place. If you're the one picking up the pieces, it is your place. And you have an absolute right to say something about that, and almost an obligation, in my opinion, because it it's a hard conversation to have. It's a courageous conversation to have. And when we come at it from a place of love and that's what I did with my mom, I came at it from a place of love. I'm like, 'I don't want to be picking a place out of thin air just because they had a bed open and whatever we could afford that had a bed open and, you know, maybe this place will work and maybe it won't. I want to own this timeline. I want you to get to know people there. I want you to make friends there. I want you to feel like you belong there.'"Jen adds, "There's a 70% chance that we will need assisted living or some form of assistive care in our later years. So if there's a 70% chance that something is going to happen, like it's going to rain, we're going to bring a raincoat, right? So when we when we talk about owning the timeline, we pick the place. We're going to get those services before we need them, move in when we're still independent, when we might not need what they have to offer in the greatest sense. But we pick the place we belong, so that we can make the friends. We can use our brain plasticity while we have it, to make friends and find new activities. Like Mom had never played video games like Wii Jeopardy before. I was like, Oh, this is fantastic. And Wii Bowling."Owning

This week we share experiences and learn what it's like to be a resident in senior living. Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast is joined by Ann, a resident at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. In our next segment, Ann's daughter Jen joins the program.Ann says, "Before my own personal investigation of senior living, my sister and I had been involved in finding a place for our parents, moving them from Southern California into the Vancouver, Washington area. We went to many, many places. One was obviously a converted motel, less than satisfactory. One was across the river in Portland, so if bridges ice up, we're stranded. We went into one place, and it was a high rise, and although they had communal areas on each floor, they were so little used that nobody had even turned on the lights."Of her personal journey, Ann says, "[I wanted] to find another senior living place to try out, because the first one had been just a respite for medical reasons. The second had been very educational, and I liked it there a lot. But it was a relatively small community, less than 100 residents. And so I wanted to try something a little bit larger. ... [But] I found that it was limiting. If you've got a bus that holds ten people, there's only ten people who can go shopping. It's only one slot a week to go shopping in, so you've got to sign up for everything on the first of the month. I told them going in that it would be a short-term stay. And when I moved out of there, my children, bless their hearts, moved me [to Chateau Pacific]. Picked it up, all the furniture, over there, and so here I am. And I've been in Chateau Pacific now for about three months."You can sleep in as late as you want. You can go down and have breakfast, or if you want to have lunch or whatever, that you can make. I think I'm actually just a little bit young for senior living. I'm 75, but we've got residents who are 100. We have one who is 66. But whatever you need, whoever, whenever you need it, those things are available. ... And the dining staff, the waitstaff, know everybody's names."Suzanne asks, "I'm hearing that you're connecting with other residents, and you feel included. How did that happen?"Ann answers, "Well, for one thing, I'm not shy about saying, 'Hi, my name's Ann, what's yours? Please don't be offended, but I won't remember it next time because I don't remember anything till I am completely embarrassed by having not remembered.' So I find out what people's names are, and I like to talk to them and find out what they did in their working life, what their strengths are, and what their interests are. And all you have to do is just ask a question. What do you like most, or do you have children? It doesn't take anything terribly intrusive or nosy. It's just a question to start the conversation."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit Chateau online or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

If you want to age in place, or if you have parents that want to age in place, what are the best questions you should ask an aging-in-place specialist? Aging in Place specialist Paul Kocharhook, the CEO of Pathway Design & Construction, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to share his advice for adult children that are helping their parents to plan to stay in their homes?Paul says, "The word planning, I think, is the most important piece. Because when I get a phone call from a homeowner, or a child — saying, 'My parent is in the hospital. They won't let them come home until the home is safe for them to to live in.' — those are the hardest things for a contractor, to have to turn around and jump on and be able to make the space safe. So the more that you can plan ahead, the easier that potential transition might be in the future. Once a fall happens, and their hip is broken, you have less options."Suzanne says, "Just because you see somebody that's got a certified aging in place designation on their card, doesn't necessarily mean they're the right person for you. Ask things like, how long have you been there? How many jobs have you done? What types of work? Who are your references? Do you have a portfolio of the types of things you've done? Those are all things that are absolutely valid, are they not?"Paul answers, "Oh, 100%, yeah. For me, we've been really lucky to be able to win some amazing awards for aging in place and universal design. It's awesome to be able to have that recognition as a contractor, but also it's a recognition for the homeowner, and all of our trade partners that work on these jobs for us, because really it's a team. It's not just me. It's all of these people who come together to create this space for these homeowners."How to find the right aging in place expert? Paul says, "I've asked this question a lot to my homeowners. When they contact us for aging in place, usually they have Googled 'aging in place.' Another term that gets used a lot is 'universal design.' And so I would start there. Also, I believe the NAHB [National Homebuilders Association] has a portal that you can go to, and look for aging in place.Visit PathwayDC.com or call 206-937-4809 for more information. If you're in the Seattle area, mention Answers for Elders to get a free consultation. Paul will come out, check out your home, make sure that it is safe, and talk about different potential projects, whether for now or in the future.National Homebuilders Association websiteAt Answers for Elders:Bathroom Safety GuideAging in Place ChecklistAging in Place podcastsMentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Air quality for everyone is huge, even more so as we get older. Aging in Place specialist Paul Kocharhook, the CEO of Pathway Design & Construction, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about air quality, this other aspect of making a home safer. He also explains what it means for an expert to be designated as an Aging in Place specialist.Paul says, "When I'm thinking about air quality, I'm thinking about what are we introducing into our home, and how do we minimize the impacts on us. Also, a lot of us are experiencing wildfires during the summer. All that smoke just bombards us. So how do we continue to live in our home in a safe space? So, reducing the impact of that smoke getting into the home, because a lot of our homes are leaky. So are there some ways for us to to manage that? If they are leaky, how do we manage them once it's inside of the home, or how we stop it at the exterior?"It's like a glass of water. As we continue to age, we've been exposed to more chemicals over the years and that that glass just continues to fill up, and eventually it overflows. So how do we keep it at the level that it's currently at, trying so that we're minimizing future impact? Yeah, that makes sense."About expertise in this area, Paul explains, "The Aging in Place specialist designation is given out through the NAHB, the National Homebuilders Association. This is a course that we've gone through. I think almost all of my employees have been through it now. But the idea is really introducing aging in place in three separate courses, and each course gets a little bit deeper into how we think about projects and deal with different medical issues that they might be experiencing.Visit PathwayDC.com or call 206-937-4809 for more information. If you're in the Seattle area, mention Answers for Elders to get a free consultation. Paul will come out, check out your home, make sure that it is safe, and talk about different potential projects, whether for now or in the future.National Homebuilders Association websiteAt Answers for Elders:Bathroom Safety GuideAging in Place ChecklistAging in Place podcastsMentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

People don't necessarily know what aging in place is, and what kind of simple changes can be most impactful to make our home safer for ourselves and for aging parents when they visit. Aging in Place specialist Paul Kocharhook, the CEO of Pathway Design & Construction, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to share adjustments we can make to our homes, from DiY projects to more complex upgrades. Paul also talks about sustainability.Regarding the simple changes, Paul says, "I would say adding handrails, like getting in and out of the house, adding a second handrail to the stairs. We have more control over one hand versus the other as we age, or we have some sort of medical condition, whether it's a stroke or something else. So what is your stronger side? As you're going down the stairs, maybe you have a handrail on the right-hand side, but going up maybe you don't don't have one. Well, let's add a handrail to the other side of the stairs. Just so you have the ability to go up and down safely on both sides. Sometimes that gets forgotten about, just having that safety measure in place."We talked a little bit about grab bars, bathroom spaces. Those are those are great in showers. Whether you're five years old or 105... Suzanne said, "There's a surfacing that you can put over your existing tile."Paul says, "It's a roll-on product. We clean your shower floor and then we roll the grip onto the floor. And it's super durable, and it helps immensely in bathroom spaces. We've even done it in walkways outside, we're a little concerned about slippery areas. We're even using it on stairs. If you've got wooden stairs in your home, just adding that because if you're walking in socks, those stairs can be just a little bit slippery."Suzanne adds, "And it doesn't affect the the look of your tile at all. I actually use that product it in my own shower, because it was a little slippery when we first moved in. I have a shower mat, but the mat is not big enough. So we did get that product, and it was super easy. That's a DIY thing you could easily do."Paul adds, "If you have an existing bathtub and slipping in that bathtub is a potential issue, this is a good alternative, to help buy you a little bit of time."Suzanne asks, "You can convert a bathtub, pull the tub out and create a walk-in shower. That is not that's not a structural change for the most part, is it?"Paul answers, "No, it's not structural at all. These units, we drop these in there. We make them, we can customize it. If you have a weird-sized bathtub, we can customize it to fit in the exact space that you have."Visit PathwayDC.com or call 206-937-4809 for more information. If you're in the Seattle area, mention Answers for Elders to get a free consultation. Paul will come out, check out your home, make sure that it is safe, and talk about different potential projects, whether for now or in the future.National Homebuilders Association websiteAt Answers for Elders:Bathroom Safety GuideAging in Place ChecklistAging in Place podcastsMentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau...

Baby Boomers are redefining retirement, and many, as long as they're able, want to keep living in their homes. Yet as they get older, one accident could change their future and shatter their dreams. So if you want to age in place, if you have parents that want to age in place, this program is for you. Paul Kocharhook, the CEO of Pathway Design &amp; Construction, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about keeping our home safe as we get older.Paul says, "Nobody wants to hear that they're aging. And so I try to turn that conversation, about making it safe. How can we make your home safe for you? Or making it safe for parents who are going to come and visit? Because we have a lot of parents that come from out of country, for some of our clients, and they'll stay for the summer. So how do we make that bathroom safe for them, to be able to manage while they're here?"He adds, "When I started remodeling homes... we were starting to do remodels on bathrooms, and kitchens, and additions to make spaces better for homeowners. But some of the pieces that were missing were that thinking about more long-term. So, thinking about a bathroom as an example, there was there was a lot that we could do on the on the front end to prepare the homeowner for the future, where we don't have to add things right now, but everything's prepared. "So we did a fire restoration for [an elderly couple]. Half of their home had and caught fire, and so we were building it back, and they wanted us to put the house back as it was. I said, 'There's things that I can do now, not included in the insurance estimate, like I can put backing in your shower. You're telling me right now you don't need grab bars. But I can put backing in your wall right now, so that when the time comes, we can add those grab bars whenever you want.' They were insistent that, no, they were able to manage in their home as it was before, and they're going to continue to manage in the future."Lo and behold, three months after we gave them their house back, they were calling us to add grab bars in the shower. [Now] it's not as easy of a task to do, when we're having to retrofit versus having all the backing in the walls that's hidden behind there, when we'd just be adding screws."About grab bars, Suzanne commented, "In 2023, we moved into a new house, and when we toured it and we walked in the bathroom, there's all these grab bars in the shower, and there's a walk in-tub. I looked at my husband and I said, 'Honey, this is for old people.' Here's me, you know, the expert. And he looked at me, and he kind of giggled and he said, 'Honey, we are old people.' I said, 'Well, I don't need all these grab bars in the shower.' Guess what? I use them all of the time. And I don't even realize that I'm hanging on to it when I'm turning around in the shower because of the slippery surface, and I'm glad they're there."Visit PathwayDC.com or call 206-937-4809 for more information. If you're in the Seattle area, mention Answers for Elders to get a free consultation. Paul will come out, check out your home, make sure that it is safe, and talk about different potential projects, whether for now or in the future.National Homebuilders Association websiteAt Answers for Elders:Bathroom Safety GuideAging in Place Checklist<a...

What is the most important question every family should ask before hiring anyone to care for a senior loved one? Host Suzanne Newman is joined by Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements and Ellie Brown from Chateau Retirement to share their answers. This segment continues the conversation at Answers for Elders Radio in a new monthly series by Trustcasters™, vetted professionals who raise the bar in senior care.Suzanne says, "I'm going to say something very, very bold. I would bet 50% of placement advisors, if not more, should not be serving our seniors. They are not educated. They don't have the ethics or the morality. I have heard nightmare stories from people that think that they can serve our seniors. Daphne, what are some key questions that every family should have at the very forefront before they even get into hiring anyone?"Daphne answers for placement advisors, "Families get connected to advisors in a variety of ways, depending upon what their story is. They’re in a hospital, in a rehab, social worker, it's a variety of things. And so I think first of all, , 'Why are you recommending these people to me? What are they about? What do they stand for? How are they going to help me? Are they going to listen to me?' I mean, just the basics."And then as you meet them, number one thing I'd ask them: 'What is your highest value in helping my family?' And depending upon how long it takes them to answer that, you'll know if they even thought about it. That should roll off their tongue, as 'Why are you even doing this job?' You ask them that, you'll get an answer."Ellie answers for senior living communities, "It's a family coming into a community. The questions that should be asked are: Who owns this building? Who really owns this building, and are you the operator, manager, or do you manage the building for the asset, for the bank? It's not wrong if you manage it, but what it means is, who owns the building, what what's the longevity of that building? What are the values of that company? How how truly regional are you? Those kinds of questions matter. And then, what is your tenure of your staff, and what are your staffing patterns, and what's your survey results?"I mean, start asking about care, stop getting blown away by the bells and whistles. If it's new and shiny, don't get spun by that. I got hit by that when I came into the industry for my mom. I got spun by the the prettiness of a new building, the shiny penny. And I didn't know the correct questions to ask. What is your philosophy? What is your value system with your tenants? Show me that. You show me that, then you're going to have somebody that all the way through is going to be caring for your loved one in all the right ways."When it comes to caring for older adults,&nbsp;trust isn’t optional—it’s essential. Learn more at AnswersForElders.com.Learn more about Daphne and Pinnacle Senior Placements at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com. Visit Pinnacle's specialist page on Answers for Elders.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Visit <a...

Answers for Elders Radio debuts a monthly series called Trustcasters™, by vetted professionals who are raising the bar in senior care. Host Suzanne Newman is joined by Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements and Ellie Brown from Chateau Retirement continue their conversation about the state of the industry. This segment delves into the differences in the journey that families go through today in realizing that senior loved ones need care.Suzanne says, "I am fortunate, the fact that my mom lived at Chateau Pacific, and I always say my boot camp of learning this industry was its staff... But I realize now how rare that is... There's so much confusion in senior living. [Even] if someone is already living there, they still don't know necessarily the resources that may be available to them... There's obviously a secret source that Chateau Retirement has, but I think, really, that's the difference between it and so many others out there in the industry."Ellie says, "Back in the old days, I'm sure there was a lot of handshake, and a lot of networking in-person, whether it's a church or events or what have you. Maybe it used to be grandma, your church, your network. [Now] a lot of people go inside in their homes at night and shut the garage door, and it's online... I think we could put any industry in this conversation, and know that with the advent of social media, and the different levels of social media, and the instant information, and the viral. And then if you add deep pockets to nationwide operators, the people that are speaking the loudest on those platforms that are buying the most ads, that becomes the narrative, that becomes the place, right?"So senior living... the journey now, it's like a snake, there's so many points of context. There's so much research by the families, it's a longer search pattern now. It takes longer for them to get to the community. And there's more stops along the way. And there's a lot of distraction... So it's like anything, discretion, right? Consumer beware, discretion. And I think we need to decide what is our value, right? What is what are you really looking for? Are you looking for the best deal or are you looking for the best place and if you put money over the best place, you're wrong, right out of the gate. So if it looks like it's too good of a deal, it probably is."Daphne adds, "At the same time, we are in a time where some people — some decades of life — have one one foot in paper and one foot in digital. And so that is also adding to the the confusion. This group of people — those are the people we're still working with — shut down. They just stop. 'Okay, I'm doing nothing because it's beyond me. I don't even know how to navigate this world.' And so that's another thing that's happening. It happens every single week in my world. And I'm talking to 50-, 60-year-old children. We don't even know how to navigate this anymore."Ellie adds, "Or one viral bad video of a horrible experience that gets millions of views clouds the perception. Okay, it's like anything. One bad seed can pollute the whole thing, but that doesn't mean it's all bad... Maybe we should be educating on what to run from. Run! I think once we have families in our pocket, we're very expert at having those conversations, once we're with them. But there's a whole journey happening. Or not happening."Daphne agrees, "I would say it's not happening more than it's happening... And some of that, I think, it's just our times. We can talk about that sandwich generation. I think they're more exhausted. I don't think they have the bandwidth to embrace mom and dad's issues. I don't think they have the time, or that's a part of the perception that they have, in the day in the life of an American right now. And so what happens, the stories that I hear are, 'Mom says she's fine, so she's fine.' So there's a shut down before they even get anywhere."Ellie says, "I'm a business...

In a world where anyone can claim to be a senior care expert, who can you really trust? This month, Answers for Elders Radio debuts a new series of episodes by Trustcasters™, vetted professionals who are raising the bar in senior care. Trustcasters™ episodes will talk about what every family needs to know&nbsp;before&nbsp;choosing care for a loved one. From licensing to leadership, we’re pulling back the curtain — so you don’t get misled by unqualified, or even worse, unethical providers. This month, host Suzanne Newman is joined by Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements and Ellie Brown from Chateau Retirement to start the conversation about the state of the industry. How do you ask the proper questions? How to you can you navigate this very complex journey of choosing care for a senior loved one?Suzanne says, "What we have seen in our industry in many ways is tragic. Since COVID, from my perspective, seeing the anguish and the confusion in families has been overwhelming. People don't know if they will have Medicare tomorrow. They're confused about their Social Security. They're confused about their financials. As aging seniors start to fail physically and mentally, their vulnerability makes them even more scared."Daphne says, "What I'm finding from families right now is a real a hunkering down, a pull within to rely on their own resources, their own intellect, doing their own nominal research, trying to educate themselves on their own... "The journey of finding care — when someone can no longer stay at home or they're in a vulnerable position because of an illness or cognitive issues — having somebody walk alongside you is probably one of the most important things that you could do in the journey... It's very much like if you had children in child care, you had resources amongst your parenting groups, a church, your neighborhood, whatever it was that you reached out to each other. We're not even doing that. I'm very active in the church that I attend, and people know what I do, but they're not reaching out to me. And so the phone calls that I get now are to fix a situation. "In the 25 years that I've been doing this job, I would have thought by now that [senior care providers] would have had a presence of an all levels, no matter what means or what community of care you choose. That our education would be high enough that our community would know more. They know less. And because people are withdrawing, because people are unsure about who to trust, they're making more mistakes."Ellie says, "Well, I'm one of those people that's actually grateful for COVID, because it shook the industry up. So my recommendation is we can't stop now, because the shake-up needs to continue. In fact, COVID made us look at practices and operations, and care and communication, and not just infection control, but all the manner of assisted living, independent living, and memory care, and how we communicate and get that messaging out. Great..."But now we need to look at the practices at a legislative level. As an industry level, what are the metrics, what are the policies? We need to grow up. We need to become more professional in our industry. Where other industries have so many metrics and protocols that would be followed, we just don't have that quite yet, in certain areas in our industry. And I'm not talking about the state, in the surveys, and the care. I'm talking about the cottage industry that surrounds senior living... the providers, the home health, the home care, but also the paid advisors. What does that mean, and what do we really look like? What do we stand for, and what are the highest standards? What is our code of ethics? And then drill it down from there."When it comes to caring for older adults,&nbsp;trust isn’t optional—it’s essential. Learn more at <a href="https://answersforelders.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

The loss of a senior parent brings home renewed urgency for adult children to have difficult conversations with aging parents who struggle with declining health. Ellie Brown, VP of Sales at Chateau Retirement, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to share the story of the recent loss of her father.Ellie says, "My own father, who has been a life force for my senior living career forever, because he's refusing to go live in 'those senior living places,' wants to be on his own. And the conversations in my own life have been trying to build the urgency with my family members, and him, to realize it is not a failure to move into senior living. You aren't admitting defeat because you decide you want to be in a safe environment, or you can live independently but maybe you don't need care yet, but you started falling."My own father has been having medical issues, and falls, and falls, and me every Sunday for hours, 'Dad, I really want you to consider moving into senior living, because we know, Dad, it's proven that once you start [having] these falls... the rates exceptionally accelerate that you're going to have a traumatic fall. And your wish is to hold on to this ideal that you're going to somehow pass in your sleep, miraculously.' "And so I went on my vacation on July 20th -- and took him up for Father's Day in May, and gave him a hug, and I said, I'm going on vacation on the 20th. My last directive to you is no falling, and don't get into any trouble. So I was on my vacation and he was having a good time. He was talking about his tomatoes and having a lovely summer. And on the Saturday night before I flew out, I got the call from Harborview Trauma Center that he had had that tragic, traumatic fall. And he had been alone for hours upon hours in his home. And, and there we were, me trying to get back home."And it was the Don't Wait Too Late — which I have the trademark pending already for. Now I'm living it. I respect that he had, and everybody has, the right to say, I choose to stay home. Do they really understand what that does to the grandkids, and the great grandkids, and the daughters, and the sons, who now have to live the trauma of the Trauma Unit at Harborview? I don't know that they truly understand that."So how do we build the urgency to say, it's not defeat? No, it is not defeat to say, 'This next adventure, I'm going to embrace that. This next adventure, I'm going to go in there and make it what I need and want it to be.' My dad was cognitively fine. He was fine. He could have done cognitively another ten, 15 years... Don't Wait Too Late is getting ahead of it, because if you're ahead of it, you get to choose where."So let's say my dad had survived this fall. He would have been still injured enough where he wouldn't have been on the front end of that decision. Did we lose some years because I didn't effectively get him convinced? Maybe."My personal story is a teaching moment for us all. How do we build urgency without scaring people away, but also have that hard conversation to say it's time, or something's going to happen. You're either not going to survive — and it's going to be brutal for your family — or you're not on the front end of that decision, because then all sorts of other things come into play. Do you have the right POA, do you have the right executor?"Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit <a href="https://answersforelders.com/chateau-retirement-communities/"...

We are honored today to talk about stories of the past., the richest stories with our older adults, and think about the history and legacy that they bring to our lives. Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast is joined by Chris Serold, former VP of Marketing at Chateau Retirement who collects stories of their senior living residents.As she quotes from one collection, A Legacy of Reflections: "Our life on Earth is represented by a hiking trail in the Pacific Northwest wilderness or mountain setting. Many days of our lives are spent walking. Sometimes we walk alone. Sometimes we walk with others. Family, friends, teachers, coworkers. Doctors, advisors. Helpers and caregivers. Our walk of life may include adventure, challenges, building relationships, love, growth, leadership and sadness." This book, Legacy of Reflections, is a compilation of the stories of residents who have passed away or moved from Chateau at Bothell Landing prior to 2025. Chris explains, "I had worked at Chateau since 2000. In the year 2010, I retired. About eight months later, my phone rang, and it was the executive director at the building at the time. And he said, I'm calling because we need an activity director. And I said, 'You want a 69-year-old activity director?' ... So I did the activity director job until 2016. And then I retired again. In 2016, the owner of the company. Jim Godfrey, wanted me to write resident stories, so that the staff could read their stories and have a better understanding of the people they serve."So I came back and did Resident Stories, and then it was maybe a year. And pretty soon the residents started saying to me, 'What are you doing with our stories?' And so I told them that we would put them in books for the staff lounges. And they said, 'Well, can we read the stories?' And I said, 'Sure, I will make up books that we will put in the libraries and the lobby areas, so that you can sit and read the stories.'"Invariably, if I asked a resident, or I talked to a resident, about doing their story, they say to me, 'I really don't have a story.' And so I have to remind them that everybody has a story... maybe we should just sit and talk about their lives... And if the staff is reading them, the staff, this is a new education for the staff. They have no idea what it is to live without running water. They have no idea what it is to go to a one-room schoolhouse. And so when they start to read these stories, then it is it sparks a conversation. Not only with that resident, but it sparks a conversation with the staff when they are in the staff lounges."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

How many jobs let you say, "I made a difference in somebody's life today?" Caregivers at senior living communities help residents with activities of daily living, who can mostly live independently, but maybe they need a little assistance with showering, or dressing, or any other types of activities that may be a little bit of a challenge as we age. Hiwot Yeshitla, a caregiver for Chateau Retirement Communities, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about the role of caregivers at Chateau.Hiwot says, "Caregivers do daily activity tasks for a resident. Everybody is different. Individual care starts with dressing, reminding, giving medications, taking them to the activity room, or to lunch... It's easy for us to do things for them... By doing a little thing, they just appreciate it. And then when they are doing something, they feel liked and happy."When I go there, and maybe their family member [isn't] there for them, I'll just go and stand with them, listening to them, and just [help] them meet the day. They forget being sad... Maybe today's their birthday, and maybe there's no family to visit them. I’m there [with them], 'How old are you? Just ask questions...'"Suzanne asks, "If somebody wants to come to work for Chateau Retirement, what advice would you have for them?"Hiwot answers, "They have to have a big heart when they come. Just be willing to help people."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Often we take for granted all of the factors that make residents safer in senior living communities. Chateau at Bothell Landing's Maintenance Director Loren Adams joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about not only building upkeep, but longevity of staff, and helping residents in little ways that are a huge help.Loren says, "They should be comfortable there. They should feel safe and secure and relaxed almost to the point where, rather than being apprehensive about making that transition in their lives, they should feel like, oh, this is the best move I ever made because now I can just relax and enjoy the rest of my life, and not worry about the little things."I always try to remind [my staff] that we're only as good as the work we do for the residents. When we get the positive feedback from the residents, that's huge. When I hear a compliment about one or two of the people, I like to share that with the team, just to let them know that what they're doing is appreciated and recognized. And just because maybe they singled out this individual or that, it's an example of how much the residents appreciate the team as a whole."And it can be something so, so small. Residents might have a hard time opening a window, that any of us could go in and just slide the window open really easy. But when you get asked to do things like that, you realize how frustrating, and maybe even discouraging that might be, for those residents. Like, wow, they can't even open their own window anymore. And so the guys go in, and they're just glad to help. And to see that the appreciation for just those little things, that we take for granted I think is is huge."And I think that's why our residents stay as long as they do. We have residents that have lived there for years because they get to know the people. They get to know the staff who have also been there for years. It just doesn't feel like you're at a business. It's like you're in this community where everybody knows everybody."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Aprill Uskoski and Stacey Greenshields join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about building a senior living community culture, and how Chateau Retirement Communities stands out for their employee culture, hiring, creating supportive leadership, being valued, and creating a path for people to grow within the organization. Aprill Uskoski is Senior Human Resources Director for Chateau Retirement. Stacey Greenshields is Senior Recruiter and Employee Wellness Director.Stacey says, "Chateau does an excellent job of really caring for our employees and going above and beyond. I first started here back in 2012, almost 13 years ago... And what Chateau does for their employees, from their orientation to the Bloom program that we have, our wellness program to our benefits, we have the Employee Appreciation Fund. I mean, I could just go on and on, we just do a lot of different things for our employees. I think if you have happy employees, it turns into happier residents. And so then you get those residents laughing in the dining room because our employees are so happy to be here, because Chateau invest a lot of time and money into making sure that they're happy."Aprill says, "It starts with the culture of just what we bring. We have to show it. So if we don't show it, then what's the point? So what we practice every day, it's what you see. From the top to the bottom, everyone's equal. We treat everybody kind. I've been here for 25 years and there's a reason for that. I help create a lot of things at the Chateau. So, when you see the birthdays for the residents, we do that for the employees. There's a reason that a lot of them stay here for as long as we do. Like Stacey said, from our onboarding to our hiring process to... we just have a good time here."You can you can train anyone to do a job. You can't train how people treat others. So you have to look for those people that really care for people. And that's what you try to find in everyone. You can't be perfect every time, but you really look for people that want to take care of others. We have a thorough process when it comes to hiring for a reason. Sometimes people just say it takes a little while, but that's okay. We've got to find the right people to take care of."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Derek Larson and Lacy Steed join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about a new program for senior living residents with Alzheimer's and dementia. Lacy talks about the additions of sensory walls, aromas, and the addition of life-skills stations that bring back memories. The program is at Chateau Gardens, part of Chateau at Bothell Landing in Bothell, Washington. Derek Larson is Executive Director, and Lacy Steed is Vice President of Life Enrichment, at Chateau Retirement Communities. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington.Lacy explains, "We did a lot of research on this. I would say right now, probably about two years that we've been doing this. We went and visited other communities. We spoke to a lot of staff, residents, family members, and higher-up leadership. We went to over 15 communities throughout the state, because we wanted to try to get a vibe of what people are doing, what works and what doesn’t. And it was really eye opening. Chateau Gardens, I hope it becomes just something that is the norm, not the exception."People think that when you have dementia or Alzheimer's, that you're just in a nursing home. That's it. And you're just watching TV and you're unable to do anything. And that is far from the truth. There is still so much that residents with dementia and Alzheimer's can give and talk about and do. They can still share stories and participate in activities. And they're so they're one of my favorite populations because you just never know what they're going to say, what they're going to do, what they you can do. And it's amazing."Derek adds, "Some of the activities can create some of that light-bulb moment for residents, like that music bringing that light back in people's eyes. For me, I was talking in the first segment about my mom having been diagnosed with dementia early. Up until the very end, she was able to play piano. You put sheet music in front of her and she could just play. She couldn't even hardly talk, but she could play. And you can see in her eyes, it created this something in her brain that just put her on fire. So the idea is, we want to create that light and that spark through the activities and everything else we do. So much of what Lacy's department does, and the activities, will play a huge role in that."Lacy says, "We are trying to incorporate ways for them to be active... Arch Design [makes] amazing senior living, tactile wall art that the residents can touch, so they can get just a sense of appreciation, sensory, tactile, everything. Get those neurons, synapses, inspiring everything..."We do doll therapy. We've actually purchased really nice new babies that will breathe and feel like actual dolls the residents just love to hold and touch and care for."We are working on creating life-skill stations. Those are little places, for instance like a laundry area, or a makeup area, where the residents can just go and sit and tinker and play, and hopefully just go back to their days of working or getting ready for work, anything. And they are very effective... We even have an office space where we bought an old-school typewriter and a Rolodex and anything that you can think of from their era."Aroma Impressions [makes] a scientifically-based product that works to elicit memories for older adults. It is a very fine mist that you can't even see. And it's just slight enough that you can walk into memory care, and it's just a very lovely smell. You would never know that it's there, but it just makes it smell homey."Chateau at Bothell Landing is located at 17543 102nd Ave NE in Bothell, Washington 98011-3787.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated

Derek Larson and Amanda Krueger join Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about a new program for senior living residents with Alzheimer's and dementia. The program is at Chateau Gardens, part of Chateau at Bothell Landing in Bothell, Washington. Derek Larson is Executive Director, and Amanda is Vice President of Health Services, at Chateau Retirement Communities. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington.Amanda explains, "We really wanted to bring a program together that looked at the resident and not the disease. And so what did that, as far as the care part of it, was the individualized care plans, the staff training, and then also making sure the staff is really taking the time with the residents. And so it took a lot of work."One thing that we implemented was a lower staffing ratio with our expansion at Bothell. We have that down to a 1 to 7 for just our caregivers, and that just allows for that resident and and staff person to really develop a bond, so that way they can still get their input as best they can. Maybe it's not verbally, but maybe it's through action, seeing their eyes light up when music plays."Suzanne asks, "You and Derek have both talked about treating the patient rather than the disease. How does that differentiate when it comes to care?"Amanda answers, "I think it just allows the resident to be who they are, and to still allow them to be as independent as they go around. And having the staff trained well enough to understand that just because they have dementia, that doesn't mean they can't still wash their face, something simple where, let's have that staff give them a washcloth, and then kind of mirror the action of washing a face, and still allow that resident to be as individual and independent as they can and promote that."Suzanne says, "Derek mentioned a little bit about how the family is more engaged. How does that happen in the care plans?Amanda replies, "Letting them give us information. You know, maybe Sally has a hard time bathing, but that the family members let us know that she likes bananas. So let's [have] a banana before we take a bath, and then that helps make it more individualized. So, taking as much data that we can from our family members, or our staff too, because our staff spends a lot of time with our residents. All the little tips and tricks, and making sure then that everybody knows what it takes, to make sure that residents care for them."Derek adds, "We had something really cool happen at Bothell kind of organically, I think as we got more relationships built with our residents and their families. A lot of the spouses actually created their own groups within our space at Chateau Gardens. So every week they would sit down in our outdoor courtyard, and they would just hang out. Talk, as if things were just as they are, meeting each other in the journey. And the spouses could also kind of relate to one another at the same time. And it just it was really cool to see that organically just grow from having that space, just be welcoming in that way."Chateau at Bothell Landing is located at 17543 102nd Ave NE in Bothell, Washington 98011-3787.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit <a href="https://answersforelders.com/chateau-retirement-communities/" rel="noopener noreferrer"

Chateau Retirement Communities Executive Director Derek Larson joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to give an overview of the Alzheimer's epidemic and how it's affecting caregivers. Chateau Retirement is launching a new program primarily for senior living residents with Alzheimer's and dementia at Chateau Gardens at Chateau at Bothell Landing in Bothell, Washington. Derek talks about the program came about and how it's going. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington.Derek shares his family experience. "My mom was diagnosed with dementia really, really young. She was only 51 when she passed. And as a 16-year-old kid, I didn't really know how to process that very well. And it was really challenging. Taking care of her was one of the hardest things ever did in my entire life. And was one of the most isolating times in my life. And so, going full 360 to being here today and having this opportunity, it means the world to be able to give back to the people that really need that love, and care, and that don't need to have less than a life just because they have this disease."He adds, "It's just such a under-served population that we really, really felt the need to meet those people's needs as best we could. And so we decided to fully revamp the programs we were offering. And we created a task force to work on revamping that as well. As a team, we interviewed tons of our own staff. We interviewed some of our senior leadership. We toured many communities around the area to see where memory care units and communities were really knocking it out of the park. We did tons of research."Through all of that, we came to the realization that we wanted to create a space where people feel like it's home. They belong. They're at a place where they can be happy, healthy, live long lives. They can be engaged in whatever ways they want. It's just harder to do in that space, because people are not as able to vocalize their wants and needs."The biggest surprise is that it was really simple. It's not easy, but it's really simple. What people need is understanding who we are serving. It's just such a simple thing that just gets missed because people are so stuck on treating dementia and Alzheimer's instead of treating the person in front of them."We can see it quickly, even though we're still in the process of implementing everything we would like to. It didn't take long to just get a sense when you walk into a place of the way it feels. There's an energy, and you get an energy from the residents where you see them engaged, you see the staff engaged, you see smiles, you see family getting more involved. You see the rest of the community who have friends in memory care that had the stigma against it, and now feel like they feel empowered to be there and they want to be there. What we strive for is to be a community."Chateau at Bothell Landing is located at 17543 102nd Ave NE in Bothell, Washington 98011-3787.Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast <a href="https://alzheimersspeaks.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Bonnie Brindle, The Anxiety Avenger, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about strategies to reduce anxiety. This segment focuses on coping with grief, "tire-swinging seniors,” and essential support for caregivers.Bonnie says, "There's actually a prescription. It's called the nature pill. You can go to your primary and be prescribed 20 minutes a day in nature to help yourself re-ground to your surroundings. Way better than medication in most cases. I help people with creating wildlife imagery. Not everybody can get out into nature in the situations that they're in, but in our minds, we can go anywhere we want to and we can communicate in any way we'd like to. Wildlife imagery has helped me be able to do things like sit in an MRI tube for 35 minutes while I'm completely trapped and listening to all kinds of noise. A lot of things that I struggle with, animals have helped me get through."Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your AnxietyIs it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes &amp; Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025. Links:Bonnie's website Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease AnxietyOrder a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ CodeReceive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the MenagerieInterested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHubBonnie at LinkedInCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s SpeaksMentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate...

The Anxiety Avenger, Bonnie Brindle, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show share her top five tips for self-care. As she explains, "You can't be anxious and grateful at the same time." Also, "Respond [to triggers] by backing off... Flight attendants tell you, put your mask on first. It makes sense everywhere in life, your mask goes on first."1) Breath work.2) Meditation.3) Hydration, a couple liters a day is a good average for everybody.4) Movement, whatever you're capable of.5) Take a few moments for gratitude.Bonnie says, "At night I put a glass of water next to the bed. Sometimes I might get thirsty at night. I'll have some, but in the morning first thing to hydrate. Seniors do not hydrate enough. As we age, seniors have less [sense of] thirst, less feeling for thirst than when we're younger. We may not even realize it, but if we're having headaches, or feeling dizzy, or feeling at risk of falling, or we pinch the skin in our arm and it doesn't bounce back immediately, we need to hydrate."Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your AnxietyIs it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes &amp; Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025. Links:Bonnie's website Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease AnxietyOrder a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ CodeReceive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the MenagerieInterested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHubBonnie at LinkedInCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s SpeaksMentioned in this...

The Anxiety Avenger, Bonnie Brindle, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about the rollercoaster of emotions brought about for seniors facing senior living transitions. She identifies signs that your senior loved one is in need of assistance, such as cleanliness changes, dizziness, feeling sluggish, and avoiding contact. Then she provides advice on how to approach a conversation with your loved one about their anxiety.Bonnie says, "You're noticing something that's making you feel uncomfortable, or maybe you're worried or anxious. That's not the time to approach a conversation. When you can center yourself and get your own breath quieted, and ask questions — do not make statements or demands like you shouldn't- This isn't- whatever. [Ask] questions: how you're feeling about, what you've been up to lately? Are you feeling well? How can I help you right now in the situation that you're in? Asking questions is always a softer way to approach someone than starting to tell them what you think they would do."Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your AnxietyIs it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes &amp; Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025. Links:Bonnie's website Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease AnxietyOrder a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ CodeReceive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the MenagerieInterested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHubBonnie at LinkedInCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s SpeaksMentioned in this...

Bonnie Brindle joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about how to recognize and reduce our anxiety. She explains why she calls herself The Anxiety Avenger, and how that informs her work. She shares about recognizing anxiety in its many forms: anger, frustration, withdrawal, and depression. With a heart for healing and a toolkit full of transformational strategies, Bonnie Brindle shares her personal journey from anxious to empowered—and how she’s now guiding seniors and caregivers to do the same.As a psychotherapist, author, educator, and international speaker, Bonnie has helped countless people find calm in the chaos using a unique blend of talk therapy, evidence-based energy work, and alternative healing methods. If you've ever felt like anxiety is running the show in your golden years, this is your backstage pass to reclaiming peace and purpose.Bonnie says, "When I was in my teens and twenties, I dealt with debilitating panic disorder and agoraphobia, and I have since — over these decades — figured out how to let a lot of that go, because anxiety is just trapped energy, to let that go safely and without medication. So I completely transformed my own life. And that's what I want to share with others so they can let go of what's holding them back."Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™. She is a psychotherapist, author, licensed educator, transformational coach, and international speaker. Incorporating alternative modalities with talk therapy and evidence-based energy practices, she’s created a path for anyone struggling with anxiety (like she used to) to find personal peace. Bonnie’s mission is to support others who choose to soar above the chaos to identify and crack the crazymakers' code—the key to living your best life!Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code: 9 Simple Steps to Ease Your AnxietyIs it possible to ease your anxiety and create a path to lasting peace of mind?' From adolescence to early adulthood, Bonnie Brindle’s life was an endless carousel of anxiety, panic attacks, and stressful relationships. In Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code, she reveals how she clawed her way back to a life worth living — one filled with opportunities, health and wellness, and, most of all, gratitude. Using her own journey as a road map for radical healing, she invites you to join her as you reclaim the life you were born to live. Each chapter encourages you to reflect on your own experiences and life challenges, reprogram your own thinking, and take action steps toward solutions you may not have thought possible. In nine simple steps, Bonnie will guide you toward your own path to Personal Transformation. This book is available as a personalized copy from her website and online at Amazon (including Kindle eBook), Barnes &amp; Noble, and Goodreads. The Audible version will be ready by July 31, 2025. Links:Bonnie's website Download The Avenger’s 5 Top Tips to Ease AnxietyOrder a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ CodeReceive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the MenagerieInterested in having Bonnie speak to your group, team, or senior living facility? Learn more at SpeakerHubBonnie at <a...

Award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist J Kele Murdin joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about some assessments that she does to test older people for their risk of having a fall. One in every five senior falls results in a serious injury, such as a broken bone, or head trauma, or a broken hip. Avoiding falls is paramount.Kele says, "I want to share a few assessments that we do, because I think they are light bulb moments for people who've never really stopped to think about what's putting them at risk. And as a physical therapist, that this is the kind of thing we do all the time. When I have a patient come in to be assessed for falls, these are the kinds of tests that I would do, and also what you should be able to do."[Sit] in a chair, stand up and sit down with without using your hands five times in less than 10 seconds. If it takes you more than 10 seconds to stand up and sit down five times, that's indicative of weakness, or some kind of impairment in your legs that's increasing your risk of falling. The prescription for that would be, do that. Keep working on sits and stands, because it's such a functionally critical movement. That would be the exercise."I would say there's a lot of folks that can't stand up without their hands, and — especially as we get older — that's fairly common. So for those folks, I would have them do their sit-stand on the arm of the couch, because it's usually a little higher, right? It's not 18 inches. It might be 24. Or from the edge of their bed if it's higher. And now from a higher surface, I can do a stand without using my hands. And that's where you would do your exercises."Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Fall prevention gets started by us all keeping ourself in better health as we age. Want top three ways to start getting yourself into optimal aging? Award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist J Kele Murdin joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to share her top tips to start small and build.1. nutrition (hydration, protein, eating enough calories during the day, diet, etc)2. move more, sit less (aerobic strength and balance)3. carving out the time, reserving time for exercise (and what does that look like for you, do things that bring you joy or keep you interested)Kele says, "Move more, that's the basic premise of what you're trying to do. And in that movement, let's think about aerobic activity. Sustained movement over time. That's what aerobics exercise is, strengthening, doing something to build muscle tone, because muscle atrophy is a real thing as we get older, we have to combat that. And balance. What are you doing to stress your balance? Like something to at least narrow your base of support. Narrow your feet and challenge yourself a little bit. So move more, sit less, with those three areas of exercise."Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

How do you know if you're aging optimally? J Kele Murdin, an award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about how to tell if you are aging optimally. Kele says, "I think this is such a common question for older adults. On the physical therapy world, we have a lot of tools to measure things. So if I wanted to look at your posture, I could ask you to stand against the wall. Can you get your head against the wall with your heels, against the wall and your bottom in your head? You should be able to touch. Do you have an extension in your upper back? Touch your head. And if you can't, that puts you at risk for fractures in your spine. That there are all these tools and measures we can do as a physical therapist that can measure posture, flexibility, endurance, things like that."Kele adds, "How much activity do we need to be doing to keep it running smoothly? Well, at least 30 minutes, five days a week of moderate exercise. So when we talk about aerobic exercise, it's like a six out of ten on the scale. You should be able to talk, but it should take some effort. You wouldn't be able to sing at that effort level. I think that level of intensity is what's missed. You know, my aunt takes her dog out, who's thought to go to the bathroom 15 times in her 15 minute walk. And that's not hard enough. That's not enough to get her heart to get stronger. It should feel like exercise and it should be intentional exercise. Subtle things, like how long, how hard, I think really makes a difference in people's awareness and understanding of what optimal aging could look like."Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

About one in every four adult older adults aged 65 and over fall every year, and this translates to over 36 million falls in the United States annually among among seniors. Falls are one thing, but one in every five results in a serious injury, such as a broken bone, or head trauma, or a broken hip. Hip fractures alone cause over 300,000 hospitalized patients every year in the USA, and they are followed by a decline in physical function, independence, and even mortality. Award-winning, nationally recognized physical therapist J Kele Murdin joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about fall prevention. Kele says, "If you ask a cardiologist what's optimal aging, he's probably going to talk about cardiorespiratory fitness. Right. Because his world is full of chronic diseases in the cardiac space. Family doctor might talk to you about someone who doesn't have a lot of chronic diseases like diabetes and other things like chronic diseases that are going to really affect you. I’m a physical therapist, I'm going to talk about the physical aspects of optimal aging. So posture, flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, those are kind of the five areas of fitness for me personally, that's in my wheelhouse. So I think optimal aging is a difficult thing to define because, again, your optimal aging path may be different than someone else's. So I think vitality, independence are two key, those words can can capture it, but they can look different for different people."“Just being over 65 puts you at an increased rate of fall by 30% just because of the age changes that happen with joints and tissue and aerobic systems that you're already at 30%. So if you have an ankle injury on top of that, that's going to increase your risk even more."Kele specializes in fall prevention and caring for older adults. She is the founder of Murdin Therapy LLC and Group Otago. Reach her at Murdin Therapy or call 425-306-0502. Groupotago.com offers group fall prevention exercise programs and has a ton of information.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Ollie Minogue, Resident Liaison at Chateau Valley Center, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about helping residents in senior living.Ollie says, "My main job is really being a resident’s best friend when they move in. They come in, and a lot of residents feel kind of isolated when they first arrive. So I think my biggest part is getting them acclimated, making sure they're comfortable. And that involves a lot of steps along the way... "When they first come in, my big thing is, of course, it's move-in day, I’m greeting them, ensuring you're comfortable, making sure we've got everything squared away. But for the first two weeks of them being here, I'm checking in every single day with them. So whether that's just, 'Hey, how are you doing? Do you want to walk to Happy Hour with me, or do you want to come down to dinner?' And really make sure that they know that they have somebody to reach out to."The other thing is helping them to meet people that they may have things in common with. I love coupling people up with best friends. I always have somebody in mind when I do that discovery. I learn from marketing what they're looking for and I'm like, 'Oh, I have just the person for them.' A good example is Boeing engineers. We just have so many of them in the area... And lots of teachers, and based off of interest too, so learning what they like to do. So if you want to play bridge, oh boy, do I have a group for you. Or do you like art? Perfect. There's somebody for everybody, and I truly believe that."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Cindy Serrano, Director of Community Relations at Chateau Valley Center, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about community in senior living and being the ambassador for the center when people tour the community. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Valley Center in Renton, Washington.Cindy says, "When I first meet with a family, I first want to get to know what's important to them — not what they're looking for in the living situation, or a senior living community, but what is important to them right now in their life, what they would like in their future. And it starts off asking questions like you're on a first date. What do you like to do? How do you spend your weekends? What do you enjoy cooking late at night? So it really is a matter of getting to know the person on personal level."After seniors move in, Cindy adds, "As the community relations director, I have resources available in the broader community — say, if they're having just trouble moving into their home, say within the first week, maybe we can get an OT test, test the apartment, and put in adaptive appointment that can make their days easier. So there's definitely ways that I continue to listen to little challenges — I may not even see as a challenge — to make it easier for them."Cindy adds, "A lot of times I've noticed that they may need more help. It's hard to let go of that autonomy sometimes, because it's more of a mental challenge. I mean, 'I am independent,' and it's kind of fearful for them to lose that. This is a big transition to move in to a community and we want to remove the stigma of it being something that you lose independence. You'll still have your independence, but we'll be able to make your days easier so you can do more of what you want to do."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Marketing Manager Kenji Hobbs joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about how Chateau Retirement advertises itself to new customers. This week's show was recorded at Chateau Valley Center in Renton, Washington.Kenji adds, "I think authenticity and and true value is so important when it comes to marketing and senior living. When I came into the senior living world as a marketer, it was very important to me that the product... was genuine. We really want to offer a service that provides true value. If somebody is making the decision to move into a retirement community, they're putting their care — their world — in our hands."Kenji says, "One thing that we really lean into is the longevity of our staff, because we have such a true family feeling here. I've worked at companies small and large, and I can say the culture here is genuine: the family does care, and extends to all aspects of the organization. We have people that have worked here for 25 years plus, and they love coming to work every day, and the relationships they have with our residents is impossible to recreate on any other."We have very close relationships with our neighbors. We care about not just our communities, but the communities that they exist in. So we really, really also focus on being a good steward to our to our neighbors... For example, we've done highway cleanups, community cleanups. That's tons of community outreach."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

This segment focused on the process of integrating a senior loved one into a senior living community once they've moved in. Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show, explaining that integration needs to come from the community, not the family.Daphne says, "We want to make things right, we want it to be successful. Well, here's here's a big news flash. Your mom and dad are adult human beings, and they're going to go to the place that they're most comfortable with, which is usually their family. And now they need to learn how to trust somebody else. They need to know the mechanisms of how to push that button so that someone comes to their apartment, if they're in assisted living or independent, or if they're an adult family home. If there's a cognition issue, if there's a need for for ready on the spot care, don't don't close the door to that option. Now your mom or dad has to figure out, okay, I'm going to push this button that's going to take anywhere from three to 10 to 15 minutes for someone to get here. And I need to to plan for that. And and so that's a part of what they need to learn."Here's the integration piece that needs to happen in a large community, in my opinion: [plan to] have more care than what your parent may need. Have more touch points, have a two or three hour chat for two weeks, have escorting services, have someone come to them and tell them, Hey, it's bingo at 2:00. And I know you met Patty at lunch today and she's there. I'd love to have the two of you spend some time together. Can I take you down to bingo?"It's that kind of integration that needs to happen from the community, not from you saying, 'Well, Mom, you have the calendar. Look at it. Look at the clock. You can get out the door and everything will be fine. And I'll take you to lunch outside the community.'"Daphne suggests, "When you're establishing your care level or your care points or how often somebody checks in on your mom or dad, at least in the first two weeks, have it be higher than what you think is needed because then they will have someone teach them which hallway to go down to get to the activity room, to get to the library. They don't know where the library is. It might be something that they're really interested in, but they don't know how to get there and I don't know about you, but I keep my pride. I don't want to look stupid."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

What are the most important things a senior loved one wants when they need a change in housing or an augmentation of care? The things they want most, their highest values, are critical to find for them. Often they aren't the things we expect that they are. Being a good listener is key during this process. You need to become an advocate for their values rather than your own. You have to hear what's not being said.Daphne says, "I'm going to speak to one that's very common, that usually is misunderstood, and that is when I hear an adult child, saying,' well, my mom used to do x, and I'd love to see her do it again.' And very seldom does that happen. And so adult children will make their highest value a place with lots of activities, a place with lots of hubbub. And most often, that is not a value of the 80 or 90 year old now. "And I say 80 or 90 year old because they're not 40, 50, 60 anymore. And life changes, it slows down. There's a different set of what it means to get through a day. And as adult children, we're not there. We don't understand it. We still want to hang on to mom or dad as that vibrant person, [and not] acknowledge that they're 80 plus years old."When we're making a change in housing and care for someone, their world is being turned upside down... As a furniture walker, they need help with balance. If they're a person that gets up in the middle of the night three times to go to the bathroom, they know how many steps it is. They know what corner to hang on to, so they don't fall. They know what side the toilet paper is on. All of that is going to change. And I promise you, your loved one is thinking about that."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to provide us with a checklist to use while touring senior living communities, part of the process of helping a senior loved one downsize to a new home during a life change. Daphne points out the advantages of having a placement advisor to help have a successful transition. She highly recommends selecting a placement advisor or referral agent – they don't cost you anything and provide a wealth of information during this process.Daphne says, "When you finally decide on where you want to go and tour, if you're going to a community that's assisted living or memory care, a large community, I would recommend no more than two a day. And as you're observing these things, you get to ask questions of the person that's touring with you. Now these things become very natural to someone like myself. We're going to observe things and we're going to ask the questions that you may not have even thought of. But all of these things are important in terms of you making as an informed decision as you can to not have another move for your loved one."There's a whole aspect of this touring piece that you as a consumer would very likely not know. And those are things about turnover of staff. Has the building recently been built or sold? How is the management, have they been there for ten years or 10 minutes? All those things make a big difference. But you, the consumer, will likely not have privilege to that information."Daphne goes into detail about her checklist:1. Visit one or two per day2. How do the residents look?3. Do the caregivers greet you?4. Other things you might not know to askReach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

How do you as a family help your senior loved on through the process of downsizing to a new home for a life change? Whether it be to independent living for active seniors, or maybe they're transitioning to an adult family home, or go into a senior community, maybe memory care or dementia care, there are a lot of options out there. Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to provide us with a checklist for helping our loved ones through this challenge. She talks from the perspective of a family not having a placement advisor to walk alongside them and giving them all the little details of how to how a successful transition. She highly recommends selecting a placement advisor or referral agent – they don't cost you anything and provide a wealth of information during this process.Daphne says, "You need to know what your budget is, not only the total amount that you have, but your monthly expenditure that you can afford. There might be cash flow issues that go along. Now. If you had an advisor, they'd be bringing all of these things up and they'd be working through it and they know on the top of their head how much things cost.If you have a book that you're looking at, very often that information is not going to be accurate. It's going to be information that is at the lowest scale of pricing for rent and care. Know that there's two different things, if you're looking at assisted living or independent living in a large community, the numbers that you see are not going to include care. Look how many things you might trip over. And we haven't even gotten to the building yet."Daphne goes into detail about her checklist:1. Have a clear picture of who needs care, assess the situation.2. Assess the budget.3. Know the general area they're moving to.4. Establish your highest values5. Do they convert to Medicaid when money runs out?Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Amanda Krueger joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about how IT is used to prevent falls at Chateau Retirement. The interview was recorded on site at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. Amanda is Vice President of Health Services, and oversees the health and care provided at Chateau Retirement Communities.Amanda says, "About a year ago I started really diving into our fall prevention program at Chateau and a statistic just kept sticking in my brain. After a significant injury fall of an elderly resident, they have an 80% chance of mortality. How can I sleep at night knowing that? We have to do our best to keep our residents safe, so I started looking into technology [and chose] AUGi. It is a motion sensor, it is a technology that we have primarily in the bedrooms of residents, so that way it can monitor when they're in bed... You can set it at a high fall-sensitivity, and it'll alert the staff when our resident is getting out of bed. So if you have a resident or a family member that has dementia, and is not able to ambulate safely on their own, this protects them in the sense that our staff can get in there timely, before they're up out of bed, to prevent what could be a potential catastrophic injury with a fall."It is an AI-sensing technology so if a resident isn't walking the same like they used to, it can send alerts to us that their their gait is off a little bit. And then it also just tells us that a staff member is spending 40 minutes a day [with them] when their care plan is for 20 minutes a day, so that could tell us that maybe that resident needs a little bit more care. Or they're spending 45 minutes in the bathroom, that can tell us that maybe they're needing a little bit extra care so they stay safe. "So it is a great tool for the staff... Every two weeks we're having a meeting with a member of the clinical team from AUGi... By getting those notices and getting in there within a couple of minutes – they call it AUGi saves If we're in the room by three minutes – we've had hundreds of saves since we've implemented this technology. Yes, we can't predict that it would have been an actual fall. But... if we're getting in there timely and preventing your loved one from being on the ground, that's that's going to be a win... And so the family members are loving that piece of mind, knowing that we have this technology in our community."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Sean Godfrey, vice president of technology for Chateau Retirement, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to continue their conversation about how technology can improve the lives of senior living residents. The interview was recorded on site at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. Suzanne notes, "A lot of organizations out there outsource their technology. You guys do not. You keep everything in-house. So you protect that data, it doesn't go to an outside source."Sean says, "We maintain and make sure that everyone is safe when they're using our networks and using our services, and that we're not allowing third-party vendors to come in and stipulate their standards on top of what we have already done our due diligence with."We do abide by HIPPA compliance laws. I look at compliance with these and the European Union or the California laws of privacy, and try to incorporate those types of things. Even though we're not held accountable to those standards today, who's to say that maybe next week or in a year or two that we won't be? Putting Chateau up to that degree of being in compliance with NIST and ISOs and HIPPA compliances really allows us to make sure for our residents and our employees, we're securing their data properly."Sean adds, "We have technicians that are designated just for IT assets. Our residents... have computers and laptops, cell phones, televisions, [cars]. So I expanded our our realm of influence, so to speak, so we can actually help our residents directly, similar to a maintenance work order like 'I need a light bulb changed.' Residents can call down to the desk and say, 'I forgot my password for my email account,' and we have staff on hand that can come and help those residents write, reset passwords, and remove viruses from devices."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement

The world is evolving, and technology is impacting senior living communities for the better. Sean Godfrey, vice president of technology for Chateau Retirement, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about how they use technology to improve the lives of residents. The interview was recorded on site at Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. Sean says, "We're looking at how the technology will enhance our senior our seniors' lives and make it easier for them to age in place, and not have to move somewhere else because the services aren't available in the area."I like to think of one of the roles I play is to help our seniors through their digital lifecycle, from sales and marketing is where it typically starts, [where] they take their information and their likes and dislikes. 'I like long walks on the beach with my puppy dog kind of thing, right?' And then translating that down to operations, and having that seamlessly transfer from one department to the other. So we use technology to smooth those edges between departments... really has helped us get to those data points of helping our seniors. We still need to be managers, but we don't have to manage our people as much now, and we can focus more on the seniors."We we innovated, back in the early 2000s, having free Wi-Fi access for all of our seniors and their guests. And so Chateau has always been on that cutting edge of technology. It's a balancing act, because you don't want to be too far on the edge and get into the beta testing. I have to do my risk management very carefully and make sure that the technologies we are using are secured from a technical standpoint, but also it's usable for an end user."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

If are you able to take this on, what is all involved in taking care of a loved one as a family caregiver. Are you in denial over the next chapter of caring for someone you love? Or are you ready? Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Podcast for the last of their six-part series being prepared for difficult conversations and what comes after.Daphne says, "I recently met with a family where dad is about 85 years old and mom had passed away a couple of years ago. He's living in his own home and two weeks ago, got a diagnosis of very advanced cancer in his lungs that's metastasized to his stomach. And he has two daughters, one lives about 5 minutes away and the other is about 45 minutes away. And this family had cold water splashed in their face and they were beyond knowing what to do. So I got the phone call, and went over there immediately to help of navigate their next steps, because they had no one to be able to help dad. And Dad wants to die in his own home, and certainly has that right. And we can make that happen."But it's going through the whole process of what that meant to his two daughters. And one of the daughters was on the phone because she lives 45 minutes away, and the other daughter was sitting in the living room with us. And you could see the stress. The daughters get along just fine. They're sisters. But there was a significant difference in their perceptions and perspectives and sense of responsibility from being 5 minutes away or 45 minutes away. And so as you're thinking about becoming caregivers as family members for someone, really try hard to be outside of yourself and see the big picture."When Suzanne was caring for her mom, she says, "Nobody sat me down and said, Mom's not going to get better. What we're doing is not to make her better. It's to make her comfortable. If they just would have said that to me, I would have had a completely different perspective. But health care professionals, they don't do a good job oftentimes of educating the family of where are we at in the process."Daphne explains, "Health care professionals are on automatic pilot. This is what they do day in, day out. And it's not necessarily that they don't want to. It's just an oversight sometimes. Or it's a time issue, having 15 minutes with you in and out. So as a family caregiver, you might have to be thinking about the companionship and the socialization, boredom. You become the person that sits down and listens to dad's stories, or reads a book to him, or watches the old Westerns with him and seriously are engaged in it. And it's not your time to be taking care of your own bills because Dad does need socialization. He's lonely."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate Planning<a...

How do you pay for care? And care is expensive. You will be in stick shock to learn how much senior living costs. You may also be surprised at the reality of a senior loved one's actual level of functioning. Are you in denial over the next chapter of caring for someone you love? Or are you ready? Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Podcast for part 5 of their six-part series being prepared for difficult conversations and what comes after.Daphne says, "There's an element of planning that I hope our listeners will hear and know that you can't wait until you're 70, 75 years old to think about this. It really is a sweet spot, about 55 to 60, to be thinking about this in terms of considering even long term care insurance, in terms of maximizing your buying power with your estate. But having resources and hearing the shock of the cost of care is where I see shoulders drop, where I see families lose hope, The twinkle goes out of their eye and they're like, We can't afford that."Daphne goes over some finances options, including the basics of what to consider for reverse mortgages, Aid in Attendance, Medicaid, and life settlement.She also talks about the level of care your loved one might really need. "Your intentions are spot on. Your heart is in the right place, but you don't see, sometimes, your loved one with the eyes of reality. I'm not taking anything away from all of your family caregivers out there. But you see them differently than professional eyes. Rational eyes are here to help your mom have the highest quality of life as possible. Still keep her independence, but not stress her out because she doesn't always get her arm in the sleeve, or it's hard for her to pick out something in the closet to wear, because there might be some condition issues. Set someone up for success."As an example, Daphne says, "Mom is in a community now and we're really understanding that if there's any kind of cognition challenges, Mom does need help getting to the dining room. Turning left or right, or getting on the elevator and what floor am I on, is too much. It’s not quality of life to stress somebody out with figuring out what button am I supposed to push? And you might be there on one day and mom pushes the button just fine. But at 8:00 in the morning for breakfast, she wasn't synapsing as well. Or mom or dad – and this is universal – can pull it together for the people that they want to please or not be a burden to. And really, as a family member, you need to listen to the people who are caring for your mom day in and day out who are the professionals. You have to have an element of trust there."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate...

Some legal paperwork is exceedingly difficult to work around if it's not filed. Are you in denial over the next chapter of caring for someone you love? Or are you ready? Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Podcast for part 4 of their six-part series being prepared for difficult conversations and what comes after.Daphne says, "I am not an attorney and I'm not giving any attorney advice here today. But I will give you real life perspectives to consider, and that is do not avoid getting the paperwork done. The biggest one is power of attorney. It lets you speak on behalf of the person while they're still alive. And there's different paperwork for after they've passed away. But power of attorney is while someone is alive, and anything can happen at any time. I don't care if you are 30 years old and have three kids and you don't have power of attorney paperwork, you should worry about that. You should have a power of attorney paperwork."If you're 80 years old and you haven't talked about this yet, and you don't have a power of attorney, you should really – I'm going to use the word – worry about this. This needs to be taken care of. It creates so much chaos, so many hiccups to get over, hurdles to get over, makes protocols and systems work so much slower, if you don't have a power of attorney in place. I hope you heard me really loud and clear. It's really important. It's a very important document."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Legacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate PlanningChateau RetirementChateau Retirement

Learn what you need to know about how the best referral agents help focus senior living choices. Are you in denial over the next chapter of caring for someone you love? Or are you ready? Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Podcast for part 3 of their six-part series being prepared for difficult conversations and what comes after.Daphne says, "I'm transparent. I'm going to choose places that meet your highest values. I'm going to tell the communities this is the highest value. This is why we're here. When the agent is with you, and you're doing your tours, I think that the agent should be very involved in the questions, to be sure to ask. The agent is going to know the pluses and minuses of the community. And if the agent doesn't have a relationship with the community of care in such a way that they can be honest and upfront that says, here's an area that you're going to have to compromise on, I don't think that's a transparent agent."You’re making a big decision. Agents should help you walk through the pluses and minuses and you should be able to walk away after seeing the third community walk away and be able to say, I want this from A and this from B in this from C, because then the agent did their job. They didn't stack the deck. They made your job hard. And all three of those communities are viable options. Now you, the family, get to fine tune it."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

Referral or placement agents are an information post. Are you in denial over the next chapter of caring for someone you love? Or are you ready? Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Podcast for part 2 of their six-part series being prepared for difficult conversations and what comes after.First, Daphne explains what a referral agent does: "We call ourselves an information post. We are never decision makers. In the whole United States, there's a whole plethora of people just like me who help you gather the information that's pertinent to your state... We we are like a conduit between you, the consumer, and the people who provide housing and care and where the people who know what's going on in this housing and care industry. We find out about you, the unique consumer of what are your highest values, what works for you in this housing and care community, how some of the logistical pieces that work."An agent who has your best interest at heart will meet with you. There are some situations that because we're so mobile that we hold Zoom meetings because some of the siblings or the decision makers might be out of state, but usually we try very hard to meet one-on-one. In choosing to work with a placement or referral agent, there's no expense to you. The expense is to the community of care, right? Because we work off of their marketing budget. We are an extension of their community. That doesn't mean we have exclusivity to recommend to 5 to 10 places. A good agent should be working with all communities of care in the state. And based on your highest values, be able to have all of those communities of care as an option for you. At the same time, we function as kind of a clearing house or a person who's doing your vetting. I personally feel after 25 years of doing this job, that there's no way for any consumer to know the real nuts and bolts of a community of care. It's impossible for me to know everything about every community, because there's so many new ones."As to the best reasons why you should bring in a referral agent, Daphne says, "You need to have the hard conversations. You are the family, but to actually facilitate them and to know how to walk through this is very difficult for family member to family member. And the number one reason is because you have a primary relationship, and that primary relationship usurps everything else. In most situations, mom and dad still stay mom and dad and you're still the child. That's what it comes down to. 'You're not going to tell me what to do. You're not in my head. You’re not here every day. You bounce in four times a year to see us, and you think you know what's going on with us?' Why would you even consider having somebody like me come into this equation? First of all, it doesn't cost you anything. But the primary reason is, you keep your primary relationship. Let the agent be the one who has these hard conversations. We’re the professional, we are the expert. You are not. You might be a nurse, you might be an occupational therapist, you might be a police person, you might have been an EMT, but you are not the expert [in this area]."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne...

Are you in denial over the next chapter of caring for someone you love? Or are you ready? One of the things we hear a lot is, mom and dad are just fine. They're getting older, but they still do this or that. But the fact is, oftentimes, families are in denial and maybe they're not fine. Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Podcast for a six-part series on whether you're in denial, and about having difficult conversations.Daphne says, "I'm going to say in 2025, currently I'm seeing a lot of skepticism, a lot of fear, a lot of lack of trust, a lot of what ifs, and that it's becoming okay to to maintain the status quo. Even though there may be people quietly suffering, overtly suffering, things can start sneaking up on you... I have never seen so much inaction. That causes a ripple effect of suffering. And so what I mean by that is, it's easier to go along with what whatever mom or dad says, whatever the aunt or uncle says, whatever your wife or husband says, it's just easier to go with. They said they were fine, So they're fine. Rather than doing any investigation or listening to your gut or stepping outside of yourself, knowing this is going to take time, energy is going to interrupt your pattern of life. But in the in the long run, you will have this relationship that hopefully to their last breath will be meaningful and beautiful."Regarding how to start tough conversations, Daphne says, "This is how I do it personally and professionally. And that's to name the thing that you're most afraid of. Just name it. It will lose power. Dad, I know this is going to be a hard conversation. I want you to hear my heart, not just my words. I know this is not a conversation that that we're wanting to have, but trust me that it's one that's going to be good. Name what you're afraid of. Yeah, I know you want to keep doing your laundry, but going up and down the stairs to get to the basement, to the washer is making me so afraid of the consequences if you have an accident. And here comes the end. The defensiveness. 'I'm fine. I haven't. I haven't fallen down the stairs yet. I'm not going to.' I know you're not planning to, but, Mom, you're in your eighth decade of life and your body is not the same. It's not going to bounce back like when you were 40. Mm. All those things they rest in logic. They do rest in the what ifs, and a lot of people don't want to live in the what ifs."Reach Pinnacle at 1-855-734-1500 or visit PinnacleSeniorPlacements.com.To final a referral agent in your area, visit the National Placement &amp; Referral Alliance website search.Learn more:* Pinnacle Senior Placements at Answers for Elders.* About Daphne Davis* Hear more podcasts with Daphne DavisCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

"We're not talking about major life changes, just ways of being a little more mindful of what we do for our health." Wellness and fitness coach Kelly Fennelly joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about taking care of our health as we age.For some issues, particularly when recovering from falls, talk to your doctor. There are services out there, that is home health, that Medicare actually pays for. You can have physical therapists come into your home, or an occupational therapist, and for a limited period of time, get on a program to regain strength.Kelly does in-person and Zoom coaching for those looking for sustainable health goals, with personalized coaching for individual body and lifestyle goals. She is an ACE Senior Fitness Specialist and ACE Health Coach. Check out her website.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning

Wellness and fitness coach Kelly Fennelly joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to share her best ways to improve our health as we age.1) Movement. Move daily. Water exercise is great if you have arthritis,2) Protein. Have eggs in the morning, add white beans to a shake, or have a yogurt shake.3) Balance. Kelly suggests some simple ways to improve balance.Kelly does in-person and Zoom coaching for those looking for sustainable health goals, with personalized coaching for individual body and lifestyle goals. She is an ACE Senior Fitness Specialist and ACE Health Coach. Check out her website.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau RetirementLegacy Estate PlanningLegacy Estate Planning