Numerous studies show that regular exercise helps slow the aging process, improve cardiovascular health, and reduce symptoms of numerous types of ailments like dementia, Alzheimer’s, heart, and lung diseases. Having a certified trainer for Mom and Dad can help them safely remain more vital, active, and socially engaged.
- Personal training can be done one-on-one or in a group.
- Trainers can work in a variety of settings, including in the home, at a gym, or at parks or community centers.
- Every trainer has a different style and background, and focus
- Fitness and exercise specialists can often provide guidance on issues of mobility, ergonomics, and pain relief.
Services
Fitness and exercise experts help seniors stay active and healthy as they age. These specialists tailor workouts to fit the unique needs of seniors. Personal trainers are used to increase:
- strength
- flexibility
- balance
- mobility
- weight loss
This may allow seniors to be more active and independent outside of fitness sessions.
Specialization
A variety of certifications are available to personal trainers, and do not ensure expertise in the field. Certification programs by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) are generally very reputable. Some trainers specialize in injury rehabilitation, and operate similar to physical therapists.
Preparation
- Know the type fitness and exercise expert you desire to find.
- Be specific about the personality type, first language, or gender of the person.
- Know the level of engagement the senior is displaying; excited or resident.
- Describe the kind of activities your senior enjoys.
- If your senior is recovering from illness, has the doctor recommended a specific exercise plan to follow?
Evaluation
- Understand what type of specialty the trainer has and what was required to get that certification, e.g. education and experience.
- Describe your clientele; exclusively with senior clients?
- Look for CPR and First Aid certified personnel.
- Know the costs for special needs.
- Request referrals from previous clients.
- If an exercise facility is to be used; check the equipment safety adequacy and accessibility.
Health & Wellness Articles
- Seniors: Exercise to Earn Money for Grandkids’ College - Silver Sneakers is the only fitness program that provides financial rewards for staying fit. Members can grow a college fund for a loved one. So even if a senior is on a fixed income, they can actually provide money for a grandchild's college tuition. It's a great motivator to get exercising — people will often do for others what they won't do for themselves. …Read More
- Track Achievements to See Your Wins - Jan Sheeley from Silver Sneakers joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders radio show to talk about strategies for making and achieving realistic goals for exercise, in particular to make New Year's resolutions achievable. …Read More
- Get Moving, Release Endorphins, For Chronic Conditions - For people with chronic conditions like arthritis, exercise can be difficult and painful. Jan Sheeley from Silver Sneakers joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders radio show to talk about free resources at Silver Sneakers to help, and also provides some strategies for getting started with moving and exercise. …Read More
- How Seniors Can Get a Free Gym Membership - Jan Sheeley from Silver Sneakers joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders radio show to talk about free fitness benefits available to senior loved ones through their Medicare Advantage program. Silver Sneakers is a free program accessible through certain Medicare Advantage programs. Check the website to see if you are already enrolled in the program. Jan Sheeley is Regional Growth Marketing Manager for Tivity Health and Silver Sneakers. …Read More
- How Will AI Help Growing Old? - Dr. Marc B. Cooper sees enormous benefits in using AI to help our senior loved ones, especially in their later age. He joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about the potential of technology, particularly AI, to combat loneliness among the elderly and improve healthcare management in the future. They consider strategies that can be implemented to help elders feel less isolated. They also think about how AI can assist in the mission of The Contemporary Elder Institute. …Read More
- Home Safety: Top 5 Tips - What are the most important things to keep in mind in order to make sure your home supports your well-being? Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about environmental wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured this summer in the Vitality Revolution podcast series. In this segment, Dr. Shawn shares five critical areas to concentrate on. …Read More
- Home Safety: Air Quality - When considering home safety, we tend to think about physical areas like bathrooms. How old is your house, when was the last time you had your air ducts cleaned? Poor air quality contributes to illness. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about healthy indoor air quality, toxins, and allergens — environmental wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured this summer in the Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Home Safety: Bathroom Dangers - Ninety percent of senior falls happen in the bathroom. So many debilitating falls can be avoided with some forethought and planning. Fall prevention specialist Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about environmental wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured this summer in the Vitality Revolution podcast series. This segment focuses on the most dangerous part of the home: the bathroom. …Read More
- Home Safety: Plan Ahead - Does your home support you as you age? Don't wait till you get into an urgent situation to start thinking about the adaptability of your surroundings. Does your home support you? Is it hard to climb stairs, or have you slipped and fallen on a throw rug? To live in safer surroundings, fall prevention specialist Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about environmental wellness. The better prepared you are now, the safer you'll be and more productive you can be in your home. …Read More
- How to Start Exercising Your Brain - If you find yourself stuck in a rut, and are interested in starting to exercise your mind, or have a parent in a stagnant phase, Dr. Shawn Weiss shares some ways to get started and how to set realistic expectations. Dr. Shawn joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show this hour to talk about Intellectual Wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Fresher Foods Make Fresher Minds - The pillars of health are all connected. Nutrition, stress, sleep and other factors affect our ability to maintain mental capacity. Our nutritional needs change as we age. Consider whether you are eating a balanced diet and getting the right nutrients such as calcium and iron. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about Intellectual Wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Always Be Learning, No Matter Our Age - One should always be learning to keep our minds intellectually stimulated. Older people with mobility challenges might not think about making intellectual wellness a priority, but even those living in a senior living community have all sorts of ways to keep the healthy mind. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about Intellectual Wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Master New Skills for a Sharp Mind - Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne on the Answers for Elders Radio Show to talk about Intellectual Wellness, one of the eight fundamental principles of senior wellness featured in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. We want to stimulate our brains and be life-long learners. You can make small changes, but having a sharp mind takes more than just exercising our brains. Intellectual wellness is defined by the University of Colorado at Pueblo: "Keeping one's mind engaged, stimulated, and challenged is key to maintaining memory and cognitive presence as we age. This may be as simple as reading, doing puzzles to… …Read More
- Spirituality: It’s All About Love - Hospice chaplain John Wenderlein joins Dr. Shawn Weiss to talk about love and spiritual health, part of the Vitality Revolution summer podcast series on Answers for Elders. It is such an uplifting message to learn how to live a glorious life, to make it as fulfilling and joyous as possible. …Read More
- Tips to Help Seniors Connect With Community - Paula Sikes, Director of Resident Engagement at Cogir Senior Living, joins Suzanne to talk about social wellness. She recommends some tips to help people connect with community. Social wellness is a focus in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Family Helps Our Social Health - How does a family help facilitate senior wellness? Why is it important for caregivers not to isolate themselves with their loved one, but to engage with their friends and peers? Paula Sikes, Director of Resident Engagement at Cogir Senior Living, joins Suzanne to talk about social wellness, a focus in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Community and Healthier Seniors - Why is social engagement good for our health? Paula Sikes at Cogir Senior Living joins Suzanne to talk about the benefits of community for seniors. Social wellness is a focus in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. …Read More
- Community and Our Better Health - Paula Sikes, Director of Resident Engagement at Cogir Senior Living, joins Suzanne to talk about the benefits of community to our health. Social wellness is a focus in this summer's Vitality Revolution podcast series. Cogir's senior living program is called Cadence senior living, the acronym CADENCE standing for C (cognitive) A (active) D (dementia) E (expressive) N (nourishing) C (community) E (environmental). Paula is the Director of Resident Engagement for Cogir Senior Living. Social wellness is more than just sitting down with friends, dating someone, or having a relationship. It's having fulfillment that you're an active participant in the world. …Read More
- Seeking Your Ideal Retirement - Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Dr. Shawn Weiss to talk about how to find and experience your ideal retirement. Larry's new book, Your Ideal Retirement Workbook, walks you through the process to build a fulfilling retirement plan, one that provides both pleasure and purpose. Listeners who buy Larry's new book can enroll for free in his online video course Sail Into Retirement. …Read More
- Answers for Elders and Reinventing Your Life - Life Coach Laurie Hardie interviews Answers for Elders host Suzanne Newman for episode 70 of her podcast ''Interrupted: Act 2: Reinventing Your Legacy.'' We talk about her podcast and her network and how this podcast has grown into an empire of help and support for elders and their caregivers. She has awesome tips on how to grow your podcast into a viable business. Grab a cup of coffee and come hang out with us for some answers. …Read More
Health & Wellness Radio Show Segments
- Seniors: Exercise to Earn Money for Grandkids’ College
Silver Sneakers is the only fitness program that provides financial rewards for staying fit. Members can grow a college fund for a loved one. So even if a senior is on a fixed income, they can actually provide money for a grandchild’s college tuition. It’s a great motivator to get exercising — people will often do for others what they won’t do for themselves.
Jan Sheeley explains, “When they go to either a gym or take an online class seven times a month, they can win $250 that goes into your college fund for a loved one.”
The program is available through Silver Sneakers, free fitness benefits available to senior loved ones through their Medicare Advantage program.
Visit https://tools.silversneakers.com/ to see if you have the Silver Sneakers program available in your Medicare Advantage. To sign up for the college tuition reward, visit silversneakers.tuitionrewards.com.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Track Achievements to See Your Wins
Jan Sheeley from Silver Sneakers joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders radio show to talk about strategies for making and achieving realistic goals for exercise, in particular to make New Year’s resolutions achievable.
Jan says, “Tracking things down, writing things down, is helpful. It’s the same with fitness. It’s the same with food. I’m going to eat one vegetable with every meal. Write down that vegetable. Write down whether you do it or not. I’m going to drink a glass of water with my meal. Write that down. So tracking things, writing them down. Then you know you’ve got a great achievement, you are winning.”
Visit https://tools.silversneakers.com/ to find resources on their blog that help with exercise and diet.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Get Moving, Release Endorphins, For Chronic Conditions
For people with chronic conditions like arthritis, exercise can be difficult and painful. Jan Sheeley from Silver Sneakers joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders radio show to talk about free resources at Silver Sneakers to help, and also provides some strategies for getting started with moving and exercise.
Jan says “We do have online documentation, stories, an actionable items on the website. You go to silversneakers.com, you don’t have to be a member. That site is completely free. Anybody can access it. We have a blog that talks about chronic conditions. You can choose which one fits you, and arthritis is a very big one.
“You don’t have to start by going to run a mile today. No, it could be I’m going to walk around the block, or walk around my dining room table. Just get moving. When you do start moving, it engages your endorphins and makes you a lot happier. Feel good about yourself, know you’re doing something actionable. Those things really improve your health outcomes.”
Visit https://tools.silversneakers.com/ to find resources on their blog that help with chronic illnesses.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- How Seniors Can Get a Free Gym Membership
Jan Sheeley from Silver Sneakers joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders radio show to talk about free fitness benefits available to senior loved ones through their Medicare Advantage program. Silver Sneakers is a free program accessible through certain Medicare Advantage programs. Check the website to see if you are already enrolled in the program. Jan Sheeley is Regional Growth Marketing Manager for Tivity Health and Silver Sneakers.
Jan explains, “Silver Sneakers is a free benefit with a medicare Advantage plan. It allows you to go to the gym in our network for free. You have access to live online fitness classes, and we have over 300 that you can choose from. And you can pick whether it’s a yoga, whether it’s a strength class, a stretch or a fall prevention class. And then we offer classes through your community center. It’s available through either Aetna or Humana or Elements in Washington state. It’s through different plans in every state.
“To find out, do I have Silver Sneakers, visit https://tools.silversneakers.com/Eligibility/CheckEligibility. On the right-hand side of the website, you just need to put in your first name, your last name, your birthday, and your zip code and hit enter, and it will show you, yes, you have Silver Sneakers. Then it will give you this long code, the eligibility number that will allow you to go into a gym.”
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Tour Senior Communities to Find the Best Fit
We don’t spend enough time finding out everything we need to know. Have you got your legal paperwork done? Ellie Brown from Chateau Retirement joins Suzanne to talk about how to find resources for seniors that many people don’t even know exist, and strategies for touring senior living communities.
Ellie says, “I think there’s a cottage industry for everything we need in this. It is out there. But here are some of the ideas. There are companies that will literally come in as a real estate company, and help you move to senior living. It will box everything up, put some to sale for an estate, sell some they’ll get rid of, all based on your wants and needs. There are companies that will come in and help you do financial review. Bridge loans.”
“There’s elder law, who can do the power of attorney executor, especially if there’s cognitive issues. Think about this. If your loved one has dementia or Alzheimer’s and they’re too far gone, they can no longer sign for a power of attorney. Then what are you going to do? Then it’s a whole other thing to try to get them the support and love they need.
“So the resources need to start from the basics. Know the finances. What is their income coming in? What can they afford in a senior living environment? If it’s in health care, what does their insurance plan cover? Then you step into what are the best resources for my parents. Would they would be best suited to a vibrant community, or a quieter community, or an in-home [care], because we know in-home is a different kind of socialization. You decide those, and you’re talking to them. You’re helping them learn that as well.”
Ellie adds, “There are some great programs out there that don’t cost anything to the family. Senior Care Finder is one that I really enjoy a lot. They don’t capture your information, but you go on there and you do a search, and it’ll show you all the Google reviews, and the different sites in your area, and then it gives you that opportunity to contact those communities yourself… Google reviews are a little tough at times because you get angsty employees, and during COVID, It was rough, but that is still a way to go look, overall… It’s got all that vibrant information. Or, there are some amazing smaller paid advisors that will really walk the walk with you.
“I always say tour, tour and tour and tour and tour. Have lunch, attend activities in the building. You get to know the building. I have people that didn’t move in for four or five years, but they came to every event. They came to the big events. They came to dinner once in a while, or lunch. They get to know the community… So find that place that feels like your mom could see herself living there, and then and go tour, tour and tour.
“Tour first as the daughters, or the son, or whoever the caregiver is, and narrow it down. Don’t exhaust [mom or dad] with five or seven tours, narrow it down to two or three.”
Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington’s Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Top 3 Ways to Help Declining Loved Ones
Ellie Brown from Chateau Retirement Communities joins Suzanne to share how families can best support their senior loved ones. Ellie shares her top three tips for getting through the transition when a loved one starts struggling.
1. Communication. I see that most families are not as open as they could be. If you have siblings, be on the same page. All noticing different things.
2. Have that initial conversation with your loved one, as soon as possible. Hearing from them, learn their wishes. Hopefully you’re discussing this early enough to be able to honor their wishes.
3. Start doing your research. Find programs, learn what’s out there, what are the options.
Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington’s Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Facing Denial: Dad’s Not Fine, He’s Declining
What signs of aging are of concern as we’re supporting our senior loved ones? Ellie Brown from Chateau Retirement Communities joins Suzanne to talk about the warning signs and facing up to the various dynamics of denials, not just from ourselves, but also our loved ones.
Ellie shared her personal, family experiences with warning signs. She says, “For my mom, her health was clearly in decline. She wasn’t recovering as quickly from colds. She was seemingly depressed at times. So that was a sign to me. Not as vibrant anymore. Then I started hearing about falls, which — she was minimizing the falls. For a long time I found that she was hiding quite a bit of her decline.
“And I’m doing this now with my father, and he would hate to hear this, but I show up early when I tell him I’m going to come visit. When your family member is prepared to see you, they’ve gotten cleaned up, buttoned up, and they put their package on, because that’s your mom or your dad. Their job, in their mind, is to protect you. Also their pride: ‘I don’t want what’s about to happen, to happen to me, where they find out that I actually am declining, and probably looking at the next step.’ And then there’s the family dynamic: ‘That’s my child. I don’t want to be a burden or a bother.’
“And those crafty little parents of ours, they fib. They lie about the falls. My dad minimizes it, and then he’s got bruises all up and down [his body]. My mom did the same. And the compensation, the lack of sleeping, cognitive – telling the same story over and over again, not remembering, the short-term [memory] going. But also I don’t think we pay enough attention to the appetite and the depression as well, so that these are some significant signs. More doctor visits, more of that kind of thing.”
Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington’s Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Our Parents Fib About Their Health, and What To Do About It
L.E. “Ellie” Brown from Chateau Retirement Communities joins Suzanne to talk about how to best support our senior loved ones, particularly as they get older and might need to consider senior living. Ellie works with families every day, and shares common situations that she encounters as families try to help their loved ones. Ellie is Vice President Sales – Strategic Market Analysis, Branding & Sales Leadership for Chateau Retirement.
Ellie finds that a lot of families are facing similar challenges, obstacles, stereotypes about senior living, and misinformation. “It could be as simple as the daughter says, ‘I visit with my mom every day, so she’s got socialization.’ I coach my sales teams to say, hold up now, that’s not the same as peer-to-peer socialization. Visiting my dad is definitely visiting, but when he’s with his compadres of the same age group, that’s different… At the end of the day, how do we best support our parents at that point, our loved ones who still have every right to make all their decisions as independent, honorable people that have made it this far in life? With the exception if it’s a dementia-type thing or a cognitive thing. Because we are starting to shift that, we’re having to start making some decisions for them. What does that look like? And those conversations are hard, and there’s no there’s no perfect roadmap, right? Every family has their own dynamics, but how do we know when to say what we need to say, and how to say it? When does tough love come in? Because we’re worried most of the time, [when] something’s changed.”
Families experience different aspects of denial. Ellie says, “There’s multiple things going on there. As the adult daughter, there’s my own denial going on. I don’t want my mom or my dad, I don’t want to accept this [situation]. Also, I have a busy life. I probably have stuff going on myself, job, grandkids, kids, my own stressors. There’s a little bit of that disconnect. But also, parents are parents. They’re great at faking it, great at confrontations. They’re great at mom’s pretending dad’s better than dad’s [really] doing. That’s why the inquiries, and the leads, spike in January and February, because everybody sees each other during the holidays and we’ve got eyes on them.”
Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington’s Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- How to Improve Our Gut Health
We often don’t think about our gut health, but there’s a gut-brain connection that affects our physical health. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about improving gut health.
Dr. Shawn says, “There’s such a gut-brain connection, it all affects your physical health. Your gut has its own ecosystem, called the gut microbiome. Think about this: there’s 100 trillion types of bacteria, viruses, fungi, all living in your gut, in this microbiome. And what’s funny, there are types of bacteria and organisms that are found nowhere else in the world, only in the human gut. It’s getting a lot of attention, I’m so glad now that people are paying attention to it. When I practice my root-cause health, I’m digging deeper into the gut and the root causes of the illnesses and the symptoms we’re having. We want to know what is affecting your gut… Poor nutrition, processed food, is going to certainly cause a lot of inflammation in your gut lining. Your junctions in your gut line are supposed to be nice and tight. They’re not supposed to be permeable. And so when you’re eating a lot of processed food, or things with a lot of toxic things, the junctions will separate and it’s called “leaky gut” Well, what happens with that? That stuff gets out into your bloodstream.
“A good example would be… an inflammatory food, a bunch of bread or pasta. You know when you eat crappy food, and the next day you wake up, and you feel really stiff, like your joints feel stiff? You feel a little puffy, you think you gained five pounds. Well, you didn’t gain five pounds, that’s impossible to do. You’re inflamed. That food that you consumed caused inflammation in your gut lining and permeated in through. And that’s when you wake up, and you’re like, ‘oh, I’m just so stiff. Like maybe I had a lot of sodium, I’m retaining water like it just feels stiff.’ So the gut is so important because it’s kind of its own filter. What you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it. We want to provide energy to our body. So what is in our gut is important, and there’s lots of things lead to chronic diseases. I say test don’t guess. If you’ve not had your gut tested and you do have problems with digestion or maybe you’ve had chronic issues with diarrhea, constipation, gerd, acid reflux, then you should get your gut tested. If you haven’t, it’s very easy to do. The labs can be delivered to your home. But that gives me a profile of what bacterias are in your gut, and are they the right kind of bacteria.
“I’ve always had chronic issues with digestion and when I looked at my gut — there’s good bacteria and there’s bad bacteria, and you need to have that balance — two of the most important gut bacteria were not even present in my gut. So then I know that’s the kind of probiotic I’m going go look for.”
Dr. Shawn adds, “I do a 60 days to optimal health program. You’re going to have a form to fill out. I’m doing sleep questionnaire, stress questionnaire, and we do gut testing. That’s how we start the whole thing. We want to lead you to optimal health by making small changes in all of those areas of optimal wellness. And I consider those stress, sleep, nutrition, gut health, emotional health, and exercise.”
- Dr. Shawn Weiss
- Book an appointment with Dr. Shawn Weiss
- Dr. Shawn Weiss’ 60 days to optimal health program
- Senior Health and Wellness website
- Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss
- Vitality Revolution
- More podcasts on Physical Wellness
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Get Hydrated, Get Healthy
One of the more important parts of nutrition and physical wellness is hydration. How many of us don’t drink enough water? Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about proper hydration.
Dr. Shawn says, “Winter is just as important as summer. We think summer of being outside and getting dehydrated. But winter is also a very bad time for hydration. It’s one of the quickest things that will put you in the hospital when you get older is dehydration. What is proper hydration? If I’m working with clients that are over 65, I’m asking them about their intake of water and drinks, and I hear a lot of coffee, sodas, and teas, and they are dehydrating even though they have water in them. Yes, herbal tea is going to be better for you than a can of Coke. I try to make it easy, especially as you get older, 64 ounces, eight cups of water at a minimum. I’m not one of the proponents of necessarily drinking your body weight because there is such a thing as too much water. If you have any type of kidney problems, you could go into significant kidney issues and kidney failure if you’re drinking too much water because your body can’t keep up. So if you do have known kidney issues, even some cancer patients who have kidney functions affected, you do have to be careful with that. I would consult your physician. But generally, if you’re staying with 64 ounces at a minimum, you’re going to do wonderfully, unless you’ve been medically told not to drink that much. I fill my 32-ounce jug up in the morning with water, and then I want that gone by lunchtime. I’m going to fill it up again and I want it done by dinner time. That’s an easy 64 ounces of water. That’s an easy way to do it. Keep it right beside you where you are sitting, and that way you can track it.”
What if you don’t like drinking water? Dr. Shawn adds, “You have some very popular little packets that have the flavorings. Again, I’m going to have you carefully look at those labels. I like to flavor my water too. I’m not a big plain water drinker. I like to put fresh lemons, and limes, and oranges into my water. It’s a wonderful way to flavor your water safely, without any excess crap in it… I do have a couple of brands, the flavor sticks, because I’m getting more bang for my buck. They have B12 vitamins, electrolytes, no caffeine, no sugar. It is going to help with your energy levels safely, without the caffeine and without any of the extras.”
- Dr. Shawn Weiss
- Book an appointment with Dr. Shawn Weiss
- Dr. Shawn Weiss’ 60 days to optimal health program
- Senior Health and Wellness website
- Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss
- Vitality Revolution
- More podcasts on Physical Wellness
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Get Moving, Even For Five Minutes
Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about physical wellness, a pillar of the eight foundational principles of wellness, part of the summer Vitality Revolution podcast series.
Dr. Shawn says, “We kind of get set in our ways and routines. It’s good to have routine, if it’s serving you. But we get stuck in these routines and these habits that aren’t serving us. It’s really amazing the small things you could do your routine and mindset — we talked about emotional health, mindset is everything. If you aren’t in a space where you are ready to make those changes, then you’re going to have that roller coaster of success and failures and you’re not going to see the benefits.
What is physical wellness? Dr. Shawn says, “I’ve been a physical therapist for 26 years. My goal is to get everybody moving. It doesn’t matter your capabilities, or your illnesses, or what we call co-morbidities. There’s something for everybody and there’s just so many reasons to move your body, even if it’s 10 minutes, if it’s 5 minutes. If you’re not an exerciser or you feel like you can’t, there’s a way to move your body. Moving your body is so important. Think about all the things that it does. It helps your emotional wellness. But it’s proven to reduce anxiety, to reduce depression, to relax, to help you sleep. It also helps with cardiovascular health. I don’t care if you have to sit in a chair and march your legs, or if you’re somebody who’s over 60 and is still taking five-mile walks, it doesn’t matter, you can improve your cardiovascular fitness by simply moving your body.
“I always say to start with five minutes. And it depends on the individual. You might be using a walker. That’s ok. How about how many laps can we take around the house today? Let’s start there. I’ve had my 75-year olds who are avid hikers and are really into fitness, and have been their whole life; well, I’m going to challenge them as well. ”
- Dr. Shawn Weiss
- Book an appointment with Dr. Shawn Weiss
- Dr. Shawn Weiss’ 60 days to optimal health program
- Senior Health and Wellness website
- Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss
- Vitality Revolution
- More podcasts on Physical Wellness
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Ways Families Can Support Struggling Seniors
Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements joins Suzanne to offer tips for dealing with complex family dynamics of helping a struggling senior loved one. Be the son and daughter, don’t try to parent your parent.
Daphne says, “My first golden tip would be: if anyone has an opinion, or wants to be a part of a process, or will have a thought about what should happen with mom and dad, they need to be involved in gathering the information from the very beginning. Everyone needs to hear the conversations, everyone needs to get the printed matter. Even if they say ‘I trust you, you take care of it,’ because inevitably we’re curious people, we’re gonna ask a question and the person who’s at the front line is gonna go, ‘I’ve done all this work already. I’ve narrowed it to these things. You said you trusted me.’
“Those conversations need to be collective. I encourage people to have a third party. If you have a situation where someone lives out of town — or the relationships between child and parent are strained, or very different, or there’s 19 years between the oldest and the youngest siblings, there’s gonna be different perspectives — have these conversations together.
“The other thing that I would really suggest is having it agreed upon by all people involved that we are going to stick to the following highest values, which means you go through a process of discovering what are the highest values from your perspective with a child. What is an example of that? Mom could never give up her gardening. She’s got to have some kind of place to be gardening. That’s a high value. If they’re going to assisted living or independent living, she’s got to have a garden. Dad has to have a TV room, dad has to have his own space, he has a collection that he has to keep. There might be something from a religious point of view. They might need to be close to their church or their synagogue. There might be a difference in perspective concerning finances. Mom and dad have money, let’s just assume they have some money that they can privately pay for their own care, and they’ve worked hard for that. And one perspective is they should spend their money on themselves. But mom or dad says no, no, no, we gotta leave something for our kids.”
- Pinnacle Senior Placements website
- More podcasts with Daphne Davis
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Consider In-Home Care For Ailing Seniors
A senior loved one has had a hospital stay, and now they want to go home. Or their insurance is running out and they need to return home to recuperate. What are their options at home for care? While at the hospital, talk to a social worker about in-home care, which can supplement help from a spouse and other family members. Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements talks about considering the various services available to families that Medicaid can pay for.
Daphne says, “It happens all the time.Because mom or dad was at home already, and husband and wife were making this work, the natural place to go is back home. And that’s not a bad thing to do, if you have the services available to help you. I encourage people to talk to a social worker if they’re coming out of a rehab situation, or at the hospital, to talk to the social worker and ask them about in-home care. That is something that can supplement the family supporting mom or dad. And it can be a little bit expensive, and nationwide I’d say probably an average is about $40 to $45 an hour. There’s usually a four-hour minimum. So there’s some restraints on that.
“But it’s a time that you can leave the rehab and have a cushion, of somebody to help mom or dad in the morning, let’s say to start their day. Or it might be more to end their day, or it might be to make sure there’s three meals prepared, or something like that, but it’s a good way to transition back home, if in fact it can be successful at home.
“The other thing is, I caution families to put too much stress on themselves. You’ve got your siblings. ‘Mom and dad have taken care of us all of our lives. We can take care of them now.’ And that is good for the short term, but not the long term. And I’ll tell you why: your relationships will suffer. And your primary relationship, as son or daughter to your mom or dad, will change. And the stress level increases — that’s transferred to your mom and dad. Now the healing process is going to slow down. They’re stressed because they feel like they’re bothering you, because you’re in the sandwich generation, and you’re running kids to soccer game and taking care of mom.”
- Pinnacle Senior Placements website
- More podcasts with Daphne Davis
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Warning Signs That Mom Is Struggling at Home
When do you start discussing having more care for mom and dad? Oftentimes, people wait too long. In this segment, Daphne Davis of Pinnacle Senior Placements offers the broad picture health analogy of a three-legged stool: hydration, medication, and nutrition, which balance fine so long as all three are done well. Daphne gives us some warning signs that it may be time to have that dreaded conversation with a senior loved one that they could benefit from some assistance at home.
Daphne says, “Are you finding a medication on the floor that’s underneath the dining room table, because it just slipped out of their hand when they walked from the kitchen to the dining room? Think of that big broad picture. Let’s say mom and dad are living in the home, and you help with supplementing some grocery shopping, and you’re seeing the same foods around, or even the box of saltine crackers that they asked for isn’t opened yet. Or you bring over a meal or two a week, and there’s very little taken out of it. You’ll say, mom, you haven’t eaten, it’s your favorite dish, and she’ll, she’ll say, ‘well, I just wasn’t hungry.’ That’s a sign. Everyone needs calories to make their body work. If it’s not fueled, it won’t work. Your body is a machine and it needs high-octane fuel. You can still have your ice cream, but you gotta get some protein.
“Let’s say that they’ve lived in the same house for 60 years, and the furniture has been exactly the same way for 60 years. All of a sudden you’re seeing them touching the back of the furniture as they walk, or they’re touching the wall, or they’re using their next hand, that they’re taking a step with, to reach for the chair that’s in front of them. Furniture walking. It’s not a terrible thing to do because your loved one has figured out, how do I keep myself safe? But there’s something behind that ,in terms of maybe a balance issue, maybe lightheadedness, weakness in their muscles, something’s going on. That’s a sign.”
- Pinnacle Senior Placements website
- More podcasts with Daphne Davis
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Realizing Mom Needs Help at Home
Daphne Davis joins Suzanne to talk about crossroads and transitions. One of the most difficult parts of aging with families is being unprepared for life’s changes. When adult children realize that mom or dad may need some help, broaching the topic can be challenging. A longtime contributor to Answers for Elders, Daphne Davis is President of Pinnacle Senior Placements.
Daphne says, “Post pandemic, what I’m seeing is that families are really trying hard to have their loved ones stay at home for as long as they possibly can. And I think that comes from a number of places. No one wants to leave their home. There’s no place better than home, and we’re going to figure out how to make that work. But I think there’s another piece that’s happened, and that’s in terms of having trust, and knowing who can you trust to help you navigate this whole world of care outside of your home. When we were back in that pandemic time, we got to see what it’s like to rely on a caregiver who’s taking care of 15 to 25 people. And so we got scared, and we said, oh my gosh, I can do this. I know I can do it.
“We’re waiting way too long to give support to our elders. I’m just gonna say it. It’s hard to hear. Having a bandaid to the professional care of what your family may need is not helpful on many levels. One, the quality of life for your parent and their ability to have a quality life every month of their life, it should never decline. There are ways to keep it happy, even though it’s going to change.
“Families are really at odds with each other. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I have never had such dissension within families and not be able to help them get on the same page. Each state has different offerings. And so it’s really important for you, the families, to be able to connect to somebody who can help you navigate within your own state system. That’s very important because what we can do in Washington doesn’t happen in New York.”
- Pinnacle Senior Placements website
- More podcasts with Daphne Davis
- Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
- Why Caregivers Need Care Bloom for Aging in Place
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.
- Tracking Mobility and Health Data for Senior Loved Ones
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 Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Introducing Care Bloom Health Monitoring for Senior Loved Ones
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.
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 Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
- Optimal Healthy Aging: Thrive at Era Living
Cliff Warner is the Thrive Program Director at Era Living. The program was developed about seven years ago. Thrive is a comprehensive wellness program pioneered at Era Living designed to promote healthy aging. It is evidence-informed and based on research about activities that have been shown to produce optimal results for healthy aging. Developed in collaboration with the University of Washington Schools of Nursing and Social Work, it aims to unify focus on the mind, body, and spirit.
Read more about the Thrive program. There’s more about Era Living at Answers for Elders and at eraliving.com.
- Action Steps For a Healthier Life
Tracy Cromwell, author of Your Personal Journey with Food: A Roadmap for the Confused and Frustrated Dieter, joins Suzanne to talk about physical and emotional wellness. Food is a big part of both, a lot of us are emotional eaters, or don’t eat right. Nobody likes to be “should” on. This segment talks about how to get started. If you were to pick one thing, the first that comes to me, what would you want to start with first? And what would be one little thing, that if you did this you’d feel better?
Tracy is also an international best-selling co-author of One Crazy Broccoli! My Body is Smarter Than My Disease and What’s Left to Eat. To learn more about Tracy’s coaching programs, visit www.journeywithfood.com, and sign up for a free consultation at www.tracycromwell.com. Listen to her podcast, “Your Personal Journey With Food,” on Spotify. Hear more of Tracy’s podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.
- Consultation: Improve Your Physical Wellness
Tracy Cromwell, author of Your Personal Journey with Food: A Roadmap for the Confused and Frustrated Dieter, joins Suzanne. She works with folks who struggle with maintain health and diet. As an integrative health coach, she looks at all aspects of their life, so it’s not just food. Everyone’s different, no one diet or strategy works for everyone. All wellness aspects affect our lives, so she creates a customized, personalized, individualized one-on-one plan.
Sign up for a free consultation at www.tracycromwell.com. The first step is a complimentary “Take Care of Me” Session Zoom call.
Tracy is also an international best-selling co-author of One Crazy Broccoli! My Body is Smarter Than My Disease and What’s Left to Eat. To learn more about Tracy’s coaching programs, visit www.journeywithfood.com, and sign up for a free consultation at www.tracycromwell.com. Listen to her podcast, “Your Personal Journey With Food,” on Spotify. Hear more of Tracy’s podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.
- How Our Emotions Impact Our Health
Tracy Cromwell, author of Your Personal Journey with Food: A Roadmap for the Confused and Frustrated Dieter, joins Suzanne to talk more about the connection between emotional and physical wellness, part of Answers for Elders’ Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.
The biggest impact on your personal health is how you see the world: your self-worth and self-confidence can impact your health, because we make decisions based on that lens. Your body is your best teammate, and you need to learn how to “drive” it.
Tracy is also an international best-selling co-author of One Crazy Broccoli! My Body is Smarter Than My Disease and What’s Left to Eat. To learn more about Tracy’s coaching programs, visit www.journeywithfood.com, and sign up for a free consultation at www.tracycromwell.com. Listen to her podcast, “Your Personal Journey With Food,” on Spotify. Hear more of Tracy’s podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.
- Healthy Lifestyle Journey for Physical Wellness
This hour, Suzanne is joined by Tracy Cromwell, a nutritionist and fitness expert who works with seniors, to talk about the connection between physical and emotional wellness, part of Answers for Elders’ Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Tracy is the author of Your Personal Journey with Food: A Roadmap for the Confused and Frustrated Dieter.
Tracy shares her health journey. Being told by her doctor in 2006 that she was pre-diabetic and headed towards a future with Type 2 Diabetes, Tracy had to start making better lifestyle choices. A Yo-Yo dieter most of her life, the news was frustrating but put her on her path to wellness. Today, Tracy is healthy and strong, taking on century bike rides, eating in a way that supports her body, and finally feeling good in her skin. Tracy’s health journey inspired her to go back to school and get trained in both Integrative Health Coaching and Personal Training. She is certified with The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Precision Nutrition, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
If you can work with your doctor and change your lifestyle so you don’t have to take as many medications, she was given that option. It wasn’t easy, but she did it. Listen in to learn more.
Tracy is also an international best-selling co-author of One Crazy Broccoli! My Body is Smarter Than My Disease and What’s Left to Eat. To learn more about Tracy’s coaching programs, visit www.journeywithfood.com, and sign up for a free consultation at www.tracycromwell.com. Listen to her podcast, “Your Personal Journey With Food,” on Spotify. Hear more of Tracy’s podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.
- Resources to Help Reinvent Ourselves
Director for Education and Culture for Koelsch Communities Benjamin Surmi joins Suzanne to talk about where to find resources to help reinvent ourselves.
Benjamin says, “Do not discount the community center in your city, do not discount any kind of lifelong learning institute at a local university. In most metro areas some really cool stuff is happening that is empowering seniors to continue learning… You may also find faith communities in your local area that are doing some really innovative work that is just fascinating to you. As well as many senior living communities like ours offer educational events that connect you to resources and people that you might not have thought about.”
He adds, “There’s also some really cool stuff happening at a national level, with new organizations that are doing some fun stuff. Cogenerate just got started recently. And what they do is they bring the generations together to solve pressing issues. They have a program that brings retired physicians out of retirement and puts them in the most challenging places in America to help. They have a program that pays seniors who want to do something special with their encore years, actually pay them, and mentor them in doing it.
“Maturias and Seniors@Work match seniors who want to contribute in the business world with organizations that want their talent. CatchaFire matches non-profits that want to grow with a senior who’ll give them a one-hour call to share their knowledge base in a particular field. A one-hour call can change the trajectory of a non-profit, and some seniors have decades of experience. Bloom provides a 3-week coaching program to identify what a senior’s encore years would look like. Get Set Up is a group of hundreds of members where older adults teach other older adults in all sorts of subjects.
Even in our 50s, we all should be thinking about what matters to us, what connections matter, and what we want to do when we’re 90. If we’re making decisions based on finances or comfort, we’re not making choices that will allow us to keep doing the things that matter to us.
Koelsch has senior living locations in eight states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Texas, and Washington. Listen to our podcast conversation with Aaron Koelsch, the CEO of Koelsch Communities. Learn more about Koelsch Communities at their website or call (360) 867-1900. Hear more of their podcasts at Answers for Elders.
- Reinventing While Caregiving or Aging in Place
Director for Education and Culture for Koelsch Communities Benjamin Surmi joins Suzanne to talk about reinvention.
What about seniors who are aging in place to reinvent themselves? Benjamin say, “There’s a bit of a myth around aging in place, that aging in place means you age in a residential suburban home. Aging in place means to age wherever you will thrive. We all come from the same space that every senior should be where they will thrive, where they will be able to accomplish their purpose. Keep that in mind because it may not be in a house. Let’s say a senior says, “The thing I really care about is being a blessing to my neighbors on the street. I’ve been there for 40 years. I want to keep offering cookies to the grandkids. I wanna keep sitting on the porch and talking with my neighbors. This is where I need to be.” Well, that’s great. And the point is to identify what is my purpose in being here — because otherwise, if my purpose is just to live in my home as long as possible, what I have seen is elders will live as long as possible in their home watching “Judge Judy,” that is their whole life. Most of us look at that and go, “Oh, crap. I do not want that to be my life. But instead I can have a purpose in my head. Now, this is what I want to accomplish. This is what I want to enjoy, or share, or do, if my home and where I live supports me in that, if I can still engage in the community that matters to me, and there’s not a barrier because I can’t drive to them, then great.”
What about caregivers? They have their own purpose, then the purpose with their caregiver, and different answers for each. Benjamin provides an example of a caregiver finding a joint purpose with their mom. Perhaps they say, “This is my mom and what matters to me is us being able to go shopping and antiquing together. I’ve always done that. Well, then my caregiving plan needs to build around it. If antiquing is so hard to do because I’m keeping my mom at home until she dies, then maybe that ends up going away. Whereas if I moved her into a co-housing situation, or senior living, or some other situation that had a van that was wheelchair accessible, now me and my mom can go antiquing as often as we want.”
Listen to hear more.
Learn more about Koelsch Communities at their website or call (360) 867-1900. Hear more of their podcasts at Answers for Elders.
- How to Reinvent Yourself While Aging
Director for Education and Culture for Koelsch Communities Benjamin Surmi joins Suzanne to talk about reinvention. A new life cycle is emerging due to demographic shifts as we’re living longer, as well as changes in how we learn and work.
Benjamin says, “Traditionally, we go to school, then we have a family, and we work, and then we retire — our whole financial planning industry is oriented around that particular life cycle model. So much of our schooling systems, our work systems, everything is dependent on that framework. However, what we’re starting to see is a whole new life cycle be born. That is partly due to demographic shifts as people are living longer. It’s due to other factors in our environment. And in the way work is done and learning is done now than it was in the past. But now according to an expert named Ken Dychtwald, PhD, with Age Wave and the Second Wind Movement, we’re seeing a new trend in which people will do all three of those things multiple times in their life. They’ll go to school, they’ll work, and then they’re gonna have a mini retirement. Maybe they’re only 30, maybe they’re 35, 40, they have a mini retirement. Then they go back to school, they learn and they do more work, and then they do retirement again, and then they do it again. Because we’re seeing people who are retiring at 50 and then going back to work in some capacity. Or going back to school in some capacity. And so it’s a whole new way of understanding our lives and even financial planning is having to change because now I bet plan for multiple retirements, not just one.”
This new trend shows multiple cycles of school, work, and mini retirement, with several different careers over the course of their lives. Some seniors are happy at 75 to play bridge or bingo all day, while others have contributed and still want to keep going at 70. People in older age groups are starting new businesses. Benjamin says, “Someone once said, the only things that will change your life are the books you read and the people you meet. And so, if that’s true, the people we surround ourselves with is really critical, are essential.”
How does someone begin the second wind journey? There’s a method to define what matters to you, create one sentence in your head that begins with what you want to do/learn/enjoy/share, followed by with/so that/for/ to clarify more about it. For example, what do you want to do? “I want to share my love of photography with my grandchildren so that nonprofits in my city are uplifted.”
Learn more about Koelsch Communities at their website or call (360) 867-1900. Hear more of their podcasts at Answers for Elders.
- Embrace Aging, Gain Lower Risk of Dying
Director for Education and Culture for Koelsch Communities Benjamin Surmi, a social gerontologist, joins Suzanne. He oversees wellness programs that support 1,500 seniors throughout the United States. His mission is to empower older adults to go after things that matter to us, finding purpose, meaning, and enthusiasm in the second half of our lives. We see that 1) having a positive view of aging is a key ingredient: people who are satisfied with aging had a 43% lower risk of dying, as well as lower risks of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and others. An earlier study showed that people lived seven and a half years longer than their peers if they had a positive view of aging. It impacts your health and health outcomes.
Benjamin says, “A good bit of my career has been spent helping people plan for and carve out a plan for their family member, for themselves, that allows the things that matter to the family to be foremost in that plan. Because a lot of us, we just look at, ok, “I need to find a place to live for my mom. I just need to find a good place where that’s safe, and where she can get the help that she needs.” But that is not the key. The key is to plan around what mom loves. If mom loves spending time with friends singing hymns, that’s what makes mom tick, then we need to plan the whole life plan around what makes mom tick. If mom loves gardening outside everyday with a little puppy, then we need to plan our whole retirement plan around that.”
Mental health is a benefit, but purpose births independence and thriving. Benjamin says, “I’ll give you an example. I’m working hard to bring humanity to the United States. It’s a program in Europe and Asia that is not yet in the United States, and a whole set of techniques for caring for the most vulnerable people in our world. One of the mentors taught me a story about a gentleman who had lost, I think, a leg, and he had been in a really bad accident, and he was not doing any therapy, not doing anything, just letting himself go. And once they realized that he was an avid skier, they got him dreaming again that one day, even though he was 70 with these disabilities, that he would ski again. As soon as that dream took hold, he started participating in therapy, he started getting involved, taking care of himself, and pretty soon he was on the slopes again at 70.”
Learn more about Koelsch Communities at their website or call (360) 867-1900. Hear more of their podcasts at Answers for Elders.
- Fall Prevention with Shawn Weiss
Shawn Weiss talks about fall prevention during the pandemic. Shawn is a member of the Ohio Falls Coalition and Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership, has been a physical therapist for 23 years, and is published in Fall Prevention for Residents with Cognitive Deficits residing in Assisted Living Facilities. She talks about why there has been a rising number of falls and fall-related injuries in the aging population during the Covid 19 pandemic, how we can help senior loved ones whose health may have declined during the pandemic, and provides some community resources to seek out.
- Senior Summer Safety with Shawn Weiss
Shawn Weiss is an expert in the areas of geriatrics, fall prevention, cognitive decline, healthy living, home health, and caregiver training. In this segment, Shawn talks about why summer safety is so important for our senior loved ones, why older adults are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses, and provides some ways our seniors can stay safe and healthy during the summer months.
- The Body-Mind Connection, with Tracy Cromwell
Senior fitness specialist Tracy Cromwell is a certified behavioral and nutrition coach and personal trainer. In this segment, Tracy talks about mind-body awareness. What are the things you’re telling your body, unconscious choices you’re making? She demonstrates the difference between how your body and brain will react to things you say. Learn more at www.tracycromwell.com.
