People sometimes put their estate documents in a file and forget about it. Elder law attorney Steve Waltar joins Suzanne to talk how to keep your estate plan documents current.

Visit the Legacy Estate Planning website at waltar.com for beneficial articles, resources, and webinars.

• Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/
• Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/
• Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/
• Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/
• Find an attorney in your state at https://www.aaepa.com/
• Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you make updates to your estate plan? Elder law attorney Steve Waltar joins Suzanne to talk about dos and don'ts.

Visit the Legacy Estate Planning website at waltar.com for beneficial articles, resources, and webinars.

• Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/
• Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/
• Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/
• Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/
• Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

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Take advantage of the resources of the Alzheimer's Association to help care for families dealing with a senior loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia. Alexis Bonoff, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association in Washington state, joins Suzanne to talk about the resources and programs.

Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.

Hear more podcasts about the Walks: https://answersforelders.com/tag/alzheimers-walks/

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

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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.

Mama Blue, Pattie Hammond, is an original season-ticket holder for the Seattle Seahawks. She’s 87 and an inspirational figure. She was a hair stylist for 65 years, standing and using her hands all the time. Arthritis took a tool. But after she started to wear Voxx Socks., she says she’s getting stronger by the minute.

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Heather Lyon at MBK Senior Living talks about the community at Mt. Lake Terrace.

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Marlene Diaz talks about Hospitality Home Care opening a new facility, the Hospitality Adult Family Home in Federal Way, WA, by the Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club. It’s a six-bed home and is a little more personal than living in a community. They have four private bedrooms and one that is shared. Candidates would be over 55 and have a variety of health issues such as Alheimer’s, Dementia, or Parkinsons, who would need a higher degree of one-on-one care.

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Nichole Smith at CarePartners Senior Living says that surprisingly, a majority of financial abuse comes from family members. We often have so many red flags that families are squirreling away money. When a person loses their safety awareness, of course they trust their family more than anybody else, and family members may be making decisions which they think are in the best interest of their loved one, but later down the line it may make it so they can’t get on a state Medicaid program because they’ve gifted money within the last five years.

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Britt Burkhart, president of Safeguard Financial Assets, educates how to effectively manage assets and reduce taxes. He helps with Aid and Attendance Benefits, a benefit available through the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, which most veterans don't know about.

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James Carey from On The House talks about walk-in tubs and other accommodations.

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Stan Esecson shares success stories he’s heard about Voxx Socks.

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Chuck Olmstead interviews Patriot’s Landing resident Captain Marvin Reiner, a retired radio tech 2nd class, U.S. Navy. A native of Aberdeen, Washington, he was born in 1923 and grew up during the Depression.

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Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living talks about funding options for senior care. If a retirement/assisted living/memory care community really is the best solution, then we are going to talk about financing. What are you supposed to do if your dad’s gone, and all your mom has is her social security and her house? We have the largest floating Medicaid license in the state. Mom can take what little assets she has, and when she runs out of money, Mom qualifies for the state benefits and is guaranteed to be able to stay with us.

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Funding long-term care is a huge topic that stymies people. Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements says one option that’s overlooked is Aid and Attendance, a benefit paid by Veterans Affairs to veterans and spouses. Qualifications include certain finances and having two ADLs that you need help with. It could provide $1,100 to $1,700 per month. It can take four to six months to get your first check. Sometimes it can help keep parents in their homes. Other options include Medicaid and Long-term Care Insurance. It’s changed a lot recently; for people considering it, you might consider including an inflationary clause rider.

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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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Generally, until you cross into this world of needing to find options for care and housing for elders, it’s not something you think about, or it’s on the back burner. Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements has been doing this job for 18 years, and she sees that finances can always be worked out. She wants to give everyone a sense of hope about it. Don’t be afraid to talk about finances. Be straightforward with your advisor so you get good, objective information. It might be on a private pay basis, in which the estate of your loved ones can pay for their care and housing, ideally until the end of life, but rarely does that happen these days. Cost of care is very high, everyone gets sticker shock. Don’t let it stop you. Forty-five percent of seniors that are in some level of care are on Medicaid. Have a plan that allows you to have at least some months of private pay before you use insurance so you have more options.

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Dan White at Evergreen Washelli talks about crossroads and transitions. We will all face the crossroads when we pass. What can families do if they haven't pre-planned? Dan takes us through the steps of what happens when a loved one passes and what arrangements need to be made in those circumstances.

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Dan White at Evergreen Washelli talks about crossroads and transitions. Writing down your wishes is an important step. We use a pre-planning guide with a wealth of information for the survivors left behind. We want our loved ones to get through their stages of grief and don't leave problems behind for those we love.

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What can we do when there are warning signs everywhere, but our parents are being stubborn? Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements describes the myriad of scenarios how this happens. Sometimes it takes a catastrophic event, that no matter what we do we can't get past the stubbornness. Stubbornness comes from a place of fears. But more often, it can go well when information is given to someone from an objective party, someone who's professional and good at mirroring someone they are listening to, and good at being compassionate without being syrupy, to honor that person and have their voice be heard.

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Statistics show that families stay in the land of denial until it's too late. The financial factor is a huge part, but families are in an uproar at this time. Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements says that we can't emphasize enough that we have the kind of conversations with mom and our siblings of what could happen down the road. It's a conversation that gets overlooked a lot.

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Marlene Diaz at Hospitality Home Care talks about the warning signs of Activities of Daily Living, when its time to bring mom or dad some help in the home. One is forgetfulness: forgetting to take medications or taking them too often. In those situations, they are forgetting to prepare meals, or not knowing how to turn on the stove. That’s when the caregiver comes in and starts meal-prepping for them, labeling where things are. Each situation is unique.

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Dell Workman, administrator at Careage–Mission Healthcare, talks about their state of the art services.

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Dell Workman, administrator at Careage–Mission Healthcare, talks about their Renton, WA location.

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Terry Wilson and Sheena Paylor, area VP for Assured HomeHealth, talk about specialized services in home health. They work on specialties such as continence, which includes pelvic floor muscle training and bladder retraining, which has twice daily visits and gets results in four to six weeks. Also we help with lifestyle interventions, such as when to stop drinking before bedtime and what to drink. Anything that home health does requires an order from their physician.

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Terry Wilson and Sheena Paylor, area VP for Assured HomeHealth, talk about signs that might indicate a need of home health for a loved one. Assured HomeHealth is the largest home health agency by county in the state of Washington. Home health is a huge part of senior care, a benefit that can be requested at any time, without first having a hospital stay. It is paid for by Medicare and can include preventative care, including fall prevention. If mom gets up and walks by holding onto walls and chairs, she might be afraid of falling. Is house-keeping failing? Does she sleep in a recliner, afraid to walk to bed? Keeping seniors more physically active and mobile, but safe, is key. Our therapist or nurse prepares an in-depth assessment and puts together a care plan, working with their physician, and then visits her two or three times a week. As part of a tailored program, additional help might be given with bathing or dispensing medications.

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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 Senior Resource Network. Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the crossroads, what happens when there is a life change for a senior living one? What happens when there’s a crisis — for example, when your mom has a heart attack, or broken a hip, or had a bad case of pneumonia? Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements explains that 80% of the people she works with are in this situation. It’s rare that she gets to go over options ahead of time. So don’t feel ill prepared, or like the Lone Ranger.

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How do families navigate crossroads? There are always curve balls and we have to face a change. Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements is a master of helping families navigate change. An often-asked question is, “When do we make a change?”

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Dan White at Evergreen Washelli talks about how we can best honor our loved ones who have passed on Memorial Day. We put on a huge event, our 92nd one this year. We follow military protocol and offer assistance for parking and getting to chairs. Michael Reagan was our guest speaker, a famous portrait artist. For free he does portraits for fallen veterans and has become quite an inspirational speaker.

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Dan White at Evergreen Washelli talks about what Memorial Day weekend means for families. People start coming to visit memorials the week before the holiday weekend, adding flowers, cleaning headstones and bringing blankets to spend time there and honor loved ones who have passed. Others come to find their great-great-great grandparents. It's all about remembering. For us it's about having one place to come and see memorials for all of your relatives, all the generations that are placed here.

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Jill Martinez, director of community relations for CarePartners Living, explains that Dementia can hit 90% of the population in some form. To care for a loved one on your own is an overwhelming experience. We really try to help them through that process of determining when it’s time to consider memory care or moving their loved one into a retirement community, because there really are some key factors to pay attention to. The cottages are set up for memory care specifically and are built a specific way.

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Suzanne Newman shares a personal tribute following the recent loss of former Seattle Seahawks coach Chuck Knox after his long struggle with dementia.

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Marlene Diaz at Hospitality Home Care talks about family caregivers. The caregiver gets overlooked often. Hospitality Home Care periodically asks how the caregiver is doing and what needs to be addressed. We introduce the caregiver and go over things with them. As an agency, its important to tell the caregivers how much they are appreciated, we provide monthly bonuses for them and birthday cards with gifts. Having a feeling of appreciation makes it more than a job, it’s a recognition that they’re making a difference. If you have a happy caregiver, you’ll have a happy client.

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There’s a perception that senior living is a “nursing home,” but that’s not the case. Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements provides an overview of the different types. There’ independent living, such as over 55 communities, which is common. There’s assisted living that provides some support for activities of daily living, where maybe you have mobility issues and just need help dressing and bathing, but can still drive. There’s memory care where you need a formal diagnosis of some kind of dementia, from early onset to end stages. There are adult family homes, a smaller environment, also for people who need a lot of care.

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How do you have that initial conversation with a loved one when its time to make a change, and the loved one isn't necessarily open to the conversation? It's an awkward time, as it's a time of change, a time of role reversals. Daphne Davis at Pinnacle Senior Placements says that it takes a lot of courage to begin the conversation this way: “Let’s look at the future.”

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Kirk Lau at Fairway Independent Mortgage talks about reverse mortgages.

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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.

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Executive Director Beth Deems of Brookdale at Admiral Heights discusses assisted living options.

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Stan Esecson describes Voxx Socks.

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Dan White at Evergreen Washelli talks about an aspect of Aging in Place, considerations a family should know about with their final wishes. Power of attorney is important. Also is defining an appointment of agent, something specific for the state of Washington, which appoints one family member who is the official legal agent, and they have the final say, to simplify legal actions when there are many family members.

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Shawn D’Amelio is the director of business development for With A Little Help, a locally-owned home care company. With A Little Help has 150 caregivers who provide in-home care, and their average age is 48, so they have some life experience. They not only know how to cook a meal but appreciate the value of sitting down and eating that meal with the senior. They help with fun outings, doctor's appointments, shopping, help cleaning the house, changing the bed, and they build a friendship with the senior. They help with the challenges and light housekeeping so the senior loved one has energy for the fun things.

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Melanie Mosshart at Hospitality Home Care talks about Home Care Services. A home care organization is a huge support for caregivers. If you're a caregiver, then whether you need a home care organization or not, you need to find one, interview one, and have one ready to go at a moment’s notice. When there’s an unexpected emergency or crisis, people just don’t know what to do or which way to turn, they don’t always have the time or knowledge necessary to take care of somebody.

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Veterans Interview with Colonel Ian Larson with the U.S. Army, at Patriot’s Landing in DuPont, Washington. He was born in the Philippines in January 1940.

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Sally Sundar from the YMCA of Greater Seattle provides an overview of their senior programs. She is the Program Executive, Health Integration & Transformation.

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Executive Director Beth Deems of Brookdale at Admiral Heights discusses steps to take that help your senior loved one stay at home longer, and mobility issues to look for, as part of this month's aging in place conversations.

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Jaden and Valicia Zugel from Team Zugel Real Estate talk about seniors in transition.

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Pam Stone describes the services provided by Family Resource Home Care. She is their Regional Manager, Business Development.

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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 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.

Jerrica Pierson Seeger at Rehberg Law talks about legal planning, part of this month's focus on aging in place.

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In this special four-part episode, Chuck Olmstead speaks with Suzanne Newman about the Top Ten Advocacy Principles as well as what Answers for Elders stands for.

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