Answers For Elders Radio Network

Tracy Helling at CarePartners Living joins Suzanne to talk about memory care. CarePartners has senior living communities in Washington and Arizona. She talks about the warning signs of dementia, comparing them with natural signs of aging. For instance, forgetting something in the microwave is common, but forgetting that microwaves aren't a good place to keep your keys is not. Forgetting someone's name is common, but forgetting their spouse's name is not. If you're afraid to leave them alone, if safety becomes a concern, the greatest thing you can give them is an elevated level of care: memory care. CarePartners Living website Tracy Helling More podcasts with CarePartners CarePartners on Answers for Elders Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s SpeaksSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Probate is a court process to retitle assets. Probate is designed to create a “final accounting” upon death. It is the legal process of “proving up” a Will, or verifying that a Will is valid, takes place in one of two instances. First, if a person dies leaving behind a Will, or second, if the deceased has died intestate, that is, has not left behind a Will or estate plan of any type or the Will cannot be found. Estate planning attorney Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to give us a primer on probate. Steve says, "Probate is a Latin term that means 'to prove,' and it's essentially to prove who died and prove what their assets are. So, it's this court process to retitle things. Probate is not caused because you have a will, and it's not caused because you don't have a will. It's really caused because there are things that need re-titling." Probate articles by Steve Waltar Legacy Estate Planning at Answers for Elders Legacy Estate Planning website More podcasts with Steve Waltar Find an attorney near you at the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys website Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although Joint Tenancy offers some short-term conveniences, in the long run it poses a host of problems that can cost you and your loved ones many times the expense and headaches you thought you were avoiding. Estate planning attorney Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about the difficulties of using joint tenancy while trying to plan your estate. Steve shares an example. "It's a stark story. The mom had already been through a probate, because her husband died, and so she wanted to avoid that. She did a will, listed her three children. That's fine. But the problem was, then she took her $400,000 brokerage account and she thought it would go through probate. 'I'm gonna add my son to the account. He knows more than I, he studies Morningstar, blah, blah, blah.' Well, son was a pretty good kid, but one day he was driving to the Seahawks game and he was in a car accident, and it was his fault. The PI attorneys are pretty good. They do asset checks before they sue people, and they saw that he owned this joint account, he was on title with mom. And so when they collected $100,000 judgment, they went after and they took it from that account. "So joint tenancy is you adding someone to an account where you each own 100%. It's not like a house. In Washington, a husband and wife own a house, they each own half. When you own a joint — a liquid account — the default in Washington is 100%. So it could be a $2,000 bank account. Well, that's not a huge amount. But a brokerage account, why would you add children to that? And then when mom died, the balance of that account didn't get controlled by the will. It went to the son. "It is a probate avoidance tool. It can be appropriate in limited circumstances. But why in the world, once children are out of your house, would you add them to your accounts? It's much better to make it payable on death to them, and give them a power of attorney to manage. "Joint tenancies, it's done all the time. I have a report called 'The Trouble With Joint Tenancy,' it just gives a lot of the details. It's very easy to create. You just go down to a bank and you have a bunch of people on an account, they all own it. Anyone can withdraw all the money. It'll only go to the survivors, your will and trust won't control it." Joint Tenancy article by Steve Waltar Legacy Estate Planning at Answers for Elders Legacy Estate Planning website More podcasts with Steve Waltar Find an attorney near you at the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys website Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you don't file estate planning documents, your state will do it for you, perhaps not the way you expect. Estate planning attorney Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about various options available when planning your estate, what happens when you list beneficiaries, generally how wills work, living wills, living trusts, and Medicaid planning. Steve says, "There's lots of benefits of proper estate planning. Avoid probate, that's very common. It's to protect your assets from creditors, or at least from your beneficiaries. Many people want to leave a legacy, they want to pass on their values, they want to lower estate taxes. And sometimes people want to do generational planning for the grandchildren as well. So the list is long. There's a lot of who gets what, when, and how. "70 to 80% of people die without a will. If you die without a will, the state has one for you. And it's different in every state. If you're married, certain property goes to your spouse, but if you have separate property, it would only be half, and the other half would go to children. It may choose the wrong people, or it may be ineffective. You certainly can't do estate tax planning. You certainly can't do legacy planning. That's the big one you want to avoid. The other one, it's not a very good practical one, we can joke about it, is to have the last check to the underwriter bounce. I don't know people who want to outlast their estate. Spend it all, it's not a really good plan." Legacy Estate Planning at Answers for Elders Legacy Estate Planning website More podcasts with Steve Waltar Find an attorney near you at the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys website Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Estate planning attorney Steve Waltar with Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about having an estate plan. Families run into gotcha moments where they discover a loved one hasn't files certain documents, or haven't made plans, and are left to second guess what they want. In this segment, Steve introduces the concept of estate planning and different types. Most people don't want it to be a curse, but a blessing, and it's about protecting yourself during your lifetime. Make sure your wishes are honored they way you want to be honored. What exactly is estate planning? Steve says, "I like this definition. It's not perfect, but it's what I've been using for 25 years. It says I want to be in control of my estate as long as I'm able. If I become unable to manage my estate, I want to be the one who designates the person to manage my estate for me, without court intervention, following my death. I want things to be as easy on my loved ones as possible. I want my estate to pass to the people and organizations that I want, when I want, and how I want, a little bit of control. I want a smooth administration of my estate. And finally, I want there to be an absolute minimum of conflict delays, court costs, and taxes. And though I love you, Steve, attorney fees." Steve adds, "You actually can affect people after you're gone. I think estate planning is really about choice. It's choosing things, protecting yourself during your lifetime. Last I checked, we all die. Maybe you want to protect the kids from lawsuits and divorces. So good estate planning means you're protecting your assets. Proper estate planning probably means keeping out of court while you're alive. Traditional estate planning may cover final expenses and, and trying to lower estate taxes. And there's modern estate planning, there's sophisticated planning, there's estate tax planning, and then legacy plan that involves your life experience. So really, it's a blend a lot of things." Legacy Estate Planning at Answers for Elders Legacy Estate Planning website More podcasts with Steve Waltar Find an attorney near you at the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys website Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about holistic care, why those over 55 should incorporate some of these practices, and share some of the most popular ones that can be done at home. Weiss provides balanced functional wellness education and coaching based on the the six pillars of health: exercise, stress, sleep, nutrition, gut health, and emotional health. Dr. Weiss starts by defining holistic care, saying, "By definition, it's really the ability to take care of your physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social health. And really just understanding the connectivity between all of it. We have a very compartmentalized medical system. You have specialists for absolutely everything. Now I'm a firm believer, I've been in that world for the last 26 years. But there's a lot more that you can do. And I call it a sick care system, honestly, because I think that there's a lot of profitability for people being sick, and if you don't take care of your health, now you're going to be forced to take care of your illness later. "Being able to have an open mind to understand that there are other ways to understand how your body works, and understand the connection between your physical and your mental health, your socialization, and your spiritual wellness. There's all kinds of wonderful studies that show, if you dig a little bit deeper, you can get into root cause health and just kind of get to the bottom of why things are happening... We can remedy some of these illnesses and symptoms in a different way." Dr. Weiss has a Spring Into Action promotion, her Thrive over 55! 60 days to Optimal Health Coaching Program. Work personally with Shawn to address all 6 pillars of health, which includes personalized plans of action. Dr. Weiss shared a video called the "Endocannabinoid System, the Hemp Plant, CBD and Optimal Health." Watch this valuable information session featuring Dr. Erin Luecke, PT, DPT and Dr. Shawn Weiss, PT, DPT. Learn how the ECS impacts our health, the importance of sourcing, breaking stigmas, and how to encourage conscious conversations. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/lUShMGDhSUc?si=Va8EauCWVHt7b6nl Learn more: Shawn Weiss Senior Health and Wellness website Dr. Weiss's Health and Fitness Coasting for Optimal Health website Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss More about Thrive over 55 Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Diagnoses of depression and anxiety have risen 25% since the pandemic. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about ways depression and anxiety can be reduced holistically. One of the best things to do for depression and anxiety is to exercise. If you are over 50 and are feeling a bit lost and want to make changes, check out Shawn Weiss's Fit Over 50 30 day Coaching Program that will address the 6 Pillars of Health, that includes improving emotional health. How do you start? Shawn says, "The first thing, you have to get an assessment. There are many wonderful standardized assessments. Just going to your primary care physician would be my first suggestion, because they will point you in the right direction, and then they start trying to rule out other things. If you have somebody who has cognitive impairment, it's very difficult to diagnose because there are overlapping concerns. There's a term called pseudo dementia, when somebody who believes they're demented, but they're actually severely depressed. You do the screenings and you're really trying to weigh and pinpoint exactly what's happening. Medicare has our standardized depression questionnaires that we do with everybody. And if you meet that criteria, then you really should do something about it. Medication is probably the first line of defense in depression, simply because it just takes the edge off, and once you improve those symptoms, especially if you have cognitive impairment, you'll tend to see an improvement on the other side of that. "I'm always going to say, well, I don't want to do medication, that would be the last resort. You want to address the underlying causes of the depression. Is it a big life event, is a stressor triggering it? You're going to dig a little bit deeper, and you can do that even in counseling, and a lot of people in the older generation don't want to go to counseling, but there's so many things that you can identify. Like, there's been a death in the family, and maybe there's going to be your health diagnosis, all these things that can trigger sadness. Therapy is really good because it allows your brain to process." Dr. Weiss shared a video called the "Endocannabinoid System, the Hemp Plant, CBD and Optimal Health." Watch this valuable information session featuring Dr. Erin Luecke, PT, DPT and Dr. Shawn Weiss, PT, DPT. Learn how the ECS impacts our health, the importance of sourcing, breaking stigmas, and how to encourage conscious conversations. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/lUShMGDhSUc?si=Va8EauCWVHt7b6nl Learn more: Shawn Weiss Senior Health and Wellness website Dr. Weiss's Health and Fitness Coasting for Optimal Health website Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joan Rettmann from Transforming Age joins Suzanne to talk about the definition of a life plan community and what it offers residents. Joan says, "A lot of different terms are used in the industry, and this is a classic example of where things get confusing. A life plan community is really an umbrella term that covers independent communities that have additional care levels available, such as assisted living, memory support, and normally skilled nursing as well. "That term 'life plan' is actually replacing, if you will, the term CCRC, or continuing care retirement communities. So they can really be used interchangeably now. Within that umbrella of life plan or CCRCs, there are various models that differ from one another — different contracts such as a type A life care, a type B modified, or a type C fee for service." * Transforming Age website* Hear more podcasts about discovering senior living Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Somebody comes into independent living in a retirement community. What does it offer? Generally it takes care of housekeeping, provides meals, and lots of social activities. Joan Rettmann from Transforming Age joins Suzanne to summarize the various offerings. Joan says, "One of the things that a lot of people appreciate most is a release from some of the domestic responsibilities, like housekeeping for instance. Not having to do that is quite appealing to a lot of folks. There's always a meal plan. So it's not surprising that food is oftentimes towards the top of the list. Various meal plans are offered; sometimes it might be one meal a day included, or potentially up to three. The third key area would be in terms of the activities that are offered, or lifestyle events that are offered in a community. So that might be lectures, seminars, fitness classes, those kinds of things. "If it's one that's just independent living, and there aren't additional care levels available, it's usually on the lighter side with meal services. So it might be one meal a day that's included. Housekeeping may not be as frequent as, say, in communities that offer additional levels of care. There might be a great activities calendar, but it might not be quite as robust as the other models. Regardless of what option you're looking for, it's good to compare to make sure those differences become very clear." * Transforming Age website* Hear more podcasts about discovering senior living Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The term 'retirement community' covers a lot of different types of options, some with care, some without care. Joan Rettmann from Transforming Age joins Suzanne to talk about what they all mean. Joan says, "There are a lot of terms that are used out there in the industry. The first step may potentially be one that falls in the category of 55 plus, starting with a younger age group. A lot of times those communities can be designed in an apartment-like complex. They can be more of a campus-like setting or a town home. Some folks choose that option if they're ready to have a little bit of a lower maintenance lifestyle, but still have it feel most similar to the situation that they had been living in. They typically come with some sort of a community space too. Maybe it's a specific building designed for that, or there are common areas, central areas for people to come together and enjoy that social experience without necessarily all of the maintenance responsibilities of their former home." If you're looking to retire or downsize, ask yourself some key questions. Joan says, "Regardless of age, sometimes a lot of folks assume that, they have to wait till a certain age to consider it. Or that's a goal that they have in mind. Rather than looking at a number, look at other things. Ask yourself some other important questions. First of all, 'Do I have any health diagnosis that might I might need care within the next year or two?' Then that might tell you, maybe I'll focus on communities that have care services built in as part of it, instead of ones that are independent only. "Next would be: 'What are my goals? What do I want? What would be my expectations when looking at a community?' For some people, the socialization piece is top on their list. Maybe where they're living right now, that piece is missing. So they want that piece, which is really common in retirement communities. Other people are more private by nature, so what's more important to them would be the types of care available. If something changes in the future, maybe they're more focused on certain amenities. A big reader will want to make sure they have a great library. Or a pool, or other things that I want to do more independently. So the amenities can be part of it. But definitely think about what's important to you in the long term as well. If something changes down the road, how comfortable am I with the the plan for the services that may or may not?" * Transforming Age website* Hear more podcasts about discovering senior living Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joan Rettmann from Transforming Age joins Suzanne to talk about various independent living retirement options. People are starting to explore senior living options at an earlier age. We're seeing a shift to people in their 60s and early 70s, people looking to improve their quality of life. What seems like a forever home could get in the way of other priorities. Retirement communities can provide a low-maintenance lifestyle with more social opportunities. Joan says, "The use of technology has changed, become more and more important. You'll see that play out in a lot of different ways in retirement communities. One that stands out to me that's most fun is in one of our communities, Madison Park. They use innovation in the form of robots as dining servers, to provide more opportunity for the dining team to kind of be front and center and more personal with the residents. These adorable little robots named Salt and Pepper are running back and forth from the kitchen to deliver food. Residents love it. Residents were involved in naming the robots. They're fun topics of conversation. When grandkids come in, they want to make sure they get to see the robots. So that's a lot of fun, but also just in the design of building. Juanita Bay will be lead certified to become one of the greenest communities in the nation. So a lot of great changes and and a lot of great changes evolving with technology." Transforming Age is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of older adults by integrating housing, community services, technology, philanthropy, and partnerships. The Transforming Age network of affiliates offers high quality housing communities in great locations including Continuing Care Retirement Communities, Active Adult, Affordable Housing, Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Support and Skilled Nursing. * Transforming Age website* Hear more podcasts about discovering senior living Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about how to make your move as smooth and stress-free as possible. The better you prepare ahead of time, the smoother the move will be. Sean says, "If you want the move to be fast and smooth, we would like to see boxes and furniture. So the boxes will be all packed and taped on the top, nicely closed, flat, no items sticking up. Because then our guys will come in, take all the boxes immediately to the truck, and be fast, because they're working fast. Then we will handle the furniture for you. We will disassemble the bed. We will take off the legs of the dining room table, and we're gonna wrap all your furniture with heavy duty moving blankets. And we'll take it to the truck. So what's important here? Clear out spaces. If you leave the room with a bed in the middle like we had last week, all around it was a lot of mess, from clothes. The movers called me and I said, guys, take the bed. It is what it is, but that's not how it's supposed to be. If it's a local move, that will take forever, and it costs you a lot more money. Boxes and furniture. That's what we would like to see if we not find boxes. We will gladly supply boxes. "We deliver empty boxes to you with no charge. We can come a few times, because we want you to be prepared, do your own packing. We'll give you the tape, we're not charging for the tape. We'll show you how to tape the box properly. We will give you smart tape so you can mark which room to deliver to at the destination. The better you prepare, the easier smoother and money saving it will be." Sean adds, "If you have questions, go on our website, use the chat. We will answer it even if you're not using us, really. If you want to use a moving company in different state, and you're not quite sure, I will do the research for you... For us educating the consumer is the most important thing. That's why on our website, people should take the time and read the blog. We have informative and helpful blogs. So ask neighbors, ask friends, get advice. We're always ready and willing to help whether you use us or not. We want to protect you." Learn more: Jordan River Moving & Storage on AFE Jordan River: Call 877-611-0808 or visit https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: Senior moving podcasts on AFE Moving to senior living podcasts on AFE Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast: Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lot of seniors get taken advantage of by moving companies. In this segment, Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about how to avoid moving scams. Sean says, "A lot of people think that everything on the Internet must be cheap, safe, and good. All those are wrong assumptions. Websites [can be] completely made up, the five star reviews that been posted on the website are completely fake. By the way, I just filed two complaints with the FBI about all those five-star fake reviews that are posted by all of those people. It's a major issue, and seniors are booking with those people, who collect a 35% deposit on a long-distance move, and after that, they sell the job to someone else. It's always go back to the basics. You must ask for in home estimate to protect yourself. "When they offering you an online binding estimate, forget about it. If it's not in writing, it's not an estimate. So what's happening? Because nobody came and visited, they claim later, oh, based on your information, it was only 10 boxes, but now you have 40 boxes. Stay away from a situation like this." Regarding cubic feet vs weight, Sean says, "Everybody can [put items] in a truck and spread it to different cubic feet. I can put it in 200 cubic feet, or 300, or 500, that's what [a non-legit] company is doing. Do not move with any company who charges by cubic feet. There is a reason why the state department, the military, and state agencies use weight. If you have any question, you're not sure about anything, you can ask for a reweighing, which should be free. Visit the scale house, watch the first and second weighing." Learn more: Jordan River Moving & Storage on AFE Jordan River: Call 877-611-0808 or visit https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: Senior moving podcasts on AFE Moving to senior living podcasts on AFE Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast: Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about how to find trustworthy providers to help seniors with moving. This segment focuses on in-home estimates. Make sure items that are priceless to you are packed appropriately, and moving companies are there to provide these services. Sean says, "So when we go to the house, first of all we would like to see what we're dealing with. We will go room by room, and ask what needs to be moved, what services are required from us to perform on the day of the move. And we will engage in conversation, and pretty much try to give advice of how to prepare for a smooth move. There will be a lot of questions that we usually answer with seniors. A lot of them didn't move often. You need to listen to what the customer says is important and what what they want to do. "You need the person to understand, we can do it for you. They are here to help you. Sometimes it's just five minutes for us, but for you it's a few hours, and maybe involved more physical labor that you don't need. They still think they can do a lot more than what they can really do. And let me give you an example of how we can make it easier for you. Instead of putting all those clothes in your car, I can use wardrobe boxes. We can pack the china for you. It's not going to add too much to the move. We are here to help, we are here to provide service." Learn more: Jordan River Moving & Storage on AFE Jordan River: Call 877-611-0808 or visit https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: Senior moving podcasts on AFE Moving to senior living podcasts on AFE Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast: Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're thinking about the next chapter of your life, and downsizing or senior living is on the horizon, this month Suzanne covers all aspects of the process, starting from the beginning. In this episode, Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about how to plan, what to take with you, and how to find trustworthy providers to help seniors with moving. It's a monumental step for someone who's lived in the same home for more than 50 years, and often an emotional turmoil to depart from that home. Sean says, "Just last Friday, I went to a couple, I think they were 80 years old. They lived in the same house since 1970, and we're going through the items, and she needed to downsize. It was just difficult for her to go through the process. I was listening and I gave my opinion. And I listened to her, and she said, ' this is my china, this is important.' She had so much stuff, Suzanne, so much stuff. And I told her, you're downsizing to a new townhome, you have to make decisions. I mean, it's not easy. Get the family involved. She was planning to give it to a family member, and that's a lot of things, but it's important for the family." Suzanne adds, "It's also the emotional connection to the bricks and mortar of the home, because there's memories. One of the things I always tell families to do is write letters to the new owners, and leave them in different areas of the room. This was my room. This is what I remembered happening here. It's a way of continuing forward that memory, that whoever is going to take that home next to you is going to is going to honor that, they're going to realize that a life lived in that home." Why Sean goes to your home to make an estimate, he explains, "First and foremost, it is a requirement, even if a lot of people doesn't want it. It's basic protection for the consumer. We want to go visually inspect the house. That's the only way of really doing an estimate. The video estimate it's good too, to deal with the technology, but the elderly are not as computer savvy with the phone and camera. And also, it's a trust issue. We have to visually see and explain, and for us, if we do the job, prepare, and tell them what needs to be done. The last thing we want is to come to a house unprepared, and cause stress to elderly people. You know, for them the movie is stressful no matter what. People coming to their home now, after so many years that they lived there and protected their items, precious things they accumulated during the years. And suddenly, strangers are coming in. We want to make them feel comfortable and build trust." Learn more: Jordan River Moving & Storage on AFE Jordan River: Call 877-611-0808 or visit https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more: Senior moving podcasts on AFE Moving to senior living podcasts on AFE Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast: Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this bonus episode of Answers for Elders, Suzanne introduces the new podcast of estate planning specialist David T. Phillips: Estate Planning Made Easy. Visit the podcast's YouTube channel to watch the show, or subscribe and listen to the podcast by following these links on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. By law every American can gift $18k annually, to anyone they want, completely gift, estate and income tax free. Many are reluctant to use their gifting allowance. But proper gifting will not only give the giver fulfillment during their life, it can produce generations of powerful, productive people. Learn how to leverage your annual gifts to the max. Learn more: Estate Planning Made Easy website Use discount code EPMEZ at shop.empez.com to receive a 50% discount The 10 Most Common Estate Planning Mistakes, 4th Edition, by David T. Phillips Generational Wealth Strategies newsletter Wealth Creation Strategy Table Contact: Estate Planning Specialists at 888-892-1102 The Durfee Law Group at 480 324-8000 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lindsay Friedman and Shannon Lyons join Suzanne to talk about peace of mind and other reasons for getting their innovative health monitoring system Care Bloom to help senior loved ones age in place in their homes. Listeners, sign up for free to win one year of Care Bloom! Care Bloom is holding drawings in June and September 2024. There's no obligation or commitment to purchase. Learn more at https://carebloom.com. Lindsay explains the need for Care Bloom. "It's really important because people want to stay in their homes. People are aging much more rapidly than they have been. Caregiving is on the rise. Caregiving is a very hard challenge that we all are going to have to face as our parents are aging. And also our [number of] home health workers are decreasing. If you want it, that cost is increasing. So there's less of them, and it's only going to get more and more expensive to have somebody come and help. It's going to be unaffordable if you could even find somebody. And on top of that, our nursing homes are struggling. The care is not good, the cost is increasing. I see a lot of future closings, and where are you gonna put mom? So we need something that can really help. And Care Bloom is a great care partner to help with care for their family." Care Bloom is a $199 per month subscription, and you get the hardware for free. Shannon says, "This is something that we spent quite a bit of time on, because it is a hardware, right? We provide a smart watch. We provide hardware for the rooms, but we really wanted to make it an easy purchasing decision for a family." Multiple family members can use the app. "If brother and sister want it, and then you want a neighbor to have a little bit less [access], that's an option as well. So the app allows you to add as many people as you want, because obviously we can't all be with mom at one time. So we want to make sure that we're giving you the opportunity to provide all the care you can." Hear more podcasts about aging in place. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Through the use of a watch, room sensors, and an app, Care Bloom provides 24/7 health monitoring services for caregivers. Lindsay Friedman and Shannon Lyons join Suzanne to talk more about the Care Bloom watch and app, an innovative new tool to assist senior loved ones with aging in place. Listeners, sign up for free to win one year of Care Bloom! Care Bloom is holding drawings in June and September 2024. There's no obligation or commitment to purchase. Learn more at https://carebloom.com. Shannon describes the information a caregiver can see on the app. "We really want to pull the most important information forward for a caregiver. You're gonna be able to see information like vitals, so that would include temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. You're also going to be able to see accurate location data, where they're spending most time, if they're in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and really how how the mobility looks throughout the home. And then the last one is, you're going to be able to see important health behavioral data. "We know that there's a lot of smart watches on the market that tell you you're going to get this health and wellness data. How we're different is that we take that health data, and we put it in the context of behavioral. And those things look like sleep, mobility, or steps throughout the home, and then self-care, like toileting and bathroom, so that you can really be proactive in your care. You're not finding out that mom hasn't left her bedroom for six hours and you're getting off of work and saying, 'mom, what's going on.' You're going be able to see that there's stagnation, and maybe something's wrong, so that you can communicate earlier, find out what's going on, and be more proactive with what your next steps are. We also thought it was really important to be able to set alerts in the home. So if there's a restricted room — a room that is a fall risk, like the basement, garage, or stairwells, we want to be able to tell you, hey, mom's out in the basement right now, and you can call her and say, 'hey, I'm coming over after work to do laundry. I see that you're in the basement. Let's make sure you get up those stairs,' so that you're not finding out about it after that. Or if your loved one has issues with leaving the home at times that they're not supposed to, or maybe wandering, we want to make sure that elopement is part of the alert package, so that it really is sort of all of those behaviors. And then if your loved one needs assistance, they can actually request it through their watch. And that notification goes directly to your app. It's a push notification, and you can see mom needs help, she's currently in the bathroom, and you're able to make a plan for what's next." Lindsay gave an example of Care Bloom solving a problem. "We had one individual who was talking about how lightheaded he was, and feeling fatigued, and he was an elderly gentleman, and you start to wonder what's going on. His vital signs were looking good, but after watching him for a series of days, we were noticing that there were no toilet activities. So, went in and kind of monitored him for a little bit, and he wasn't drinking. No one was there reminding him it's time to have a glass of water, it's time to drink during the day. And dehydration really plays heavily on our seniors with confusion and all of that. It was an easy thing to remedy, that we were able to see within a matter of days. No doctor trip, nothing. And it was a quick fix that, just from looking at the data, was able to be resolved." Hear more podcasts about aging in place. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast <a...

Lindsay Friedman and Shannon Lyons from Care Bloom join Suzanne to talk about an innovative new home-monitoring tool to assist senior loved ones with aging in place, living independently in their later years. Through the use of a watch and app, Care Bloom provides health monitoring services for caregivers. You'll be able to purchase Care Bloom beginning in June. Listeners, sign up for free to win one year of Care Bloom! Care Bloom is holding drawings in June and September 2024. There's no obligation or commitment to purchase. Learn more at https://carebloom.com. Lindsay explained how Care Bloom came about. "All through college, I was a state-tested nursing assistant. So, with the experience, when my grandma needed to a family caregiver, I got designated to take that role. While she was in Cleveland, where we are from, I was taking care of her in the home. But she did want to go back to Florida where, once she got to Florida there, we got her aid. So she had a rough time. And my grandma would complain to me, and say they're not doing what they're supposed to do. They're not there when I wake up at night. The caregivers were saying she's confused, it's night time, and was already in her nineties, so that was the case. Well, one night she was calling out for them in her room, and asking them to come and help her, and they couldn't hear because they were asleep in her guest bedroom. So she decided to get up on her own to go use the restroom, and she fell, and she broke her femur. And that ended her time at home. It ended up being what caused the end of her life. And, you know, my story is a common one. It is more common than not. So I decided that there has to be something that we can do, to make sure that grandma and mom can be home. I've got to do something, and Care Bloom was born." Shannon describes Care Bloom. "It is a monitoring system. Your loved one wears a watch. It actually looks very similar to a Fitbit. So this is not a medical device. It's very cool looking. And there's actually a lot of really lovely data that most people actually get in tune with, such as what their daily activities look like. That's the watch. Each room has an anchor which is connected to an outlet. So you just plug it into an outlet in each of the rooms that you want monitored. You have a gateway, and that gateway sends all of the information to your app. So as a caregiver, you'll use the Care Bloom app. And it really gives you a snapshot of what your loved one's daily activities are, and their health status. "So, really quick, you're able to see on one page page, everything's green, Mom's good to go, and you can go about your day. It's more insight than we've ever had, in some ways, on their behaviors. You could also send reminders to your loved one, that goes to their watch. So, 'mom, hey, it's time to take those meds.' And so we're really looking at care plan compliance. We're looking at supporting health behaviors, and making sure that there's some accountability. So if your loved one does have a home health worker, you can actually designate tasks for that worker and confirm that they occur. So if medication should be taken at 10 a.m., they should be checking into the kitchen and taking that med. If mom's not in the mood for a shower, they're able to say, hey, you know what, she was not in the mood to take a shower today, it did not occur, so that the next day when the health worker comes, they know what that week look like. So it's a lot of interesting data." Lindsay says, "Our largest goal, which really is probably impacting all of your listeners right now, is we're trying to improve the process of caregiving." Hear more podcasts about aging in place. Answers for Elders is part of the <a...

If you or your relatives want to build a new structure, or get modifications done on your house, there are resources to make sure that the builders are doing it right. Dr. Jill Bjerke joins Suzanne to talk about aging in place constructions as part of this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place. A home assessment at silverspaces.com provides guidelines and recommendations to design an aging in place home, like lever handles on doors and faucets, a raised dishwasher so you don't have to bend down so far, a stove that has controls in the front, a low-maintenance exterior, things you ordinarily wouldn't think about with new construction. Dr. Jill says, "You can't predict your future. I had knee surgery, I had joint replacement. And boy, did that give me a firsthand view of what it's like to have to use a walker, and to have to shuffle, and... I have stairs. I shouldn't have stairs. How am I going to get up and down the stairs? So this assessment really gives you a picture of what you could be facing in the future if you're not thinking about it." Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts about Silver Spaces with Dr. Jill Bjerke. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silver Spaces is an online home safety assessment tool with a lot of research behind it. It works by taking you through each of your rooms, have you answer questions, and get educated along the way. For this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place, Dr. Jill Bjerke joins Suzanne to talk about the benefits of Silver Spaces. Only 25% of people who suffer from a broken hip are able to return home after they recover. The biggest injury that older adults incur comes from trips and falls, and they are preventable. A $39.95 assessment at Silver Spaces (silverspaces.com) could mean the difference between a good quality of life and living in a senior living community. Dr. Jill says, "I've been in the senior services realm for 18 years. I own a downsizing company; I had so many people tell me they wish they didn't have to move that. I spent about nine years researching and creating this electronic product, which is an electronic home safety assessment. I talked to gerontologists, researchers, city planners, interior designers, just about anybody you can think of, to try and come up with a content for their safety assessment. I was trying to cover as many bases as I could. So a lot of research and a lot of work went into creating this. It's SilverSpaces.com and it explains what it is and how to use it. The whole purpose is to go from whatever room — there's 18 rooms and places you can assess in the house, you can pick which ones you want to do. You just answer the questions, and you get educated as you go along, because you don't realize that some of those could have been risk places or safety issues. For example, 'I have a smoke alarm. I can hear it.' If you have someone with hearing aids, can they hear it when they don't have their hearing aids in? "When you sign up, it will ask you questions about your community, because a lot of people don't think about how their community may have changed. It may no longer be safe, and then [it] asks general home questions. Do you have a second bedroom for a caregiver? Do you have a second bathroom? Do you have a lot of stairs? Do you have zero thresholds, meaning flat thresholds, are your doorways wide enough for a wheelchair or walker? And then it goes into every single room you can possibly think of. You can pick the room you want to do, and the questions are right there. You just answer them. Do you have sharp countertop edges in your kitchen? Why is that important if you fall? That's an immediate possibility for a traumatic brain injury. So all of these different kinds of questions that people usually do not think about. And when you're done, you submit it. And what comes back is either a PDF or a printable version, so that you can have it in your hand. You can send it to a doctor, or a modification professional, or a relative. You can take it to a modification professional and get bids on whatever you think you need to change. So it's a very very usable product." Dr. Jill adds, "We do the exterior. Not in detail, but we ask things like, do you have a tree that drops berries on your concrete? That's a slip and fall hazard. Do you have grass that grows over the edges of your sidewalk? That's a slip and fall hazard. Do you have landscaping that takes a lot of maintenance? That's an issue. Do you have an overhang where at the door that you come in and out of, because you need protection from the elements. That's slippery. Do you have a non-slip surface when you step outside? "We ask as many questions as we can. But the problem is, if we ask all the questions — I have 300 of them — it would take you a couple of hours to do. So we had to be very selective, and ask the most important questions, which is why I had so many people work on this with me." Learn more at <a...

During our lighting round segment on the Answers for Elders radio show, expert Dr. Jill Bjerke joins Suzanne to answer three top questions about aging in place as part of this month's Specialist Spotlight. 1. When should anyone start thinking about remaining in their home? “Probably as soon as possible. At retirement, before retirement. When you feel unsafe in your home. Really, almost any time is a good time to start thinking about it because there's so many decisions to be made." 2. Who should help someone make a decision on this? “Basically, you'd probably start with your family. But you'd surprised how much your friends, churchgoer, friends, neighbors — people who know you well — can look at your house with different eyes. You see it every day, they don't. You'd be amazed to see things that you aren't even aware of.” 3 How do people pay for modifications to the home? “It sounds like an intimidating question. It's not. If you go to the government site National Institute on aging.gov (https://www.nia.nih.gov/), they have a whole host of ideas of where you can look. Every county in the United States has an area agency on aging, AAA as they're called. They have all kinds of information on aging in place, but they also have information on funding. There are states that are offering grants for home modifications. So you might want to check and see if your state has any of those. You can also use a home equity loan, a reverse mortgage, there are ways to do it. It just depends on what your financial needs are and what is best for you.” Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place features Dr. Jill Bjerke, the creator of Silver Spaces, an online assessment tool to help you identity safety risks and dangers in your home that you haven't noticed. If you want to remain in your home in your later years, Dr. Jill talks talks about many of the risks you can avoid. Dr. Jill says, "Every 20 minutes, according to the National Institutes of Health, an adult over 65 dies from a fall. That is so unnecessary. Things like this assessment are out there to identify where trip-and-fall hazards are. And they can be so insidious. You walk over that same darned carpet every day, and you don't realize the edge is frayed. And now, all of a sudden, a zipper catches on it, and you go down. It shouldn't be that way." Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Jill Bjerke, CEO of Silver Spaces, joins Suzanne for this month's Specialist Spotlight on Aging in Place. People don't ask these questions enough. We get emotionally attached to a locale, and while our health and lifestyle changes, our home stays the same. Tasks that seem so simple can become complicated when we age. Dr. Jill says, "Aging in place is different than people think. It's not, "I'm gonna live in my home forever." There are a lot of decisions that have to be made. The biggest ones are things like finance, transportation, health, socialization, all of those things you need to think about either at retirement, before retirement. What am I gonna do about my finances? I'm still gonna have maintenance on my house. I'm still gonna have to pay someone to shovel my snow. How's my health? Is it good enough for me to stay home or will it deteriorate in the future? What if I can't drive? How am I gonna get places? How am I gonna get church, get my hair cut, whatever. What options are there? Are there senior services in your town? And then obviously socialization, that's the biggest barrier to aging in place is becoming isolated. So how can you avoid that? Is your church close enough where you can walk? Do you play bingo? Do you play cards? Can you get there? Can someone pick you up? Meeting with other people is absolutely vital to longevity.” When should you start this planning? “It really should start when you're thinking ahead about retirement, because that's the time to think about. When you get to your seventies or eighties, all of a sudden it becomes, 'Can I stay here?'” Learn more at silverspaces.com. Hear more podcasts with Dr. Jill Bjerke at https://answersforelders.com/silver-spaces/doctor-jill-bjerke/. Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network at https://www.seniorresource.com/. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about giving yourself some grace and working on self-care to lessen burnout during the overwhelming experience of family caregiving. Dr. Weiss talks about recognizing the symptoms of burnout, working on self-care, and giving yourself some grace. Burnout will lead you to have a short fuse, the last thing you need while caregiving. Take time and step back, find ways to de-stress, and have someone you can vent to. Knowledge is power. The more you are prepared, the better as your loved one's dementia worsens. When it comes down to it, you have to make sure you're taking care of yourself and finding people that can help. If you have to take a break, make sure you come back refreshed, don't feel guilty about it. Have trusted people around you. You don't want to wait till it's too late to find the right people, because then you'll be forced to make quick adjustments and not find the right people. Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more:* Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/* Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about:* Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/* Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about the listening and non-verbal side of communicating better. We're rushed, living hectic lives. When we walk into the room with our loved ones, are we empathetic, or just pretending to listen? With empathy, you'll have more success with them doing what you need, like eating breakfast or going to the doctor. Not interrupting, not finishing their sentences for them, goes a long way. You're going to learn more about mom, a long of things you can still learn from them if you just listen. Their long-term memory is still intact. Her advice: actually listen, don't pretend to listen. Get over repetition. Don't interrupt. Ask the right questions. Take inventory of your own weaknesses. Practice listening. Resist the impulse to correct errors. And don't let yourself get offended. Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more:* Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/* Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about:* Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/* Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about ways of adjusting the home environment to improve the quality of life for those who face cognitive challenges. Environment plays a major role in daily success, especially as symptoms progress. Adding lavender and vanilla through diffusers can provide a calming effect, reducing stress. It helps to set lights lower after dinnertime. Colors have a huge affect as well. Communicate with more of a soothing tone of view, and use calmer body language. Avoid jargon, and speak one step at a time. If you want to maximize what they can do, rather than toss out lots of instructions, because the brain is processing more slowly, give them one instruction at a time, and give them time to process it. Simple tweaks can help. For instance, avoid asking they want to take a shower, because they can say no. Instead, say "It's time to take a shower, let's go take a shower." Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more:* Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/* Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about:* Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/* Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour. This segment provides an overview of mental impairments, including dementia. 12-18% of those over 60 years old have at least some mild cognitive disorder, and that is expected to grow by 20% by the year 2040. 80% of seniors in senior living communities have some kind of impairment. Most people want to age in place, particularly after Covid, and people are feeling ill-equipped when it comes to caregiving. People are looking for ways to help mom or dad, to improve their quality of life. There are more than 100 types of dementia. People have language deficits or an expressive aphasia, taking unnecessary risks, memory losses, confusion, decreased concentration, and some personality changes are some of the symptoms. Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide. Learn more:* Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/* Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/ Hear more podcasts about:* Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/* Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean advises to always pay for moving by weight, not cubic feet, and to inspect the empty truck at the end of the move before the crew leaves. 9. Always pay by weight, not cubic feet. Move by weight, not volume. Cubic feet is not a precise measure. The same boxes can be arranged to take up different amounts of space. Scammers can leave big open gaps within stacks of boxes on a truck, so that the boxes appear to take up more space than they really do. If you don't have a precise measure, you don't have control over the price. The military, governments, and corporations all ship by weight for a reason. The scale is your best friend, weight is an absolute measure. 10. Inspect the empty truck after delivery, before the crew leaves. It's on Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage paperwork, to initial that you've inspected the truck. Nobody wants to have items accidentally left behind on the truck. You'll feel more comfortable knowing that if you can't find something, it's somewhere in your house, and not on the truck. It gives you closure. Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. This segment, Sean advises that you pre-plan your space in your new house before you move there, and observe the truck as it's being weighed before and after loading. 7. Space plan at your destination before your move. Make sure you know where you want your furniture to go in your new home. You need to be able to show the movers where to unload items. If you haven't done that ahead of time, local movers are being paid by the hour while you decide. Sometimes you don't end up liking where you wanted that couch to go, and they'll move it to an alternate spot. On a long distance move, they've only been paid to put your couch in one spot, and will have to charge extra for moving it to various spots in your living room. It starts with marking your boxes clearly, and not in cursive. Most movers are foreign, and cursive can be hard to read. If you're moving from a larger house to a smaller one, space planning is essential. Joseph says, "People are not prepared for moving bigger to smaller. So many times movers have to stack boxes all the way to the ceiling, and then the people couldn't get to them to open them. What could we do?" Arrange for offsite storage or have some of the boxes placed in the garage. 8. Observe the truck being weighed before and after packing. Personally observe the truck on the scale before and after packing so you know how much your stuff weighs, because that is the basis for the price you're being charged. You also have the right to have the truck weighed at the destination. Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean advises packing boxes fully to avoid damage, organize your house for the move, don't sign blank forms, and stay with the crew but out of the way. 3. When you pack, fill up boxes all the way to avoid damages. If you're doing your own packing, the moving company is not liable for damages to boxes. To avoid damage, prevent items from shifting inside the boxes. To do that, fill each box completely. If they're sealed and flat, they can be stacked faster in the truck. Line the bottom, pack in layers, and if you have empty space, stuff it will filler so items won't move around. Always mark the room it's going to, and the contents if you'd like. A good company will provide color-coded smart tape, so movers can quickly tell by color where each box belongs. Local movers are working by the hour, so save money and seal your boxes. If they're unsealed, movers will have to spend extra time to seal them. 4. Organize your house for the move. Movers want to arrive and just see furniture and boxes. Then they don't waste any time, and can get started right away. If packing isn't completed, or boxes aren't taped, it takes them more time. 5. Do not sign blank paperwork under any circumstances. Scammers work by saying they have to change their estimate, then get you to sign a blank paper. Make sure you get a copy of their estimate. Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage uses tablets; when something changes on the estimate, they will send a new completed electronic estimate. 6. Stay with the crew, but stay out of the way. Let the crew work, they know what they're doing. Observe all the time. If you have questions or problems, don't hesitate to call the office. Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean urges people to get an in-home estimate and pack yourself to save money. 1. Get an up-front, in-home estimate. Joseph says, "A move is a big deal. You're giving them everything you own. Don't you want to see who you're dealing with, to build trust?" Choose a local company from the neighborhood. An in-home estimate is your insurance. You want them to come out to you, to meet them. While there, they can survey your items, and they won't be able to charge more than 10% above the amount quoted in their free binding estimate. You can ask the proper questions, and they'll estimate the number of boxes you'll need, and the types of boxes you'll need. Most people underestimate how many boxes they'll need. If you don't have time, you can meet virtually, but definitely do hire a local company, where you can visit their offices. 2. Pack yourself to save money; supply deliveries should be free; don't order boxes online. Online boxes are cheap, not strong enough or durable enough for a move. The company that did the quote already knows from their estimate what boxes you'll need. A firm like Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage will deliver the right boxes for free, and only charge for the ones you use. They'll also bring additional boxes if you need more, with no delivery fee. Jordan River has the option of providing good used boxes for a discount. They also will pick up your used boxes once you've unpacked after your move, so you don't have to recycle them. Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Joan Rettmann, Regional Director of Sales in the Seattle area for Skyline, a unique life care senior living community. She clears up misperceptions about life care communities and explains how they work. Joan says, "Skyline has an extra special place in my heart, because this is actually where I got my start in the industry... Many residents that moved in 15 years ago are still here. Many of them have utilized what we call the Terraces at Skyline, and have used the various components to our continuum of care. And it's been really lovely to see all of that support in place just as it was intended." "A lot of people don't necessarily know what life care specifically is. So a quick mini lesson on that: there are three core types of CCRCs, continuing care retirement communities. The term "life care" is actually different than life plan. Life plan is the umbrella term in which types A B and C fall under. So type A and "life care" are one and the same. How it's different than A, B, or C, is that under the life care plan, you have priority access to higher levels of care at a fraction of what the market rate cost would normally be for any care level as long as you need it. So it really serves kind of like if you think of the best possible long term care insurance policy you could buy, that would be similar to having that here at Skyline. "Type B can offer some discounts, but it's limited in some way, or limited to the care levels. And type C is paying market rate. So type A offers the greatest peace of mind for financial protection in the future. And our residents really love that. There are certain things that you need to explore when you come into the community, and you talk to a sales and marketing team member to make sure that you qualify for it, because there are certain pre-existing conditions that would prohibit that, age requirements and such. That can all be part of the planning process when considering moving, so it's always good to get a head start and looking at your plans to see if that's a fit for you." Learn more:* Skyline* Hear more podcasts about senior living Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource NetworkCheck out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Suzanne highly recommends Jordan River after her experiences with the company helping move her mom twice. Suzanne says, "You guys did two moves for my mom. And I remember each time it was just a breeze, it was easy. Your staff was wonderful. They were kind, they were gentle, they listened to what she had to say. There was a lot that we had to do, especially in the first move, where we had a lot of stuff to get rid of, but you guys just handled it perfectly. So I always say thank you. That is really important to me, that you're not like anybody else. And I mean that." Sean says, "I would like to provide a good service to people. I remember my business partner, Kobe, we started in Boston working for my brother in Philadelphia, and we learned how to provide quality service. And we went back to — we originally were born and raised in Israel — we went back to Israel. One day Kobe come into my house and said after seven years, we already had a baby each, he said, 'Let's go back to the United States, let's do moving the way we believe moving should be, high-quality service. He didn't say let's go to the United States to make money. Let's do moving services with high quality. We picked Seattle because we wanted a place that was safe, education was good, public schools and everything was high grade, a low crime ratio. And really from the get go, we emphasized customer service." Sean adds, "We are born and raised in Israel, which is a very family-oriented country. Take care of your parents and respect grandparents." Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Sean describes everything to do to make sure you have stress-free move. Sean says, "People need to understand the process of the move, what they need to expect, and how to create and complete a simple move in a good way, that shouldn't be stressful. The moving company could take so much stress away. Make the right first move. Call for an estimate, gain trust with the person from the company. Second, discuss either on the phone or in person what services would you like. We can do a full packing for you, so you don't need to worry about anything. Leave your house as is, we'll come and pack it for you: bring our boxes, our smart tape, sharpie to write the contents of the boxes and the location, and everything like that. Or you want to do your own packing? We can supply the boxes. I think it's very important, we deliver boxes to you for free. Do not order boxes online, the boxes online are not good. They're not thick enough. They will cause damage to your items, I guarantee that. They're not the right sizes, the proper sizes for a movie. We have all type of boxes: specialty boxes, picture boxes, and all the rest. We will charge you [for what you use] the day of the move, so you don't need to stress about ordering too many boxes. "We would like you to prepare your house for us for the day of the move. Which means we would like to come and find boxes and furniture. The boxes packed all the way to the top, sealed, and marked with the location. First, we're going to load all the boxes in the truck. Then we're going to disassemble the furniture, wrap the furniture at the house. That's one of the differences between us and other moving companies. There's two way of handling the furniture. One is when you take the furniture as is to the truck and drop a blanket on it, or shrink wrap, which I think is a joke; shrink wrap does not protect anything. So we disassemble the furniture, wrapping the furniture, protecting mattresses with a heavy-duty mattress cover, and load them on the truck. “Fully inspect the house. Walk around, open every cupboard, every cabinet, every closet, everything, make sure nothing is left behind. I instruct our crew to open everything with the customer. Don't rush out of the house to save 20, 30 bucks and leave stuff behind. Take five minutes, do the walk through. "At the destination, we're going to unload all your furniture first. Make sure you know where you want the furniture, because moving it around will take time for no reason. And we're gonna place the furniture, reassemble the furniture, set up the house. Once you say [everything is OK], we're going to bring the boxes in, place them exactly where they need to go in each room based on the customer direction. And then after we're done, we ask the customer to inspect the truck, even if it's a rainy day in Seattle, make sure you inspect the truck. I we got a few comments recently from customer that said, 'wow, it's the first time your crew insisted we check the truck, and we appreciate it.' They want to make sure nothing left behind. This is the proper way to do it. It's on our paperwork, too, that you need to initial 'I did a walkthrough and I inspected the truck.' We don't want to take any of your items back to our warehouse by mistake. "If you use our boxes, we'll gladly come and pick up the boxes. Call us [after you unpack], we don't want you to get stuck with all these big boxes and figure out where to recycle them." Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:*...

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. They continue their conversation about moving company scams to watch for. Sean says, "I'm a board member of the Washington Movers Conference. And every time, we're talking about education, education, education. People need to be aware of scams. The scan is very simple. The company tries to get you in at a certain amount of money, and then double it. "First, stay away from brokers. Brokers won't admit they are brokers. Brokers always charge a 35% deposit... If the company asks you and try to move you based on a cubic feet, run and hang up the phone. You don't want to move by cubic feet, because this is not a precise measure... [A scammer] will create a hole in the middle of the truck to inflate the amount of space they're using... Pay attention to blank paperwork. They must send a bill of lading three days before the move... Don't sign a blank paper. "Recently [scammers] have been using the same tactic of a binding estimate fee... Legitimate companies will not charge for an estimate. Any time you hear that, it's a scam." Regarding red flags to look for on a company's website, Sean says, "It's tricky. Look up their department of transportation number. You might not want to use a brand new company, which is if their number starts with a 3. Look up their DOT number to see if they're a broker or a carrier. It's simple math, the broker is charging more. "Do not pay for a binding estimate, do not move by cubic feet, make sure it's not a broker, try to avoid brand-new moving companies, and ask for an in-home estimate, so you can look them in the eye, so they can get a visual estimate, and get something in writing. Always use a local moving company. Look at their contact information. If it doesn't have a full address, run." Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ • Washington Movers Conference: https://wmcmovers.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Moving has changed with the internet, making the whole United States one big neighborhood, and leading to scams. Seek local companies, and get an in-person estimate. Sean says, "People sometimes fall for fake reviews and flashy websites. When you put your precious items in the hands of movers, don't you want to get something in writing, and be able to look them in the eyes? Ask for references from a friend. Ask local companies if they can come up to your house and give you an estimate. If they won't come to your house, that's a red flag. It should be a free estimate. There's no reason to pay for an estimate. "If they can't come to your home, that means they're from out of town, and they're probably going to hire another moving organization to come get your stuff. All they are is a middleman, they're going to mark the price higher, right? Because they have to make a profit, this transportation broker. If you ever pay more than a ten percent deposit, which should be refundable 72 hours before the move... don't ever pay 35%, because the broker takes that money. "The broker doesn't give you a magic price somewhere. They use the magic phrase, 'based on your information.' When I come to your home, and give you an estimate, for free of course, I am obligated by law to set a cap on the estimate. There's no way I can charge whatever I want. Those who don't come to your home, and go by your information supposedly, they can say you were wrong, and can charge you double, triple. "90% of the brokers are selling out of Serbia, Tijuana, Tel Aviv, Bogota. Ask for local companies in your area. You can visit their headquarters or local branch. Younger people are getting scammed just like seniors. Be careful of the internet. Watch for phishing, cybersecurity, retargeted ads. They're very sophisticated." Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to provide some tips for unpaid family caregivers caring for a loved one about the legal documents they need to have in place, and also some practical tips to keep in mind. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. Andrea says, "I'm going to share my own experiences, my own tips that I have, working as an elder law attorney for 15 years and then my own experiences as a caregiver to my mom, who has dementia, and is still at home with my dad. "The basic legal tools that they need are so important to have in place. They're the financial power of attorney because that's the document that says, hey, if my parent is incapacitated, my parent is not able to make competent decisions on their own, can I make sure I have access to managing their finances? Can I make sure their bills are being paid? If my dad starts accidentally giving money away because he got an email from the Prince of Uganda trying to get money, do I have a way to help him out and support him, advocate for him financially, and legally? ... Second is that healthcare power of attorney... Oftentimes it falls to one child to be the primary caregiver. And if you are a parent, and you have a child who is helping you, then you should take a moment to thank them, because they are kind of the unsung heroes of care. But sometimes families fail to recognize the challenges that those caregivers might face, and the children who are not caregivers are sometimes so critical of the care that their brother or sister is giving their mom and dad, they might be harassing them about decisions that they're making, trying to tell them what to do. So that healthcare power of attorney, where you name that primary caregiver as the person that you trust to make these important medical decisions for you, are essential." Andrea adds, "Maybe they have three daughters, and they love all three of their daughters, and all three of their daughters are responsible adults, and they trust all of them. And they're asking me, well, how do we pick which daughter? And I actually say, 'all things being equal, pick the best communicator. Pick the one who plans the birthday parties, pick the one who's reaching out to his or her siblings, and who's a good communicator.' Learn more:* Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/* Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more:* Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/* Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to talk about essential legal documents to have in place no matter your age, keeping them up to date, and describing oft overlooked documents such as the HIPAA release and POLST form, Physicians Order of Life Sustaining Treatment form. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. Andrea says, "Earlier, I said estate planning is a little bit like a pyramid. In the very bottom of that pyramid are documents every single person should have. And two of those documents are the financial and health care power of attorney. But in addition to that, there are a few other documents that every adult should have. When my daughter became an adult, I drafted them for her because they're the documents that allow your loved ones to take care of you when you're alive, but unable to care for yourself. And we hate to think about that time, if that ever happens. "Do not do it online. If you are over the age of 65, then I would encourage you to work with an elder law attorney. Estate planning attorneys... can do that when you're young. It's totally different goals, because if you're younger, it's about finding heirs and making sure that you're building your empire... The planning looks different, the objectives look different, and sometimes the documents look different... Now, it's extremely important... that those documents be properly done and be kept up to date... We ask our clients to come back every five years. We oftentimes don't have to make a change in five years, sometimes we do. But that's the opportunity for me to sit down with my clients and ask what's changed in your life. It's also an opportunity for us to review any law changes that might have happened." "Frequently overlooked is a HIPAA release. Due to the privacy laws at hospitals, they're not necessarily supposed to share confidential medical information with individuals who are not the person seeking or receiving treatment, right? A HIPAA release is extremely important. That's because an individual might, say, name their spouse as their healthcare power of attorney, and that individual is charged with making all the medical decisions for them, but they might also want to make sure that their children — who may or may not be the children of that spouse — be able to visit them at the hospital anytime, learn information about their care, find out the status of mom or dad. And without that HIPAA release, the hospital is only required to provide medical information to the one agent named in that healthcare power of attorney. And there have been instances where individuals have been isolated from their loved ones, because their one healthcare power of attorney has told hospitals or medical institutions or adult family homes not to share information with these individuals. 'I'm the healthcare agent, I'm the one who gets to make decisions on behalf of the incapacity person, and legally I don't want information shared with their children or their siblings.' And maybe if that person who was incapacitated was competent, there's no way they would want their children kept away from them. So people sometimes don't realize how important that HIPAA release is in making sure your family members can get medical information and care information should you be incapacitated. "I am going to talk about a POLST form. But there's also a form that I provide to my clients, that estate planning and elder law attorneys do provide, called a living will. And people sometimes confuse the two documents, a living will versus a POLST form. A POLST form is the physician's orders for life sustaining treatment. It is an order signed by your doctor. So an attorney cannot give you a POLST form. Your medical doctor can. They're usually lime green.... "I had a neighbor, Ruth who was a fabulous neighbor, and she was diagnosed with terminal cancer... She actually came to me and...

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to talk about the healthcare power of attorney document. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. This document is often overlooked by families. Who can make medical decisions for you when you're not able to make your own choices? Andrea says, "There is so much that goes into making someone's medical decisions. When I've had family members in the hospital, I've been awoken at 1 a.m. to authorize a blood transfusion. Or I've been hit with a question of, hey, there are different treatment options, you need to decide which one is going to be best. And those are very difficult decisions for family members to make. But what that health care power of attorney does is, number one, it gives them the legal ability to actually make those decisions. For many people that is especially essential, because you might have more than one child, you might have a new spouse and children from a previous marriage. And then the question comes down to, if an individual is hospitalized or incapacitated, who do they want to be making those decisions on their behalf? If someone doesn't sign that health care power attorney, you're really just opening the door for conflict in your family, because you're not designating which of your five wonderful children you want to make those decisions, and that's just going to create chaos amongst those children. "One of the most important decisions people will make is: who are the people they're going to name as their agents, who is the person who will manage your finances, who is the person who will make those medical decisions. Well-drafted health care powers of attorneys don't give that much direction. They give a lot of powers. And that's because as an attorney who's been practicing in this area of the law for as long as I have, you learn that there are just too many possible scenarios that cannot be addressed within a power of attorney document. You can't anticipate what someone's illness might look like, or what the end of their life might look like. So it's important that the document give the agent all the powers to make those decisions. "It is a sign to them that you have faith in them, you have trust in their decision-making abilities, and that they are the individual you want charged with that hard situation. It is so important in families that have multiple potential decision-makers to choose the person. I tell my clients frequently, you know what? You can have two children who love you, who have your best interests at heart, who want to do everything to help you and support you. But they can still disagree. And it's possible that neither one of them are wrong. They could both be right, but it's just a matter of opinion. So it's so important to choose that one person that you think best supports your personal view." Learn more:* Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/* Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more:* Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/* Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elder law and estate planning attorney Andrea Lee joins Suzanne to share advice and tips for legal planning to help you age gracefully in a situation that you like. Andrea Lee serves as an attorney for Legacy Estate Planning in Bellevue, Washington. The power of attorney document is a critical tool to let your family help take care of you when you're in a crisis situation. Andrea says, "There are a lot of misconceptions regarding power of attorney documents, having the ability to manage an individual's state or affairs, and what each person should have in place. Now, typically when I talk about estate planning, I equate it to a pyramid, where there are certain tools every single adult should have in place. Every single person over the age of 18 should have very basic estate planning documents. But as people age, it becomes more important to have those basic documents in place. I would say weekly, I get a phone call or a message that says I need to get power of attorney over my mom. And the reality is, you don't get power of attorney over someone, an individual has to give that power... We each have the ability as adults to make decisions on our own. But it's, it's really difficult to think that a time [may] come... to empower our children or our cousins or whomever loves you and wants to take care of you, to help you navigate aging or potential incapacity. Of all the estate planning documents I prepare for my clients, financial power of attorney is one of the most important documents. "Can I take a moment and tell you about my own powers of attorney? I've been an estate planning and elder law attorney for about 18 years now. And I actually take care of my own mother, who has pretty advanced dementia, along with my dad and my siblings. But we had our own challenge with powers of attorneys a few years ago. My brother Christian was sick... In a very short period of time, he went to the hospital and he went into a coma... it was a horrible time for my family. He was 44 years old at the time, he had been in perfect health... And our family was beside itself because we're a very close family and we love each other and support each other. And when my brother Christian was first hospitalized, the hospital would not even share medical information with us. "Even though I'm an estate planning attorney and I had offered to draft documents to him over and over again, he was a 44 year old healthy man, and he's like, 'I don't need that. Why do I need that?' But when he became ill, they would not tell us medically what was going on because we did not have the health care power attorney. We did not have a HIPAA release... We wanted to do the most basic things to help him, to cancel his credit card bills, talk to his insurance company, pay his rent, but our hands were tied. So my family felt just completely lost because we wanted to help him and he would have wanted us to help him, but we didn't have those tools right now. "That was one of the most painful and difficult times for my family, and as an estate planning attorney, that is where I don't want my clients to be. And that's why having properly drafted estate power of attorney documents are essential... That's the tool that lets your loved ones take care of you when you're not able to manage your own thing." Learn more:* Andrea Lee: https://www.waltar.com/andrealee/* Legacy Estate Planning: https://www.waltar.com/ Hear more:* Legacy Estate Planning podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/legacy-estate-planning/* Power of attorney podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/tag/power-of-attorney/ Answers for Elders is part of the...

John Wenderlein joins Suzanne to talk about how he got started as a hospice chaplain and wrote his two books ''Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain'' and ''Delayed Honor.'' "John says, "What I found as I was visiting these patients, I would leave having to write their stories down. So on my computer, I have 1,000, 1,500 stories... One of my pastor buddies about a year or two ago said, John, you should write a book. I was telling him a quick story. He wasn't a chaplain, he was a retired pastor, and he said, John, that story is so overwhelming... I wrote my first book, and I struggled with it. With the help of close friends and my wife, I got through it. "My second book, what we found is and many people forget is we have pretty much buried a generation of World War II and Korean veterans – the last patient I had was 105, he was in the Army Air Corps, which ended in 1947. What I was finding was, when I would meet a Vietnam veteran at the end of his life, I talked about this reflection. They were devastated, they were heartbroken. When they came back to this country, they were just spat upon, horrible things done. So I took those stories and I put them in my second book. And that book has just come out a couple of weeks ago, and that's called Delayed Honor." Learn more about John Wenderlein:* Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-through-Hospice-Chaplain/dp/B0CGL5V4KZ* Delayed Honor https://www.amazon.com/Delayed-Honor-John-Kirn-Wenderlein/dp/B0CTXB6M22* John's website: https://www.remembermejw.com/ Hear more:* End of life podcasts at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/end-of-life/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hospice chaplain John Wenderlein joins Suzanne to talk about how he helps families facilitate having those difficult conversations during end of life care and hospice. John says, "I think you have to bring them to a peace of mind. You know, we come into a family, and what we like to call in our Christian life, a lot. Their last season, you have to convince them that you're there because you love them. You just want to be there and that opens up, that takes down that wall many times. I will have a conversation with family members as if I was [part of] the family. They get to love me in that way because it's just about the end of life for that family member and it's how they go out. That's so important to me." "W live with people who rerun their lives. I was with someone two days ago. I walked into her room and she was staring into the ceiling. She said, I'm looking at my life at a million miles an hour. What happens when we come to this end? They resolve, they come to peace with what's coming." How do we as adult children help to resolve issues? John says, "Well, we start by listening. I know that's hard sometimes as we get older. But you know what happens is, as we get older, the role responsibilities tend to change. We tend to be in the parent role... You almost have to be silent. They are going to desire to download, tell everybody the truth, tell everybody they love that they care. Or maybe there was some friction. I've seen families get together at the end of life when they couldn't get along during life, because it's time. It's kind of like you're packing your bags [for a trip] and you make sure you put your toothbrush in there at the end, make sure everything's in there, all inclusive. And that's what many people do when they come to the end." Learn more about John Wenderlein:* Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-through-Hospice-Chaplain/dp/B0CGL5V4KZ* Delayed Honor https://www.amazon.com/Delayed-Honor-John-Kirn-Wenderlein/dp/B0CTXB6M22* John's website: https://www.remembermejw.com/ Hear more:* End of life podcasts at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/end-of-life/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hospice chaplain John Wenderlein joins Suzanne to talk about learning how to have the conversations to say goodbye to our loved ones at the end of their lives. There's often a denial process with family members. John says, "Even though a doctor has told you six months, mother and dad are getting ready to pass. So there's a big fight. I don't mean a physical fight or a verbal fight, I mean an emotional struggle, and it doesn't happen so much with the patient because many times they've been sick for a while, it happens with the family. One of our struggles in the hospice business is to get all that paperwork correct, and [families] just don't want to hear it. "My role is a role people are a little confused about. You have the doctor, you have a nurse, you have a worker... But when the chaplain walks through the door, it becomes real. It becomes real for the family, it becomes real for the patient. So, as a chaplain, I have to be careful how I initially meet them. My job is to keep the spiritual strength up and keep the conversation as light as possible. "Many of the medical questions are answered by the nurses, are answered by our literature. We hand out literature that says these are the signs. Don't be confused if your mother or father seems to be getting better before they get worse. Don't be surprised if there's changes in the skin — touch, texture or skin color. And of course, with memory and things like that, don't be surprised that he or she's going to have those moments and talk about that vacation 20 years ago." Learn more about John Wenderlein:* Remember Me: End of Life as Seen through the Eyes of a Hospice Chaplain https://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-through-Hospice-Chaplain/dp/B0CGL5V4KZ* Delayed Honor https://www.amazon.com/Delayed-Honor-John-Kirn-Wenderlein/dp/B0CTXB6M22* John's website: https://www.remembermejw.com/ Hear more:* End of life podcasts at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/end-of-life/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Skyline Retirement resident Judy Mayotte joins Suzanne to give a tour of her apartment. Judy says, "I just love my apartment. I've lived in refugee camps and in grass huts. So I'm living in the lap of luxury here. But I also have lived for a number of years in condominiums. I lost a leg in Sudan, in the war zone there, and couldn't manipulate a lawn mower or things like that, so I'm used to living in condos and apartments. So it was not difficult for me to move here. I have one of the smallest apartments here at Skyline. t's a one bedroom, most people and particularly couples will get larger ones. But I have never been happier than I am right here in this little apartment. It's just wonderful." Learn more:* Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/* More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judy Mayotte has been living independently at Skyline Retirement in downtown Seattle for six years. Judy joins Suzanne to talk about how she decided to move into a Life Care Community. What led her to move here? Judy explains, "I had come back from living a number of years in South Africa, and I bought a condo. Because I lost my leg in the war zone in Southern Sudan a number of years ago, I knew that probably at some point I would need some kind of care. So I bought one that had three bedrooms so that I could have a caregiver. And then I realized it's really going to be lonely if I'm the only one here, because when you live in a condo, everybody's going out. And I thought I'd be home alone, and that made me think, why don't I look at some of these life care places? And I moved back to Seattle. I had taught at Seattle University for a period of time. and fell in love with the city and the state. And so I wanted to live here. "My husband died almost 50 years ago, I've been alone for a long time and worked overseas. And I decided that I wanted to come to a place like Skyline, because mainly I wanted community. For many people moving into a place where a lot of people live together, that can be really difficult if they've lived in their home for 45 or 50 years. They've accumulated everything, they have memories there ,they raised their children there, they have their garden, they have so much, but also they need more care. And I think the transition for someone that has lived long in a place is more difficult than it is for a nomad like me." "There are so many fitness opportunities for us, as far as classes are concerned. There's the school, gym, exercise classes, stimulating talks, musical programs. I want to emphasize that a place like Skyline, we have built such a fine community here, it is an inclusive community rather than exclusive community of people. You have all these people with incredible life experiences that you're eating dinner with, you're sharing a movie with, or having in for a cocktail before dinner. And you can be with people as much as you want to be, or you can be alone as much as you want to be. Keep active and keep your mind active, and we have plenty of opportunities to do that here. "We have the Skyline Residents Association, and then under that umbrella are a number of committees. There's the dining committee, caring committee, fitness committee, the spiritual committee, whatever. And people really have an opportunity to engage in those committees and really get to know other members." Learn more:* Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/* More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Judy Mayotte, an 87-year-old resident of Skyline Retirement in downtown Seattle who lives independently. This is a Life Care Community, in which they take care of seniors from independent through memory care, should they need 24-hour care later in life. You pay an upfront fee, but the quality of care can be much higher. Judy says, "It's very, very easy to live here... We've got two towers of independent living, and we have our own apartments that have a kitchen, bedroom, living room and everything. And then there's another tower called the terraces that is attached to it. In the terraces, there is assisted living, and full care, or skilled nursing. And one of the beautiful things about that is that sometimes one partner, one spouse, will have memory care needs, and can move over to memory care, but the other person can remain in independent living, and never have to go outside to go visit and be with the person that is in memory care. They can spend the whole day over there together. They can do all sorts of things, but the other person, they'll keep the independent living and still remain on the same property. Many of us have lost our spouses, or never married. And so you have a lot of single people, you have a lot of couples, and you have several people where one lives in independent living and one lives in memory care. There are many different kinds of arrangements." Judy adds, "My deciding factor in moving to Skyline was simply that I liked the atmosphere, the feeling of community here, the layout of the apartments, and the floor to ceiling windows that give you light." Learn more:* Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/* More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about what happens on moving day. Sean explains the rules for various local and longer distance moves. "Every state has different rules and tariffs for professionally licensed and insured moving companies. We will use Washington as an example, because it's pretty similar to most other regulated states. So when you just move within a 56-mile radius, it's a local move. Therefore, we'll calculate the hourly rate. We'll charge the customer by the hourly rate for the packing and for the actual move. We always recommend if any family member can do the packing, do the packing because you save money. "The other move option is called intrastate, which is long distance within the state. This will go by the mileage and the pounds on the truck. So we weigh the truck before and after. The hourly rate is not a factor, just the weight of the shipment. Similarly to this is the interstate move, which is across state lines. Every move across state line will be based on weight and mileage. If someone tells you that you want to charge you by volume, hang up the phone. There's no way in the world anybody can tell you the volume of your shipment. It's just the weight." "You can save money by doing your own packing. We deliver the boxes to your door, the wrapping paper, everything that you need. If we didn't supply you enough, no problem. Another phone call, we will deliver it to you. We're not gonna charge you for this. We charge you per use. Order more boxes than what you think you need. We're trying to make it easier for the people. "When people do their own packing, I would like to come to the house the day of the move and find boxes and furniture. And I would like to see the boxes all taped and ready to roll, because from the moment the truck stops, unfortunately, the clock starts. So we're not gonna charge you if you are organized and ready. I promise you, our crew will not waste your time. When we're moving a senior, we ask the guys to slow down a little bit, because they walk too fast for certain people, but they will be respectful of the time. We are not there to milk your clock. "One time, I'm getting videos from the crew. It's a total chaos. And I first thing I said, the crew, we need to wait. I tell the person we'll come back tomorrow, please organize the place. If you can, if you don't have to leave today, because if we spend time to organize your place, your move would be much higher." Sean adds, "Our customers ask me, 'Can you 100% show that you're going move my items from point A to point B without any damage?' I always say if I can promise you that, I'll probably be God, but I'm not God. Things can happen because we are human. I promise you the people I put into your house, I trust my family with them. They know my daughters, my daughters know them. You can feel safe and secure around my movers." Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See <a...

Particularly for people who have mobility challenges or health issues and require special preparations, moving requires planning. Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne to talk how to plan for a move, especially if you're downsizing or moving into a senior living community. Sean says, "We will do the estimate, then help figure out the packing option, and then comes the move date. That's 1-2-3, it's planning, planning, planning. For the move that is the traditional move, let's say the family member is in good health, we can move from point A to point B, loading the boxes first, wrapping or disassembling the furniture, and doing the reverse: unloading all the furniture, setting it up the way the customer wants and then unloading the boxes in the right location. "For downsizing, let's say from a house or an apartment to one room in a senior living, for example, at the time of the estimate, we will take the address of the destination. We will visit the destination, we will talk to the front desk to figure out what they need from certificate of insurance, to floor covering, to elevator reserve. We'll try to see the room so we can create a floor plan. It's very important when moving from a bigger place to a smaller place, we want to make sure [we know] what would be the best location for the furniture to give enough movement within the room. "The other type of move, which is the most complicated, is usually when the senior has a medical issue like dementia, [or mobility or health challenges], we need sometimes to really copycat the one location, and that involves meticulous planning and moving. We had one customer that we had to make everything exactly the same. We needed to take pictures of all the cabinets before we packed them, and when we got to the destination, we put all the items back in exact the same order. Think about it – exactly the same order, because of the memory issues he had. And place medication exactly where it was before." Sean adds, "It's important to pay attention to detail and listen, listen. Some moves like this will take a little bit more time. And I always tell the crew, please take your time. Slow down. Do not run, listen to the people. Sometimes they need more time. Slow down, constantly ask, what can I do for you?" Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving &amp; Storage, joins Suzanne to talk about the variety of options people have when packing for a move, as well as how to pack if you choose to do it yourself. Sean says, "We have a variety of options. A of course is full packing: we come — with the truck, with the boxes, all the packing materials — to the house. You leave the house as is, you wake up in the morning, wash your face, have a coffee, sit on the couch, and everything around you will translate into boxes. "Option B: You can tell us what to pack. You can say, 'I will pack all my clothes, all the items that are not fragile that I can handle. You guys do the kitchen for me.' "Option C: We can just supply you the boxes, we can show you how to pack items that you have concerns about, that you're not sure how to pack, but we supply all the types of boxes that you need in order to complete your packing. Also, if you have extra fragile items and you're really, really worried about it, we can crate it to make sure nothing will happen. "Now, we need to discuss the process of some the packing. It's crucial to understand the idea of a packing is very simple: Avoid movement inside the box. If you avoid movement, you avoid damages. That's as simple as it is. That's how we even stack the truck when we're building the wall in the truck – avoid movement. You have a hole or something on a box, fill it up with a blanket or something, avoid movement. "When we do the packing, we have smart tape. We color code every room. For an example, we'll mark the boxes with the kitchen in yellow tape. Every bedroom will have its own color code. All that is much easier for us and for the customer to know where the box is going because we can put it in the right location. We also will mark on the boxes where they came from, and the contents. We write what inside the box and leave those boxes that they don't really need [for downsizing] either in storage or in a garage. So then we can stack them nicely and just deliver to the room the boxes that they really need." Learn more:* Jordan River Moving &amp; Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/* Jordan River's website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/ Hear more podcasts about:* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/ Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.